GEO Initiative 18:
EarthObservationsin Service of the2030 Agenda for
SustainableDevelopment
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SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals
GI-18 Initiative• Where the international community and GEO stand on the UN
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development• Built upon Agenda 21 (1992), Agenda 21 Implementation Plan(2002), MDGs (2009) and Rio+20 (2012)
SDGs represent a clear opportunity for generating greater coherence
between EO and society, environment and economy policy issues.
EO can play key roles in monitoring targets, planning, tracking progress,and helping nations and other stakeholders make informed decisions.

17 goals
169 targets
230 indicators

GEO INITIATIVE GI-18
Supports GEO in defining the indicators for the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) and providing support to countries in measuring, monitoring
and achieving the SDGs.
Goals of GI-18
1) To engage with Member States, the UN Statistics Division and otherpartners in the development of the indicators supporting the SDG Goals
and Targets approved by the UN Statistical Commission in March 2016.
2) Develop pilot projects in one or more GEO Member countries focusedon integrating Earth observations with national statistical accounts tobetter measure, monitor and achieve the SDGs.
GI-18 emphasizes the strong collaboration that projects musthave with the statistical community at national and global.
3Interaction withUN IAEG-SDG/WG on Geospatial Information (WGGI)• GEO is an invited member of UN IAEG-SDG/WGGI tocontribute knowledge and expertise on EO and GI to thediscussion of SDG indicators.
• 1st expert group meeting of WGGI (Dec 12-14, 2016,Mexico City) agreed on focusing on case studies on threeindicators (6.6.1, 9.1.1 and 15.3.1) and three commonissues (data disaggregation, alternative data, global andnational data) for its report to UN Statistical Commission
report in March 2017.
• GI-18 supports WGGI case studies and develops its
report on added values of EO for SDGs for distribution at4side event on March 6, 2017.

WGGI case studies
SDG

indicator

Country

Themes

2

6.6.1

TBD

Changes in the extent of water-related
ecosystem over time

3

9.1.1

TBD

Proportion of the rural population who live
within 2 km of an all-season road

615.3.1

TBD

Proportion of land that is degraded overland area

Mahakam delta,
East Kalimantan.
Mangrove extent
2010 (green) andchanges 19962010 (red) ©
GMW, 20155

GI-18 National Pilot Projects (1/3)
SDG
233

6indicator
2.4
15.1
3.9
11.6
3.9
14.1
6.5.1
11.5.1
6.6.1
6.6.1
15.1

Country

Project Name

Terrestrial Ecosystems & Agriculture: to improve
Albania &access to the archive of NASA’s satellite imagery, andbroader Balkan
promote Earth Observation (EO) data and services inRegion
response to national and regional needs
UAEUAEJAPANUganda
RwandaAir quality analysis using satellite observations
Harmful Algal Blooms: to assess the extent and causeof algal blooms using remote sensing
Precipitation monitoring for fulfillment of cities andhuman settlements safe, resilient and sustainable
Clean Water and Sanitation / automatic wetland
mapping: The ESA GlobWetland Africa
National products on wetland delineation andcharacterization that will contribute to global
conventions like Ramsar and monitoring SDGs

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GI-18 National Pilot Projects (2/3)
SDG

Indicator

1111Uganda

Automatic urban extent mapping

1111.6.2

JAPAN

Atmospheric pollution monitoring for establishment of sustainable
cities and human settlements environment

1111.6.2

USA

Air Quality: monitoring PM10 concentrations

1313.3
14.a

UAE

Impacts of climate change: monitoring of sea level rise, sea
temperature and salinity

15.1.1

JAPAN

Forest monitoring for sustainable forest management

15.1.1

USA

Forest monitoring for sustainable forest management

15.1

USA

Ecological Forecasting: mapping mangrove extent and transition in
the Florida Everglades

15.1.1

Costa Rica

US-Costa Rica possible collaboration on Forest monitoring

15

15.3.1
15.3.1CountryESA projects(severalcountries)
Global but ledby Australia(CSIRO)

Project Name

ESA Land Cover CCI projectPrepare Good Practice Guides (GPGs) for deriving and reporting tothe UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) on three sub 7
indicators of SDG Indicator 15.3.1

GI-18 National Pilot Projects (3/3)
SDG

Indicator

Water (6) andDisasters
issuesCountryProject Name

Philippines

A dedicated water SDG workshop was hosted by the National
Economic Development Authority (July 2016)

Fiji

The national authorities/regional bodies decided to have a regional
meeting hosted by the Fiji government in December, in relation to theSDGs

ChileChile is already providing data on GEO DAB, a key component of theGEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) that transparently connects
GEOSS User’s requests to the resources shared by the GEOSS
Providers, since April 2015

MexicoMexico-Chile interactions on putting together a joint SDG-related
project

USA

Project that focuses on AmeriGEOSS portal

GlobalGlobal Partnership for Sustainable Development Data in collaboration
with GEO is creating a module for a SDG toolbox, a set of tools,
methods and resources to help countries address challenges andseize new opportunities in the collection and use of real-time,
dynamic, disaggregated data, in their effort to achieve and monitor
the SDGs and their own sustainable development priorities
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