Two Co-Located Events in South Africa Look at Earth Observation Initiatives

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

SWF Project Manager Krystal Wilson spoke at the 37th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE-37) and then attended the co-located GEO Work Programme Symposium in Tshwane, South Africawhich took place from May 8-13th.

Hosted by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), ISRSE-37 focused on the theme “Earth Observation for Development and Adaptation to a Changing World.” Ms. Wilson presented on the importance of new user needs and highlighted SWF’s new resource, the Handbook for New Space Actors.

The emphasis for the GEO event was on meeting the Earth observation requirements of global policy initiatives related to the three priority areas for GEO as agreed at the GEO-XIII Plenary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. These are:

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development / Sustainable Development Goals;

the Paris Agreement / climate and greenhouse gases; and

the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Additionally, given the location of the Symposium in South Africa, the meeting also emphasized will how the broader GEO community can help AfriGEOSS better respond to specific African concerns. Ultimately, the Symposium sought to better align activities of the GEO Work Programme in response to the needs of these global policy initiatives in terms of Earth observation data and information.