Mapping a sustainable future
Without access to accurate data, we would not have an accurate picture of the world we live in. Understanding complex problems such as climate change and environmental degradation would be impossible, as would monitoring progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Fortunately, free and easy to use tools for land and climate monitoring now offer a quick way to transform data into actionable information, helping FAO and its partners to work towards improving nutrition and production. This also works towards safeguarding the environment through better design, implementation and evaluation projects, easier monitoring of inventories such as greenhouse gases (GHG) and improved national and international reporting.
The last two decades have witnessed an exponential increase in the availability of free datasets and software for Earth observation, including Google Earth (2005), the US Geological Survey’s Open Data policy (2008) and the first version of Google Earth Engine (2010). These tools offer access to a wealth of geospatial data and the power of cloud computing to anyone who is interested in using them. However, the steep learning curve associated with mastering the software needed to understand the data is often a barrier to widespread adoption.
Through a series of joint workshops, FAO and Google helped users to increase their fluency in such tools and encourage the use of available geospatial tools - such as Earth Map, Collect Earth and SEPAL - for a number of projects led by FAO, as well as by other agencies. In the context of the partnership, thousands of FAO employees in tens of countries received training on tools such as Open Foris, increasing their data literacy and allowing them to apply this to their work.
With increased fluency in these applications and a better understanding of the available data, FAO staff have been able to provide greater support to partners such as the World Bank, the Green Climate Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and better assist countries in taking action on climate change.
Google Earth Outreach aims to create positive change for people and the planet, offering a suite of specialized mapping tools and satellite technology. FAO and Google signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2015, on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, with the goal of leveraging Google technology and training to enhance FAO’s capacity in monitoring and assessment of natural resources, livelihoods and the environment.
