2022 Living Planet Symposium: Earth observation and all things SEPAL
Inge Jonckheere speaking at the plenary session “The global climate: a status update”
One of the largest earth observation events in the world took place from 23-27 May in Bonn, Germany. An event the FAO Forestry Division could not miss, the fifth edition of the Living Planet Symposium 2022 (LPS22) brought together over 5000 scientists and researchers to discuss the latest findings on earth science and present advances in earth observation technologies. Participants had the opportunity to share their work, network with fellow experts, and even interact with actual astronauts. Notably, this international forum explored the role remote sensing technology will play in creating a more resilient, sustainable future for all.
FAO Forestry experts contributed to achieving LPS22 objectives through their participation in numerous sessions that detailed experiences using earth observation technologies and tools for land monitoring and climate change. In particular, SEPAL, the FAO-developed "System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing, and Analysis for Land Monitoring", and its application were featured in panel discussions, classrooms and technical sessions.
One of the main sessions, in which the FAO delegation participated, was on the topic of FAO and the European State Agency (ESA) Partnership. Colleagues from the FAO Statistics, Land and Water, and Forestry Divisions shared joint activities planned between 2021-2023, within the framework of the FAO-ESA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). These include scaling-up solutions, related to the use of earth observation, for producing food and agriculture statistics, and supporting countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
During a panel discussion, Erik Lindquist, FAO Forestry Officer, shared a concrete example of how the collaboration between FAO, ESA, Norway's International Climate and Forestry Initiative (NICFI), and Planet are democratizing access to data, algorithms, and computing power for improved land monitoring and decision-making through the SEPAL platform.
Moderated panel discussion: FAO & ESA Partnership on the use of Earth Observation for Food and Agriculture
Concrete examples of SEPAL applications were shared throughout the Symposium, including how the platform can be used in support of SDGs. FAO Forestry Officer, Inge Jonckheere, explained how SEPAL is helping countries monitor land degradation and restoration in support of SDG 15 “Life on Land”. In particular, the SEPAL SDG 15.3.1 module is being used at the local and national levels to measure the proportion of land that is degraded over a total land area. This module allows users to generate data for reporting on the indicator for SDG 15 following the good practice guidance.
The contribution of earth observation technologies and tools to climate action was also discussed during the LPS22 main plenary session, “The global climate: a status update”, which explored the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It also focused on the best available bio-geophysical science underpinning past, present and future climate change, and the need for systematic observations from space. Climate change mitigation and earth observation were at the center of Inge Jonckheere’s presentation. As co-lead author of the IPCC report, she acknowledged the world is not on track to meet climate commitments, despite increased evidence of climate action and achievements made by some countries to decrease emissions.
Among FAO’s work on forest monitoring, the white paper on sample based area estimation, produced in collaboration with GFOI partner, Silvacarbon, and financed by the World Bank, particularly stood out. The paper was produced to support countries in developing statistics for international reporting, using Open Foris tools such as SEPAL and Collect Earth. Along this line, a classroom session, “System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing, and Analysis for Land Monitoring (SEPAL)”, was held to provide participants with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with SEPAL and delve deeper into how the platform can be used in their daily work or study.
Members of the FAO delegation also participated in the panel discussion, “Emerging tools for climate-smart decision-making”, which addressed technology and its roles in assessing forests and natural resources and monitoring land changes. During this session, Ms Jonckheere noted, “Progress and impact on the ground can be hard to track, but through accurate satellite imagery analysis, governments can make better-informed decisions. In that sense, engaging end-users of tools and platforms from the beginning of the project design or implementation is key to ensuring data ownership".
Country representatives were not the only participants interested in appropriating these cutting-edge technologies. Civil society representatives are also adopting platforms like SEPAL to access data and monitor the effects of climate change in their territories. In that regard, FAO Forestry Officer, Yelena Finegold, introduced FAO’s collaboration with the GEO Indigenous Alliance, designed to bring Indigenous knowledge into SEPAL and provide Indigenous Peoples with access to the platform.
GEO Indigenous Alliance session at LPS22
Key takeaways and the way forward
Some of the key takeaways from LPS22 are:
- Earth observation matters. Climate change is the greatest global threat and challenge of the 21st century, and earth observation technologies and tools are key to estimating its expected impacts, to planning and implementing mitigation measures, and to supporting effective decision-making.
- Alliances between FAO Forestry and partners, such as ESA, NICFI, Planet, GEO Indigenous Alliance, and IFAD, among others, are mutually beneficial, both in terms of available technology and human resources.
- There has never been more data, computing power, or algorithms available to characterize and monitor nearly every aspect of our life-sustaining natural environment. We are not, at the moment "data limited". What still remains to be done, is to ensure the available data is used efficiently and effectively to make good decisions.
FAO Forestry will build on the connections established at LPS22, including by working to expand and strengthen the collaboration with ESA. Plans are also being developed to host a joint meeting between earth observation experts and GEO Indigenous Alliance representatives to discuss global capacity-building plans for the use of earth observation data and expanding the functionality of the SEPAL platform in response to user requests. Developing these diverse relationships established at LPS22 will allow FAO to strengthen its remote sensing tools and help make real progress in the fight against climate change.
Related Resources
Living Planning Symposium 2022
Living Planet concludes with record numbers
FAO and the European Space Agency unite to support countries in achieving the SDGs
FAO Statistics at the Living Planet Symposium 2022
GEO hackathon sparks creative solutions to climate hazards faced by Indigenous communities