Earth Observations into action: Systemic integration of Earth Observation applications into national risk reduction decision structures

The purpose of this contributing paper is to demonstrate scalable and replicable methods to advance and integrate the use of Earth observations, specifically ongoing efforts within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Work Programme and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Work Plan, to support risk-informed decision making, based on documented national and subnational needs and requirements. As stated in the United Nations  Global Assessment Report 2022 Concept Note, decision makers everywhere need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently disaggregated, relevant, accessible and easy to use. GEO is an international partnership of governments and international organizations working on coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations (EO). 

The case studies shown in the paper speak to the extensive efforts underway to integrate EO into national disaster risk reduction (DRR) decision structures, across diverse geographies, thematic natural hazard and exposure focus areas, leveraging a variety of geospatial solutions. The task of integrating EO applications into national DRR decision structures leveraging geospatial technology, however, still brings many challenges. Awareness raising about the availability and application of open EO data is critical for policy development in several policy areas, not only DRR but sustainable development, environmental services, health services and climate change adaptation.