In September 2015, the UN General Assembly ratified the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, a new transformative, integrated and universal agenda that aims to end poverty, promote prosperity and people’s well-being while protecting the environment. The core of the 2030 agenda is the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 associated targets, which should be achieved by 2030. The SDGs are being launched with an emphasis on collecting data that will be extensive and specific enough to serve these needs. They are designed to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. Earth observation (EO) is a powerful instrument to support the reporting on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and indicators and the provision of relevant information to effectively monitor progress towards the SDG targets, and the degree of compliance with the International Agreements. It helps on the provision of critical information on natural resources, government operations, public services, or population demographics. This actionable information helps on the SDG implementation role, monitoring, reporting, and the facilitation and shaping of reporting methods, policy and tools. These insights can inform national priorities and help determine the most effective paths for action on national issues. EO is a critical data source for monitoring and driving progress against the SDGs. Effective monitoring of the SDG and reporting of the progress towards the SDG targets require the use of multiple types of data such as EO which together with modern data processing and analytics, offer new opportunities to track sustainable development. |