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FAO Statistics at the Living Planet Symposium 2022

23/05/2022 - 27/05/2022

Organized from 23 to 27 May 2022 in Bonn (Germany), the Living Planet Symposium brought together over 5 000 scientists and researchers from all over the world to present and discuss the latest findings on Earth science and advances in Earth observation technologies. FAO experts were invited to contribute to two sessions of the Symposium to inform the geospatial community of the recently established Memorandum of Understanding signed with the European Space Agency, and the joint activities foreseen in 2021-2023.

 

The “Living Planet Symposium”, organized every three years by the European Space Agency (ESA), has become the largest Earth Observation event globally. This year, the Symposium has been organized in Bonn, from 23 to 27 May 2022, attracting over 5 000 experts and practitioners in geospatial technology, applications and information.

FAO was invited to contribute to two sessions of the Symposium to inform the geospatial community of the recently established Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed with the European Space Agency (ESA), and the joint activities foreseen for the period 2021-2023.

Signed in 2021, the FAO-ESA MoU will facilitate synergies of R&D efforts and to scale up solutions in particular the FAO capacity development work aimed at enabling countries in the use of Earth Observations for agricultural statistics and SDG monitoring, by allowing the standardization of methods/applications, increasing results accuracy and sustainability of solutions.

1. Agora Session on “FAO - ESA Partnership on the use of Earth Observations for Food and Agriculture” (25 May 2022)

On 25 May, FAO experts participated in the Agora Session on “FAO - ESA Partnership on the use of Earth Observations for Food and Agriculture” and discussed the following topics:

  • Requirements and challenges for using satellite Earth Observation data;
  • Exchange of data sets from integrated household/field surveys, essential for calibration and validation of Earth Observation models;
  • Developing innovative Earth Observation algorithms, products and applications relevant for the mandate of FAO making full use of latest IT capabilities, such as cloud computing;
  • Demonstrating and validating Earth Observation capabilities for data generation under FAO’s mandate.

Programme

Opening: Welcome and keynotes

  • Maurice Borgeaud, Head of the Science, Applications & Climate Department – European Space Agency (ESA)
  • Pietro Gennari, Chief Statistician – UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Moderated panel discussion: Moderator Benjamin Koetz, Head of Sustainable Initiatives Office, ESA

  • Livia Peiser – FAO, Land and Water Division
  • Lorenzo DeSimone – FAO, Statistic Division
  • Erik Lindquist – FAO, Forestry Division
  • Pierre Defourney, Earth & Life Institute – Université Catholique de Louvain 
  • Radoslaw Guzinski – DHI-GRAS

Questions & Answers  

2. Agora Session on “SDGs: midway to 2030" (25 May 2022)

From the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development in 2015, Geospatial Information and Earth Observations were presented as game-changers for countries to fully achieve their sustainable development goals.

On 25 May, FAO experts participated in the Agora Session on “SDGs: midway to 2030" to exchange with senior representatives from key organisations (Space Agencies, UN agencies, National Statistical Offices, Geospatial community, Development Assistance Agencies, EO service sector). They review progress on the uptake of Earth Observations in SDG processes and discussed the opportunities and challenges still lying ahead for successfully integrating EO technology within the national monitoring and reporting systems on SDGs.

Programme

Introduction to the Open Forum by the session moderators

Opening talk by Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes

Lightening talks by UN Organisations and Programmes

  • Sara Minelli – UNCCD
  • Stuart Crane – UN Environment 
  • Dennis Mwaniki – UN Habitat 
  • Pietro Gennari – FAO
  • Sven Kaumanns – DESTATIS

Panel with Space Agencies, UN organizations, National Statistical Offices, Development Assistance Agencies and the EO Service Sector

  • Argie Kavvada – NASA, GEO EO4SDG
  • Antje Hecheltjen – GIZ, GEO LDN
  • Emmanuel Pajot – EARSC

Questions & Answers  

More information about the Symposium: