The growth of Earth Observation data (EO) has skyrocketed over the past few years with technological advancements and a surge in new technologies. With these technologies, users can add more granularity, temporal, and localized information to their data. And the rise in EO shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. According to a recent analysis by Morgan Stanley, space-borne EO’s value is expected to exceed $25 billion USD by 2040. Additionally, a recent assessment highlights that existing EO systems could generate data for 33 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators across 14 goals. Consequently, governments are increasingly using this data for evidence-based decision-making on sustainable development challenges. Yet, countries in the Global South, particularly in Africa, continue to face challenges with harnessing the breadth and complexity of EO data for decision-making on sustainable development issues. TReNDS’ latest research paper explores the bottlenecks to use and the types of partnerships that may prove beneficial to overcoming these challenges.

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