World Bank & ESA: Satellite Data Informs Development

With the increasing prevalence of Earth Observation (EO) technologies being employed in development work, the World Bank and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered for the purpose of mainstreaming the use of EO into the World Bank's lending operations, across all of the Bank's Sustainable Development Network's sectors.

The first small-scale demonstrations were provided to the World Bank by ESA in 2008 contributing to coastal zone management in Bangladesh, study of marine ecosystems in Belize, urban risk management in Alexandria and Tunis, and water resources management in Peru/Bolivia.

In July 2010, the collaboration was scaled up. Twelve World Bank Teams from across a variety of sectors and representing all regions of Sustainable Development Network were selected and received the pro-bono assistance of ESA to apply Earth Observation services in selected operations. Sectors benefitting include:

• Disaster Risk Management;
• Urban Development;
• Agriculture and Forest Management;
• Water Resources Management;
• Coastal Zones Management;
• Marine Environment; and
• Climate Change Adaptation.

This initiative aims to establish a stable connection between the specific information needs of World Bank projects and the new developments in Earth Observation programmes and services. In particular, eoworld gives the World Bank the opportunity to benefit from ESA’s 30 years of experience in collecting and distributing Earth Observation (EO) data to users around the world, and in developing innovative information services for various applications to be used by public organizations, national authorities and private sector.

With the start of the EU-ESA flagship space program - GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and the emergence of new national space missions in Europe and Canada, EO technology is moving towards a long-term sustainable data flow, forming the basis for its operational use.

Winning Applications for Earth Observation Services Selected

Services Readiness Review Meeting, April 12 

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