GAF AG, an e-GEOS (Telespazio/ASI) company, and a consortium of European partners (VITO, Wageningen University, GFZ, e-GEOS, Meridia, and Terrasphere) have been awarded the ESA WorldAgrocommodities contract following a tendering procedure. The project, with a duration of 24 months, focuses on the EUs Deforestation Free Supply Chain Regulation (EUDR). The objective is to support EU Member States in verifying that imported commodities come from deforestation free areas, and the project will contribute to the EU’s emission reduction policies.

Munich, October 24, 2024

A consortium led by GAF AG, and also includingpartners VITO (Belgium), Wageningen University (Netherlands), GFZ (German), e-GEOS (Italy), Meridia and Terrasphere (Netherlands), has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency to perform the ESA WorldAgrocommodities project, which started in the first week of September 2024. It has a duration of 24 months and will make a major contribution to the EUs emission reduction policies.

The EUDR requires that all operators that export commodities to the EU, such as cocoa, coffee, soy, oil palm, rubber, cattle and wood (and derived products), have to provide a Due Diligence Report which identifies every parcel of land from which the commodity was sourced, with geolocation information ensuring there has been no deforestation in these areas since 31 December 2020. The main goal of the current ESA project is to support the EU Member States (MS), which monitor compliance with the EUDR, by providing an approach that can be used to help identify and verify the crop type and if the commodity originates from deforestation free areas. This is a core part of the due diligence that has to be performed by commodity suppliers.

GAF AG and the consortium together form a very experienced group in the agro-commodity mapping/traceability and tropical deforestation monitoring domain. With almost 40 years of experience, GAF is one of Europe’s forerunners and market leaders in satellite data reception and distribution, advanced analysis techniques, AI processes and the tailor-made development of geoinformation and software systems, platforms and consulting solutions. The engagement with the Competent National Authorities (CNAs) of the Member States that have to undertake the verification has already started and a consultative process is at the heart of the project.

About GAF AG

GAF AG, an e-GEOS (Telespazio/ASI) company based in Munich and Neustrelitz, was founded in Munich in 1985 as the first German company with a focus on applied remote sensing. It is now one of the leading commercial geoinformation service providers in Europe. As part of the e-GEOS/Telespazio group of companies, GAF offers an extensive service portfolio that, in addition to the direct reception and distribution of satellite data, also includes highly developed analysis techniques, AI processes and the tailor-made development of geoinformation and software systems and platforms as well as consulting solutions.The products and services in the sector of Advanced Air Mobility Solutions (drones) cover the entire value chain from data collection to system provision. The areas of thematic expertise for public and private clients worldwide include land monitoring, natural resource management, water and environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry, mining, emergency management and infrastructure security. GAF is also one of the most experienced European service providers in the EU/ESA Copernicus programme, due to its many years of service implementation for the Copernicus land monitoring service, emergency management service and security and in-situ service components.

Kraków, Poland – October 2024 – On October 8th, the EuroGEO Workshop 2024 hosted the SDGs-EYES Policy Event titled “Harnessing Earth Observation data for Sustainable Development.”  The pivotal gathering aimed at exploring the integration of Earth Observation (EO) data into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitoring, trying to assess its interaction with current and future policy frameworks.

This event underscored the critical role of EO technology in enhancing national and regional capacities for SDG reporting, bringing together a diverse audience, including representatives from national statistical offices, policymakers, researchers, and industry experts. The session commenced with presentations from the SDGs-EYES project team: Dr. Manuela Balzarolo (CMCC), project coordinator, presented the overall goal and approach of the project and introduced one of its pilot activities; Mr. Stefano Natali (Sistema) illustrated the SDGs-EYEs user centred platform and its potentialities for expert and non-expert users. These presentations set the stage for a comprehensive discussion on the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating EO data into national and international SDG frameworks. 

One of the relevant themes was the importance of developing a multi-scalar approach, ensuring the platform’s tools can be applied effectively at various administrative levels, from local municipalities to international organisations. Indeed, the SDGs-EYES platform and the project tools it hosts, incorporates different satellite and local data, and can present a scalable and adaptable solution aimed at bridging the gap between international standards and local realities.

The following panel discussion chaired by Dr. Passani Antonella (T6 Ecosystems) brought further insights into the integration of EO data for SDG monitoring. The panel included: Mr. Przemysław Slesiński, Remote sensing specialist at Statistics Poland and Expert in geospatial data analysis; Mr. Michele Melchiorri, Project Officer at the EU Joint Research Centre and Responsible for integrating the Global Human Settlement Layer into the Copernicus Emergency Management Service; Mr. Stijn Vermoote, Head of User Outreach and Engagement Section at ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts); Dr. Emmanuel Pajot Secretary General of the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); Dr. Charalampos Haris Kontoes, Research Director at IAASARS/NOA (Astronomy, Astrophysics Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens) and leader of the BEYOND Center for Earth Observation Research. The experts underscored the importance of early user engagement and capacity building to ensure that tools are not only adopted but also optimised for local contexts. The panel stressed that successful implementation hinges on developing effective communication strategies to convey the benefits of EO data.

Flexibility and usability of the SDGs-EYES platform were recurring themes throughout the event. Participants emphasised the need for tools that are not only adaptable to the needs of diverse users but also capable of providing downloadable datasets for further analysis. Such flexibility is vital for making EO data accessible and actionable, fostering data-driven policymaking and enabling precise, localised interventions. The conversation also touched on the development of composite indicators that integrate multiple dimensions of urban risk, providing a holistic view that supports the creation of effective policy scenarios and interventions.

The event concluded with Dr. Balzarolo delivering closing remarks, expressing the SDGs-EYES team’s enthusiasm for the project’s progress and the crucial suggestions provided by the panellists. The collaborative spirit of the event underscored the project’s commitment to refining its platform based on real-world user input, highlighting the importance of continued partnership and stakeholder involvement.

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About SDGs-EYES: SDGs-EYES is a three-year (Starting date: 1 January 2023) European Research and Innovation Action project that aims at boosting the European capacity for monitoring the SDGs based on Copernicus through building a portfolio of decision-making tools to monitor those SDG indicators related to the environment from an inter-sectoral perspective, aligning with the EU Green Deal priorities and challenges. 

To learn more about SDGs-EYES, visit the website: https://sdgs-eyes.eu/ 

Follow the social media channels:

• X: https://twitter.com/SDGsEYES 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdgs-eyes/ 

The SDGs-EYES Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme for research and innovation under project number 101082311.

With the European Digital Strategy, the EU plans to build a strong policy and legislative framework to ensure fairness in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make data more accessible for all. In this context, the Data Act (currently in trialogue negotiations) and the Data Governance Act (entered into force on 23^rd June 2022) will support the set up and development of the Common European Data Spaces in making more data available and facilitating data sharing across sectors and EU countries. Following up on the Directive on open data and the re-use of public sector information, the Commission’s DG CNECT has also adopted on December 2022 the Implemented Act on a list of High-Value Datasets.

The Green Deal Data Space (GDDS) will be a transversal, cross-sectoral data space building the Common European Data Spaces among sector-specific spaces. The Green Deal Data Space Foundation, the GREAT project, funded by the Digital Europe program, aims to establish the GDDS and its Community of Practice which builds on both the European Green Deal and the EU’s Strategy for Data. The project will deliver a roadmap for implementing and deploying the GDDS, an infrastructure that will allow data providers and initiatives to openly share their data to tackle climate change in a multidisciplinary manner. By filling in the following questionnaire you will contribute to identifying the challenges and gaps related to the use of Green Deal data and your answers will be used to assess use case proposals.

Click on the link below to open the questionnaire!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X3JVV52

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X3JVV52

2019 ended very successfully for PARSEC, with two-weeks-long extension of the first Open Call, and 348 applications from 38 countries! If you have already applied, you would like to join or you are still considering how to benefit from PARSEC ecosystem, stay tuned for what is happening in 2020.

After the closing of the application period, more than three hundred applicants are currently taking part in peer-2-peer evaluation. On the 10^th of February the evaluation will close, points will be counted, and 100 beneficiaries will be selected.

The selected beneficiaries will meet with PARSEC consortium on the 27^th of March in Stuttgart, Germany, to start working on their ideas and on creation of cross-border and/or cross-sectoral consortia. During the three-day-long Bootcamp, beneficiaries will take part in workshops, lectures, coaching sessions, and most importantly, in matchmaking event.

Beneficiaries of Open Call 1 will be looking for partners to form cross-border and/or cross-sectoral consortia throughout the spring. Apart from Bootcamp, accessible only for beneficiaries, five matchmaking events will be organized. To facilitate the access to the events, two of them will be hosted online, while three others will be organized in different regions of Europe. Matchmaking events will invite SMEs, entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers to cooperate in creating of new Earth Observation-based product or service. Events will be open for representatives from Food, Energy, Environment and Earth Observation sectors, interested in joining the consortia.

The consortia will present their ideas and compete for further funding during two-day-long Demo Day, which will take place on the 3^rd and 4^th of July in Brussels, Belgium. Interested investors will have a chance to meet innovative teams and to discuss their further development.

To learn more about what PARSEC is up to in 2020 follow us on social media and check our website to learn more about upcoming events (more details soon!). To make sure you don’t miss any date, sign up for PARSEC email updates (subscription available through the website).

e-shape fostering and bridging the European Earth Observation ecosystem

EARSC is one of the leading partners of the 54 members consortium of e-shape (EuroGEO Showcases: Applications Powered by Europe), a 48-month project, lead by ARMINES, and constituted by a pan-European team of academic, industrial, institutional and user communities. Driven by the need to develop operational EO services with and for the users, e-shape is federating communities to increase the knowledge and the awareness on European EO capabilities and new approaches.

e-shape currently includes 27 cloud-based pilot applications under 7 thematic areas to address societal challenges, foster entrepreneurship and support sustainable development, in alignment to the three main priorities of GEO, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework.

e-shape allows Europe to position itself as a global force in Earth observation through leveraging Copernicus, opening new opportunities and expand its use, through the existing European capacities, as well as developing research to business activities.

One of the objectives of EARSC is to invest and promote the users’ uptake of pilots at national and international scale, across vertical markets (private and public) and among key users’ communities; as well as support their sustainability.

e-shape boosts a rich portfolio of innovative key pilots participating in the project.

The seven showcases are:

The food Security and Sustainable Agriculture showcase: largely contribute to SDG 2, it consists of four pilots, which all display Copernicus data sets combined with the necessary in-situ data, weather and soil data that can deliver improved information at global, national and local scale, exploiting the processing infrastructures offered by Copernicus DIAS.

The health Surveillance showcase: will contribute to SDG 3. The three pilots are dedicated to surveillance of pollutants in the environment and their impact on public health through in-situ and space-based environmental observations. They can improve the policy making process and support the assessment of the effectiveness of measures undertaken by nations to achieve the goals of international conventions such as the Minamata convention.

The Renewable Energy showcase:  through its 3 pilots, will engage collaborations between research centres, data providers and end users both in the private and public energy sector. It focuses on SDG 7 and will provide from different European EO sources, innovative and technology mature products and services for renewable energy development and management.

The myEcosystem showcase: will serve focal user groups such as research, environmental assessment, reporting and management by offering seamless access to consistently scaled environmental information on ecosystems from various sources. It will serve SDG 11, 14 and 15. It is formed by three highly complementary pilots, developed to maximize services to user groups both in their specific topical areas, but specifically through integrating and jointly using information from remote sensing (mySPACE), in-situ observation (mySITE) and high-level indicators verification and testing with an exemplary focus on biodiversity (myVARIABLE).

The Water resources management showcase: reflects its multidisciplinary by presenting five pilot activities that focus on its different elements, going from inland waters to coastal areas and the ocean, providing a link to most of the European Directives and Policies and the SDG 6, 7, 13 and 14. These pilot activities will be coordinated by leading institutions and companies of their respective areas, based on work developed in the scope of previous projects and bringing onboard a significant user base to co-design, test and validate the provided services. The pilots will be integrated in NextGEOSS.

The Disasters Resilience showcase: deals with a portfolio of services focusing on natural and human induced disasters (geo-hazards, extreme weather, fires, floods, etc.) aiming at protecting citizens, economies and ecosystems. It is in line with the priorities and the goals set by the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and SDG2 and SDG11. The focus of the showcase, of which the pilots are formed, is to build an effective strategy for successful innovative products leading towards commercialization of EO services that is being composed of the active participation/involvement of both private and public sector (co-designers).

The Climate showcase: is contributing to SDG 13 and to the Paris Agreement. Through its pilots, it will exhibit services to public, private and academia users having a variety of cases from local city scale to global focus. The factor uniting most of these efforts will be seasonal forecast information from the Copernicus Climate Change Services C3S.

Acknowledgment.
The e-shape project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 820852

Discover more about each pilot here: https://e-shape.eu/index.php/showcases

For more information, you can follow e-shape and EARSC to stay up to date.

Difficulty in scaling up. Can’t reach the researchers that want to use my EO services. Public procurement for research data services is really bureaucratic.

Any Earth Observation company executive may have said this at one point or another.

Niche markets can be challenging to navigate. It’s clear that the market for digital Earth Observation solutions is still developing. What your organisation needs is a little boost. This is exactly what the OCRE, the Open Clouds for Research Environments project, provides. 

Opportunities in the EOSC

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is expected to become the European digital marketplace and virtual environment for 1.7 million researchers and 70 million professional users of research data. It will allow researchers and science and technology professionals to access to a variety of data services and solutions, many of them free, at least from the users side. 

€400 million have already been poured by the European Commission to make it into a reality since 2017, and an alpha-stage prototype of what it could look like exists, as seen in the EOSC Portal (www.eosc-portal.eu). By 2021, a more operational EOSC is expected to be launched. 

Multiple projects have been funded to make the EOSC a reality. One of these projects is OCRE. In this current early stage of the EOSC’s development, OCRE provides a clear route for commercial service providers of cloud and digital Earth Observation solutions to be involved with the EOSC early on.

How to get involved

As of September, OCRE has been gathering the requirements of researchers and is pooling and grouping demand from various universities and research institutions into buyer groups. To-date. institutions from up to 39 countries have already expressed interest to be part of the tender. This represents a clear demand for commercial services. 

Aside from the commitment to procure in OCRE’s tenders, the European Commission has allotted more than €3.2 million in adoption funding to OCRE which will be used by these buyer groups and institutions specifically for Earth Observation services.

OCRE’s Earth Observation Tender is expected to be published within 2019. Once it’s published and the commercial Earth Observation services have been selected, consumption will begin starting next year, 2020.

OCRE will support the succeeding Earth Observation service providers to onboard their services into the European Open Science Cloud. This will be achieved through the active collaboration between OCRE and EOSC-hub, another EOSC initiative tasked with onboarding services for the EOSC. 

The tender is expected to select more than one succeeding supplier. This provides better chances for suppliers that will respond to the tender.

Next Steps

A Prior Information Notice will be provided by OCRE to interested Earth Observation suppliers allowing feedback to be provided to the OCRE Earth Observation Tender. Feedback will be accepted for a limited time only. Following this, the OCRE Earth Observation Tender will be published.

All interested suppliers are invited to join the OCRE Community Network as Earth Observation companies to be informed of the latest important tender developments: ocre-project.eu/join.