Time & Date of Event 

12:30 PM to 01:30 PM on Thursday, 10th of November 2022 

Event Overview

As temperatures rise, climate-related disasters increase in frequency and severity, and the food crisis worsens, preventative actions that work the first time are needed. 

For policies and plans to be effective, they must be evidence-based. Comprehensive monitoring, analysis, and sharing of data on water quantity and quality, biodiversity loss, and sustainable agricultural practices is therefore essential. 

Rapid innovation has led to a huge range of available technologies and data sources to improve the information available to governments for environmental monitoring. 

However, often these are not used in the places or the sectors where they can have the greatest impact. While there is keen interest in utilizing new technologies and innovations, governments face significant barriers to uptake: 

• Awareness and access: Extensive up-to-date environmental data and crucial development indicators for all regions is perceived as not available or accessible to different decision-makers. 
• Knowledge and skills gaps: It was found that there is poor usage of the data because there is a lack of understanding of the breadth of environmental data and how to interpret it. 
• Governance and collaboration: There is a need for more coordination and synergy between government departments. There is poor awareness and communication with strategic partners and within the same departments. 

To address these barriers, the IsDB Institute and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (the Global Partnership) partner with national governments to develop pathways for producing timely, inclusive, and safely governed environmental data to inform the unique challenges faced by governments today. 

Using satellite imagery, up-to-date data is made available to national governments to inform agriculture, deforestation, and water security policies that reach the most marginalized. When built into cohesive and interoperable systems, such data can also support objectives beyond environmental protection, such as disaster response and security. 

This side event will share the practical experiences of the following three IsDB Member Countries (MCs) - Senegal (completed), Suriname (under implementation), and Somalia (commencement). These MCs are at different stages of their transformation journeys in their use of innovative environmental data for evidence-based policymaking. They will share the changes in environmental policy and practice because of this collaboration, as well as the approaches they have taken to overcome common financial, capacity, and coordination barriers. 

Event Outcomes 

1. Increased awareness amongst IsDB Member and non-Member Countries of the potential pathways for using innovative environmental data tools and techniques to guide their environmental policies.  
2. Knowledge sharing amongst MCs.  
3. Identification of reverse linkage opportunities  
4. Generate expression of interest from the MCs to undertake similar initiatives  
5. Raise the profile of IsDB/IsDBI/Global Partnership as innovative and forward-looking institutions providing solutions for environmental related challenges faced by MCs