What Earth Observation Can Do for Sustainable Development Goals
Earth observation (EO) provides the regular, reliable and spatially consistent information that countries need to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and identify where action is most needed. Satellite data delivers objective, comparable evidence on changes across land, water, cities, agriculture and ecosystems — the very systems at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. EO can support the monitoring of critical issues such as land degradation, water resource availability, food security and urban development, helping decision-makers, technical experts and public authorities make better-informed choices for sustainable development. Crucially, satellite data can also help close persistent data gaps by providing consistent, cross-comparable information across countries and regions where ground-based monitoring capacity remains limited.
ESA's Role in Supporting the SDGs
ESA supports the integration of Earth observation into SDG monitoring through a range of initiatives that demonstrate how satellite data can be applied to specific targets and indicators in practical, operational ways. EO data can contribute to SDG indicator 15.3.1 on land degradation neutrality by monitoring land cover change, vegetation productivity and soil conditions using satellite-derived datasets such as Sentinel-2 land cover maps and long-term vegetation indices. It supports SDG indicator 6.6.1 on water-related ecosystems by enabling the tracking of lakes, wetlands and rivers through surface water dynamics observed from space. For SDG indicator 11.3.1 on sustainable urban development, high-resolution satellite imagery can map urban expansion and land consumption over time. Beyond individual indicators, ESA activities focus on developing the methods, tools and operational workflows needed to integrate EO data into national monitoring systems and statistical processes. Increasingly, ESA's efforts are directed towards scalable, long-term solutions — including how EO can contribute to post-2030 SDG monitoring frameworks — ensuring that satellite data plays a sustained role in transparent and consistent global reporting on sustainable development.
How the Stakeholder Engagement Facility Supports SDG Users
The ESA Stakeholder Engagement Facility (SEF) works to bring Earth observation capabilities closer to the communities, institutions and organisations that can apply them in support of sustainable development. SEF uses tools such as the Geospatial Explorer to translate technical results into accessible, practical demonstrations of how satellite data can address real-world sustainability challenges.
A key focus of SEF's engagement is strengthening dialogue with the statistical and geospatial communities that sit at the heart of SDG monitoring. SEF is actively engaged with the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) and the European Forum for Geography and Statistics (EFGS) — two of the most influential forums for advancing the integration of geospatial information into official statistics and evidence-based decision-making. Through these relationships, SEF helps position EO as a credible and practical contribution to national and international reporting processes.
SEF is also contributing to the broader policy conversation around the future of sustainable development monitoring. This includes active engagement with the process surrounding the 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), which is being prepared by an Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the UN Secretary-General to provide evidence-based guidance ahead of the 2027 SDG Summit. Through this engagement, SEF is helping to ensure that Earth observation is recognised not only as a source of environmental data, but as a scalable, operational and science-grounded contribution to the next generation of global sustainability frameworks — strengthening the science-policy-society interface and advancing more consistent approaches to SDG monitoring worldwide.
