External resources for the SDG theme

SEN4LDN Sentinels for Land Degradation Neutrality

Develops automated, open-source EO methods to produce high-resolution (10 m annual) national assessments of land degradation and restoration using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2. The system maps land cover change and land productivity dynamics at significantly finer scale than the coarse global datasets previously used for SDG 15.3.1 reporting, directly addressing a recognised gap in UNCCD-aligned country submissions. National-scale demonstration products (2018–2023) are available as open Cloud-Optimised GeoTIFFs for Uganda, Colombia and Portugal, with an interactive Google Earth Engine application. Open-source algorithms and workflows are freely released.

EO4WI EO for Wetlands Inventory

Develops and validates EO tools to automatically map, classify and monitor wetland ecosystems, including by type and over time to support national wetland inventories and SDG 6.6.1 reporting. Works with Ramsar STRP, UNEP, IUCN and GEO Wetlands to align products with Ramsar and IUCN GET typologies and international reporting methodologies. Solutions are tested in pilot countries (Italy, Algeria, Kenya, Colombia) and contribute to regional and global wetland extent datasets. Targets a critical SDG monitoring gap: over 64% of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1900, yet consistent national-scale data remain scarce.

Eu-Mon SDG Eutrophication Monitoring

Creates pre-operational EO processing chains for national monitoring of SDG 14.1.1a (Index of Coastal Eutrophication), deploying satellite-derived chlorophyll-a products and automated analytics on existing EO platforms that feed directly into national SDG reporting systems. Demonstrates how EO-derived indicators can be translated into actionable environmental statistics and integrated with statistical and monitoring institutions. Primary pilot partner is the Regional Environmental Centre (REC) Albania, directly connected with the national statistical office, establishing a replicable model for developing-country SDG uptake.

SDG 15.2.1 EO Pathfinder

Developed in partnership with FAO, this pathfinder activity focuses on supporting forest-related SDG monitoring at national scale using satellite observations. It explores how EO products for forest area change, above-ground biomass, forest degradation and forest protected areas can be made operational and integrated into FAO's global forest reporting processes, bridging the gap between EO science and the official indicator methodology administered by FAO as custodian agency for SDG 15.2.1.

IDEAtlas AI Mapping of Informal Settlements

Develops, implements, validates and showcases advanced AI-based methods using a tailored multi-branch convolutional neural network on Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and open ancillary datasets to automatically map and characterise the spatial extent of slums and deprived urban areas globally. Directly supports national and local government monitoring of SDG 11.1.1. Eight global pilot cities: Mexico City, Nairobi, Lagos, São Salvador, Jakarta, Medellín, Mumbai and Buenos Aires. Outputs are made available through the IDEAtlas User Portal, with open gridded settlement maps at 100 m resolution. An open benchmark dataset (IDEABench) is publicly released to support further research.

WorldCereal & WorldWater

WorldCereal provides globally consistent, open 10 m crop type and cropland maps that directly underpin agricultural SDG evidence, including sustainable agriculture indicators, through free downloads and a cloud processing system allowing any country to generate customised crop maps. WorldWater complements this with surface water dynamics products derived from satellite time series, supporting water-related SDG indicator monitoring at national and subnational scale. Together they represent core ESA EO data infrastructure that national SDG reporting systems can integrate as scalable, frequently updated inputs.

WorldCereal also listed under Food Systems resources.

ESA Sustainable Development & SDG Platform

The main gateway to ESA's work on Earth Observation for sustainable development, bringing together strategic framing, thematic activities, indicator-specific project portfolios, publications and events. The ESA SDG platform (sdg.esa.int) provides structured access to individual indicator project pages, EO support sheets, and national showcase examples, helping users understand how satellite observations can contribute to specific SDG targets across land, water, agriculture, ecosystems, urban development and resilience domains.

EO Compendium for SDGs — GEO EO4SDG

Produced by an ESA-funded project in cooperation with GEO EO4SDG and CEOS, the Compendium provides a structured review of EO relevance across all 232 SDG indicators, finding that up to 34 indicators can be directly or indirectly informed by satellite data across 29 targets and 11 goals. A traffic-light system flags EO readiness per indicator according to eight criteria, and detailed guidance is provided on how observations can be embedded in indicator computation methods and national statistical systems. An essential methodological reference for NSOs, custodian agencies and national SDG focal points planning to incorporate EO in reporting workflows.

IAEG-SDGs — Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators

The central institutional mechanism of the global SDG monitoring architecture, created by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2015 to develop and implement the Global Indicator Framework for the 2030 Agenda. Responsible for indicator methodologies, metadata, tier classification and data disaggregation. Its dedicated Working Group on Geospatial Information (WGGI) provides direct linkage between the statistical community and the EO and geospatial sectors, advising on how satellite data and geospatial information can contribute to official SDG indicator production. SEF engages with IAEG-SDGs processes to position ESA's EO work within these evolving methodological and institutional developments.

UN-GGIM & UNGGKIC

The UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) is the intergovernmental body responsible for global geospatial information policy, standards and integration with statistics, including the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework and the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework. The United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UNGGKIC) provides a forum for advancing how geospatial data can support SDGs and better public decision-making. SEF contributes to these dialogues, highlighting how Earth Observation can strengthen geospatial and statistical approaches to SDG monitoring and implementation at national and global scale.

SDGsEYES — SDG Monitoring through Copernicus Services

A Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action that boosts European capacity for SDG monitoring by building a portfolio of decision-support tools combining Copernicus, in-situ, and complementary data sources. Seven services cover seven SDG indicators across three goals: SDG 13 (climate: GHG emissions from wildfires, urban heat-health risk), SDG 14 (ocean: marine eutrophication, ocean acidification), and SDG 15 (land: forest cover change, soil erosion, land degradation). Services are co-designed with national statistical offices, environmental agencies and forest managers, and made accessible through dashboards tailored for decision-makers and non-technical users. The project contributes directly to the transition towards scalable, transparent and operational EO-based SDG reporting.