The Earth Observation (EO) industry has contributed immensely to pioneering development work in countries worldwide. The World Bank, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) works with several EO-driven projects which put EO satellite data and analyses to use for developmental work. These projects have been featured in a front-page article on the World Bank website, highlighting the significance of EO data and its use.
Using sophisticated EO measurement systems from a constellation of orbiting satellites, communities in the developing world obtain accurate scientific data and images. This further helps them protect their forests, plan urban growth, harness water resources, manage coastal zones and increase resilience.
The second phase of the ESA-World Bank partnership will triple the size of technical assistance and expand the programme further to mainstream the use of EO satellites in the developing world.
To read more about the partnership and related EO success stories please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/08/20/earth-observation-for-development-success-stories
At DHI GRAS, we have contributed to this success story as well, with our expertise and global knowledge in this arena. For instance, we recently completed a remote sensing project as a demonstration case for the World Bank. This helped the latter understand the potential of different Earth Observation data and methodologies for automated coastal change mapping in Bangladesh.
DHI GRAS has been actively participating in several other donor-funded projects. These include projects related to (for example) snow cover monitoring in the Himalayan region and post-war reconstruction mapping of irrigation infrastructure in Iraq and coastal vulnerability mapping in Vietnam. For more information about these projects and more, please contact DHI GRAS at gras@dhi-gras.com.
