The GEO Open House Webinar Series is a cross-learning opportunity to explore how activities in the Post-2025 GEO Work Programme are advancing Earth Intelligence for All. Each session in the series highlights five examples of how Earth observations are being leveraged in the new transformative GEO Work Programme.

Supporting by the the Disaster Risk Reduction & Adaptation Working Group, this second webinar will focus on the theme of the DRR–climate–biodiversity nexus, featuring five activities working in areas including Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Carbon Management.

(Read about the first webinar on Weather, Hazard and Disaster Resilience here.)

Featured GEO Work Programme activities:

Speakers representing these activities will talk about focus areas, key products and services, user communities, and recent innovations, followed by a moderated discussion.

Presentation slides and recordings will be made available through the GEO Knowledge Hub.

Date: Tuesday 24 March

Time: 1.30-3.30pm CET

Format: Online (Zoom)

13:30–13:35

Welcome and opening remarks

Speaker: Evangelous Gerasopoulos, GEO Programme Board (PB) co-chair

Introduction to the Open House series and the objectives of this session under the theme “DRR–Climate–Biodiversity nexus”.

13:35–13:40

Introduction to the GEO DRRA-WG as GWP convener

Speaker: Gensuo Jia, working group co-chair

Overview of the GEO Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation Working Group (DRRA-WG) as a convener of the Post-2025 GEO Work Programme, and its effort to support the DRR–Climate–Biodiversity nexus area.

13:40–13:58

Presentation 1: Land Degradation Neutrality (GEO-LDN) – Flagship

Speaker: Neil Sims

Focus: Monitoring of land degradation processes that amplify climate risks and disasters, while informing restoration and sustainable land management actions that enhance ecosystem resilience and reduce vulnerability.

Format: 10 min presentation plus 5–8 min Q&A.

13:58–14:16

Presentation 2: Forest Biomass Reference System from tree-by-tree inventory data (GEO-TREES) – Initiative

Speaker: Klaus Scipal

Focus: Delivery of high-resolution forest biomass and carbon data that support climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and risk-informed management of forest-related hazards such as fires, droughts and degradation.

Format: 10 min presentation plus 5 min Q&A.

14:16–14:34

Presentation 3: Global ecosystems and environment analysis research cooperation (GEOARC) – Pilot

Speaker: Liu Qinhuo

Focus: Integration of EO-based environmental analyses to understand how climate variability and extreme events affect ecosystems, supporting evidence-based risk reduction and ecosystem-informed adaptation strategies.

Format: 10 min presentation plus 5 min Q&A.

14:34–14:52

Presentation 4: Digital Earth Africa (DEA) – Enabling mechanism

Speaker: Mpho Sadiki

Focus: Provision of open, analysis-ready EO data and digital tools that support climate risk monitoring, ecosystem management and disaster preparedness across African landscapes.

Format: 10 min presentation plus 5 min Q&A.

14:52–15:10

Presentation 5: GEO Indigenous Alliance (GEO-IA) – Community impact

Speaker: James Rattling Leaf

Focus: Elevation of Indigenous knowledge alongside EO to improve risk awareness, climate adaptation and biodiversity stewardship grounded in locally tested, ecosystem-based practices.

Format: 10 min presentation plus 5 min Q&A.

15:10–15:25

Moderated discussion

Moderator: Gensuo Jia, with questions from the audience (for example, GEO Youth CoP)

Moderator-led discussion highlighting key takeaways, innovations and potential cross-cutting insights among the activities. Includes questions from the GEO Youth CoP representative and other selected audience questions from the chat.

15:25–15:30

Closing remarks

Speaker: Evangelous Gerasopoulos, PB co-chair

Closing reflections, acknowledgements and information on upcoming Open House events.