Group on Earth Observations – GEO Global Forum 2025 & GEO-20 Plenary

A Caribbean Perspective of the Earth Observation Landscape

The Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) congratulations the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on its 20th Anniversary. As a Participating Organisation since 2007, CMO is pleased to see the advances in Earth Observations (EO) that have been guided by and supported by the vision of GEO.

In recent years, the growing availability of open and free EO data, information, and services has played a significant role in policy development, planning, and climate adaptation in the Caribbean. Effectively harnessing EO resources is critical to supporting the Caribbean’s socioeconomic development, especially as the region remains highly exposed to various natural hazards that present significant environmental challenges and the impacts of climate extremes, climate variability, and climate change.

These hazards consistently threaten lives and livelihoods and derail sustainable development, severely damaging the region’s housing stock, transportation and water systems, and electrical and telecommunication networks. For example, when deadly and destructive category-4 Hurricane Beryl ravaged Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica in 2024, 70-98% of buildings were destroyed on Carriacou and Petit Martinique (Grenada) and Canouan, Mayreau, and Union Island (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), including hospitals, airports, power plants, solar panels, and desalination plants, while overall damage amounted to USD 218 million (40% GDP in Grenada) and USD 230.6 million (22% GDP) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The regional overview, coordinated response, and post-disaster recovery efforts following Hurricane Beryl underscore the urgent need to “build back better”, reduce exposure and vulnerability to climate hazards, strengthen critical infrastructure protection, and champion resilient development practices, scaled to national circumstances. These ambitious actions require access to reliable, high-resolution, and island-scaled EO geospatial data through open-source, functional, and practical geospatial infrastructures that cater to countries with limited resources. Accurate and up-to-date EO-based maps of land cover, land use, and microenvironments are essential for determining vulnerability and exposure, and identifying high disaster-risk communities, which remain priorities for the Caribbean.

Appropriate response options grounded in sound EO assessments are of paramount importance. These must consider spatial impacts from climate change and natural variability, natural resources and biodiversity and ecosystems, land cover, land degradation and land use planning, as well as appropriate environmental governance and improved public awareness. EO systems should have the capacity to combine EO data with local knowledge and expertise, using AI-powered analytics to rapidly refine baseline geospatial data and efficiently support decision-making.

This presents an opportunity to align ongoing regional efforts and to focus on transformative actions that strengthen the Caribbean's path towards sustainable development by addressing national and regional EO challenges. As a starting point, high-performance computer resources and specialized technical training by experts from EO data centers on the application, integration, and use of EO data and information for evidence-based policy and decision-making should be leveraged to support the EO application needs of the region.

The Caribbean Meteorological Organization expresses deep appreciation for the collective commitment to strengthening EO data, information, and services. This shared vision continues to empower vulnerable regions like the Caribbean to better anticipate, plan for, and respond to weather and climate extremes, and other natural hazards, thereby contributing to our global progress toward resilience and sustainable development.