Digital Earth Pacific

Pacific Island nations face significant challenges from climate change and natural disasters, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events. These challenges threaten livelihoods, infrastructure, and ecosystems, necessitating timely and accurate data for effective decision-making.

Digital Earth Pacific (DE PACIFIC) provides a public digital infrastructure with free and open access to Earth observation data. By delivering decision-ready products, DE PACIFIC enables Pacific Island countries to monitor environmental changes, assess risks, and implement informed strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

DE PACIFIC aims to support climate resilience, environmental conservation, and economic development by providing crucial, up-to-date information to mitigate losses, enhance resource management, and support sustainable development across various sectors, including fisheries, agriculture, and disaster management.

DE PACIFIC intends to evolve into a comprehensive EO data ecosystem, expanding its user base and enabling regional innovations where users can generate their own products and share innovations using the DE PACIFIC infrastructure. By 2030, DE PACIFIC will validate and continuously improve its three existing regional products while introducing additional ones, including seagrass, marine habitat, satellite-derived bathymetry, fractional cover, and land cover land use. It will scale capacity development and foster sustainable data infrastructure for continuous monitoring and analysis in the Pacific. This long-term vision includes engaging local stakeholders to co-develop and apply DE PACIFIC products in areas critical to resilience, sustainable growth, and environmental stewardship.

DE PACIFIC operates through a collaborative framework involving the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific member governments and administrations, and various partners. The core team, the Programme Management Team, manages daily operations, while the governance body, the Steering Committee, provides strategic direction and policy guidance. SPC’s Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA) provides opportunities for political-level engagement with the program. Engagement with local stakeholders ensures that products are tailored to regional needs, fostering a user-centric approach to service delivery. SPC’s convening power across various sectors provides an opportunity for broader user needs that can inform DE PACIFIC deliverables. 

Upon the publication of the new Post 2025 GWP, collaborations will be sought with like-minded activities, such as the proposed Enabler for Digital Earth Approaches, regional GEOs (AOGEO/AmeriGEO), the GEO Capacity Building Working Group, and efforts will be made to link products and services with the GIDTT.