The session aims to address the growing disconnect between the expanding supply of Very High Resolution (VHR) Earth Observation (EO) data and its effective use in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and early warning. While technical capabilities and commercial availability have increased, access and use in development and humanitarian contexts remain constrained by high costs, complex licensing conditions, and fragmented procurement and financing approaches.

Against this background, the session will focus on improving access, reducing costs, and ultimately strengthening the quality of outputs from GEO activities where VHR imagery is critical.

In this context, the session will present current fragmentation challenges in VHR EO procurement, financing, and access from user, provider, and financier perspectives. It will share key insights from the GEO Survey on the Use of VHR EO Imagery, highlighting user needs, priority use cases, and gaps in existing provision.

The session will introduce the IPEO initiative and related coordination efforts as enabling mechanisms to improve alignment, reduce duplication, and support more effective access to VHR EO data.

It will further explore innovative financing models for bankable projects that better align VHR EO data provision with implementation needs for DRR and early warning and identify actionable pathways for GEO to act as a neutral facilitator and broker in piloting new coordination and partnership models.

The session is intended to contribute to a synthesis of key insights from the roundtable discussion and survey results, for consideration by GEO governance in guiding subsequent actions and engagement with the GEO community.

Welcome and Introduction (Moderator: Bapon Fakhruddin)

Interactive Roundtable Discussion (moderator; all speakers)

Open Discussion and Q&A (moderator; all speakers)

Closing Remarks and Next Steps (moderator)