Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2021)

Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2021): The Belt and Road showcases the innovative practice of applying Big Earth Data to the monitoring and evaluating indicators for six SDGs,i.c., SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG14 Life below Water, SDG 15 Life on Land, and the analysis of the interactions among multiple SDG indicators. It presents 42 case studies on 22 targets relevant to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. The report showcases the results of research, monitoring, and evaluation of SDGs and their indicators at four scales--local, national, regional, and global--totalling 37 data products, 19 methods and models, and 32 decision-support recommendations. These research results demonstrate China's exploration and practice in promoting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through scientific and technological innovation, fully reveal the application value and broad prospects of Earth's big data technology in monitoring and evaluating the sustainable development goals, and open up new ways and methods to support the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the use of advanced technologies and methods such as big data and artificial intelligence under the framework of the UN technology promotion mechanism. It can provide reference for countries to strengthen the implementation monitoring and evaluation of the agenda.This report can be read by researchers in related fields and decision makers in relevant national departments..

Guo Huadong is the Director General of the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), and a Professor of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Aerospace Information Research Institute. He is an Academician of CAS, a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, and a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). He presently serves as Honorary President of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), Director of the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO, Member of the International Science Council(ISC) Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability, Chair of Digital Belt and Road Program (DBAR), and Editor-in-Chief of two scientific journals International Joumal of Digital Earth and Big Barth Data. He served as Member of UN 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism for SDGs (2018-2021), Chairman of the International Committee of Remote Sensing of Environment (2017-2020), President of ISDE (2015-2019) and ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (2010-2014). Prof. Guo specializes in remote sensing, radar for Earth observation and Digital Earth science.