Harnessing Big Data on the Environment for Sustainable Development

Derek Gliddon recapped on Sustainable Development requiring information on not only environmental conditions but on the drivers and implications of change in the environment;  Derek identified the great magnitude of data and systems knowledge required to support integrated, informed decision making but also that much of the  data and knowledge already exist.  What is needed is an organizing framework by which users and providers of information, knowledge, analysis and visualization services can “plug in”.   Gliddon stated the world looks to UN Environment as the UN entity charged with Keeping The Environment Under Review to take the lead in establishing and maintaining the necessary organizing framework.   Gliddon recognised the UNEP Discussion Paper “The Case for a Digital Ecosystem for the Environment”, the Citizen Science Global Partnership, the Global Environmental Education Partnership, the Sustainable Development Goals Interface Ontology, the GPSDD API Highway, the UN Global Platform and the Eye on Earth Alliance as key elements in the necessary Digital Ecosystem  Speakers

Panelists 
Category Affiliation Name of Person (s) 
Satellite Imagery Google Earth Brian Sullivan, Deputy Director 
Mobile network operators KT Corporation Dr. Dongmyun Lee, President of Future platform Business Group 
Government Environment Agency Abu-Dhabi Derek Gliddon, Acting Director for Research and Innovation, Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD) 
UN Environment 2018 Champions of the Earth Evocco Hugh Weldon, Co-founder of Evocco. 
Satellite Imagery and Remote Sensing Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Margaret Nthuli, Digital Transformation, ESRI Eastern Africa 
Faith and the Environment iUmrah.world Ahmed Al Haddad, Founder & CEO 
Research Organization Estonian Environment Research Centre Mr. Margus Kört, CEO 

Moderator:  Prof. Alex Caldas:  Chief of COTI Branch, Science Division