Lessons learned in implementing virtual capacity building activities in Earth observation to meet Central American Integration System environmental management needs

Abstract:

While COVID-19 has stimulated a number of previously in-person capacity building activities in the Earth Observation sector to move online, for regions such as Central America, virtual activities in that area were needed long before the pandemic. In early 2019, for instance, the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SICA, in Spanish) signed a joint statement with NASA, based on a mutual desire to enable Earth observations use for environmental decisions in Central America and the Dominican Republic. Since then, a number of capacity building activities have been implemented, all virtual, with the objectives of limiting cost, and ensuring broad participation from across the region. Personnel from the Applied Science Program of NASA’s Earth Science Division, AmeriGEO, and associated researchers, have provided some 70 webinars, focused on awareness raising, in some cases, and skill-building in other instances. Topics covered have included the use of remote sensing for agricultural monitoring, disaster risk assessment, coastal and marine ecosystem monitoring, and big Earth data analytics using cloud computing. In total, some 1,500 participants have been reached across the 8 countries, with participants representing government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and regional bodies. Efforts have also been made to engage youth and universities in Earth observation research. Additionally, SICA has also been engaging other potential partners like Europe’s Copernicus program, the International Space University, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). This presentation will focus on some of the lessons learned during the past year of virtual capacity building activities to meet SICA country needs.