From 26–28 May 2026, members of the GEO community gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the GEO Symposium and GEO-21 Plenary. Bringing together governments, international organizations, scientific institutions, development partners, and practitioners from around the world, the event provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, showcase progress, and discuss how Earth Observation can better support sustainable development and informed decision-making.
Pictured: A Full Salle Obasi during the GEO Symposium.
Throughout the week, GEO-LDN had the opportunity to engage with colleagues, partners, country representatives, scientists, and practitioners from across the GEO community. The discussions reflected not only the growing role of Earth Observation in addressing land degradation, but also the importance of collaboration, trust, and long-term partnerships in turning data into meaningful action on the ground.
Exploring the Future of the GEO Work Programme
GEO-LDN’s engagement began early on 26 May with the GEO Symposium Town Hall on “Exploring New Models for Implementing the Post-2025 GEO Work Programme.”
Pictured (from left to right): Andiswa Mlisa, Martyn Clark, Antje Hecheltjen, Jerker Tamelander and Evangelos Gerasopoulos.
Moderated by Andiswa Mlisa (Pacific Community – SPC), the session brought together Antje Hecheltjen (GEO-LDN Co-Chair), Jerker Tamelander (GEO-WETLANDS), Martyn Clark (Global Heat Resilience Service – GHRS), and Evangelos Gerasopoulos (GEO Programme Board).
As GEO advances its Post-2025 Strategy, participants reflected on how GEO Work Programme activities can continue to evolve to remain relevant, impactful, and sustainable. The discussion explored lessons learned from across the GEO community, including the value of co-designing solutions with users, developing strong partnerships, and creating implementation models that can be sustained over time.
A recurring message throughout the conversation was that success cannot be measured by data products alone. Understanding how Earth Intelligence is used, who benefits from it, and how it supports decision-making is equally important. The panel highlighted the growing need for meaningful indicators and metrics that help demonstrate impact, strengthen accountability, and attract future investment while keeping user needs at the centre of GEO activities.
For GEO-LDN, these discussions closely reflect the initiative’s own experience: successful solutions emerge when countries, technical experts, and implementing partners work together from the outset.
Turning Coordination into Impact
Later that day, GEO-LDN co-organized the community event “Turning Coordination Into Impact: Delivering Coherent Country Support Across Agriculture, Land, and Biodiversity.”
Pictured from (left to right): Julia Bayer-Cremer, Esther Makabe, Antje Hecheltjen, Alice Hughes, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Ebenezer Ntsiful, Sven Gilliams and Andiswa Mlisa.
Moderated by Antje Hecheltjen (GEO-LDN) and Esther Makabe (GEOGLAM), the session brought together Sven Gilliams (GEOGLAM), Thomas Harvey (Global Forest Observations Initiative – GFOI), Alice Hughes (GEO BON), Andiswa Mlisa (SPC), Ebenezer Ntsiful (GEO-LDN), and Lisa-Maria Rebelo (Digital Earth Africa). GEO-LDN’s main stakeholder, the United Nations Convention on Combat Desertification (UNCCD), contributed through a recorded video message.
The event focused on a challenge familiar to many countries: navigating multiple reporting requirements, datasets, and support mechanisms across the three Rio Conventions[AH1] [JB2] . Participants shared practical experiences from their own programmes and organizations, discussing how stronger coordination between GEO initiatives can help reduce duplication, improve efficiency, and create more coherent support for countries.
Among the examples shared was Ghana’s work on combating coastal erosion, presented by Ebenezer Ntsiful, a member of the GEO-LDN country team in Ghana. Originally showcased at the GEO-LDN Global Dialogue Forum during UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh in 2024, the use case has since been expanded to another region of the country. Its evolution demonstrates how ideas discussed within the GEO community can translate into sustained action on the ground, supporting local decision-making and helping communities respond to environmental change.
Pictured: Ebenzer Ntsiful during the community event.
The discussion highlighted opportunities to align indicators, workflows, and data use across sectors while exploring practical mechanisms such as regional hubs, helpdesks, and collaborative technical support structures. Particularly valuable were the examples of existing cooperation efforts and the honest reflections on both opportunities and remaining challenges.
A clear message emerged from the session: no single initiative can address these challenges alone. Progress depends on strong partnerships, open communication, and a willingness to work across disciplines and thematic areas. By bringing together expertise from agriculture, biodiversity, forestry, land restoration, and Earth Observation communities, GEO initiatives can provide more effective support where it matters most – at the country level.
Video: UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron J. Orr during the recorded video message.
“Countries should not have to navigate multiple disconnected support systems.”
Barron J. Orr
Chief Scientist of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
In a recorded video message for the community event, Barron J. Orr highlighted the GEO-LDN Initiative as a successful example of coordinated support for countries. Reflecting on its evolution since 2018, he noted that GEO-LDN has helped move from fragmented Earth observation solutions towards an inclusive coordination model aligned with Convention needs, enabling more than 120 countries to map land degradation and report progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality. Looking ahead, he called for stronger coordination across GEO initiatives, interoperable tools and workflows, and coordinated regional support mechanisms to help countries implement commitments under the Rio Conventions more effectively. You can watch the full message here.
Community Event: Addressing Data Gaps and Capacity Needs in Mountain Regions
Another highlight of the week was the community event “Addressing Data Gaps and Capacity Needs for Land Restoration and Land Degradation Neutrality in Mountain Regions.”
Pictured (from left to right): Alex Massot, Antje Hecheltjen, Glenn Hunt, Tatenda Lemann, Birendra Bajracharya & Xiaosong Li.
The session brought together GEO Mountains, GEO-LDN, WOCAT, the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), the University of Bern, the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), ICIMOD, and the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS).
Moderated by Glenn Hunt (MRI), the discussion featured contributions from Alex Massot (MRI), Tatenda Lemann (CDE/WOCAT), Prof. Xiaosong Li (CBAS), Birendra Bajracharya (ICIMOD), and Antje Hecheltjen (GEO-LDN).
Mountain regions are essential for water regulation, biodiversity conservation, food security, and carbon storage, yet they remain among the most difficult environments to monitor consistently using Earth Observation. Participants explored both the opportunities and limitations of current datasets and discussed how improved monitoring can better support land restoration and sustainable land management efforts.
Pictured: GEO-LDN Co-Chair Antje Hecheltjen & GEO-LDN Working Group Lead Xiasong Li.
Speakers highlighted emerging open-data solutions, new approaches for assessing land degradation, and practical experiences from mountainous regions around the world. Equally important was the recognition that satellite data alone cannot provide all the answers. Local knowledge, field validation, and close engagement with users remain critical for understanding what is happening on the ground and for ensuring that data can support meaningful decisions.
GEO-21 Plenary Session 2
On 28 May, GEO-LDN participated in GEO-21 Plenary Session 2: “Transformational Impact in Action: Programme Results Driving Earth Intelligence Investment.”
Pictured (from left to right): Antje Hecheltjen, Angelica Gutierrez, Madeeha Bajwa, Michele Melchiorri, Lisa-Maria Rebelo & Wenjiang Huang.
Moderated by Madeeha Bajwa (GEO Secretariat), the session featured Angelica Gutierrez (GEOGLOWS), Antje Hecheltjen (GEO-LDN), Wenjiang Huang (GEO-PDRS), Michele Melchiorri (GEO Human Planet Initiative), and Lisa-Maria Rebelo (Digital Earth Africa).
The discussion focused on how GEO Work Programme Flagships are helping countries translate Earth Observation into practical benefits and measurable results. Rather than focusing solely on technologies, the session highlighted the people, institutions, and partnerships that make implementation possible.
A particularly powerful contribution came from Dr Amadou Sall, Director of the Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE) in Dakar, GEO Principal for Senegal, and Africa Representative on the GEO Executive Committee.
Pictured: Amadou Sall during his intervention on behalf of Senegal.
In his intervention, Dr Sall reaffirmed Senegal’s strong support for GEO-LDN, Digital Earth Africa, and GEOGLOWS, describing them as three programmes of strategic importance for Africa. He highlighted how Senegal is already applying GEO-LDN tools such as Trends.Earth and LUP4LDN to integrate Land Degradation Neutrality into land-use planning processes across nineteen municipalities.
His remarks provided a compelling example of how Earth Observation can move beyond reporting and become part of practical planning and decision-making processes that directly support communities and restoration efforts on the ground.
GEO-21 Plenary Session 3
The final GEO-LDN-related highlight took place during GEO-21 Plenary Session 3: “From Participation to Partnership: Advancing Member Engagement Across Regions.”
Moderated by Sara Venturini (GEO Secretariat), the panel brought together Matthew Adepoju (Nigeria), Xiaohan Liao (China), Melany Ramirez (Guatemala), Dirk Engelbart (Germany), Melanie Hutchinson (United Kingdom), and Thibault Valentin (European Commission).
Pictured: Dirk Engelbart holding is statement as German GEO Principal.
During the discussion, Dirk Engelbart, Director at the German Federal Ministry of Transport and the German Meteorological Service (DWD), reflected on what enables scientific knowledge to create real-world impact. He emphasized the importance of responding to concrete user needs, building strong partnerships, and ensuring that initiatives are grounded in clear mandates and practical applications.
Referring to GEO-LDN, he highlighted how the initiative emerged from a direct request by the UNCCD and its Parties to strengthen the use of Earth Observation for addressing land degradation. He noted that this clear demand helped bring together the expertise, partnerships, and resources needed to develop solutions that respond to real challenges faced by countries.
The session also provided an important moment of recognition for the value of long-term partnerships and sustained support. Germany announced continued support for GEO-LDN through an additional €2 million contribution from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), securing support for the GEO-LDN Secretariat until October 2028.
The announcement reflects Germany’s longstanding commitment to sustainable land management and international cooperation, while also recognizing the growing role GEO-LDN plays in supporting countries with reporting, land-use planning, restoration monitoring, and evidence-based decision-making.
After a high energy Plenary session on the impact of GEO, France as well voiced it’s appreciation für GEO-LDN as a true model for Global Work Programme.
Pictured: France mentioning GEO-LDN during their statement from the floor.
Looking Ahead
While no single article can fully capture the energy, conversations, and connections that emerged throughout the week, the GEO Symposium once again demonstrated the strength of the GEO community.
Whether discussing the future of the GEO Work Programme, support for Rio Convention implementation, land restoration in mountain regions, investment in Earth Intelligence, or new partnership models, participants shared a common goal: helping countries access and apply Earth Observation information to address real-world challenges.
For GEO-LDN, the Symposium was not only an opportunity to showcase ongoing work, but also to learn from partners, exchange experiences, strengthen relationships, and identify new opportunities for collaboration. The discussions in Geneva highlighted the value of bringing together diverse perspectives – from governments and international organizations to researchers, technical experts, and country practitioners.
Pictured: GEO-LDN and RCMRD members in conversation.
During the Symposium several Testimonies were held on behalf of GEO-LDN, a full account can be found here.
GEO-LDN is grateful to all speakers, moderators, participants, partners, and the GEO Secretariat who contributed their expertise, experiences, and time throughout the week. The conversations in Geneva were a reminder that meaningful progress is built through collaboration – and that some of the strongest solutions emerge when people, institutions, and disciplines come together around a shared purpose.
Pictured: GEO-LDN Co-Chair Amos Kabo-Bah and Amadou Sall in conversation with a delegation member of South Africa.
We look forward to continuing these partnerships and building on the momentum created during GEO Symposium 2026.
Author: Alicia Hupperich (GEO-LDN Secretariat)
Photo Credit: GEO Secretariat
