Space For Sustainable Forestry challenge

Call for demonstration projects for space-enabled services and products to support sustainable forest management practices.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a call for proposals to its Space For Sustainable Forestry challenge.

Forests cover around 31 per cent of the Earth's land area and host 80 per cent of terrestrial biodiversity, providing essential ecosystem services such as regulating rainfall, protecting water sources, and preventing flooding and soil erosion. They are currently facing a multitude of threats, including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. 10 million hectares of forests are lost annually, contributing to 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Efforts to conserve and sustainably manage forests are crucial for their numerous benefits to both humans and the planet. Enhancing production with eco-design principles, utilisation, reusability, recycling of forest products, and managing wood waste is vital for reducing environmental impacts. As climate change intensifies, protecting forests through sustainable management and addressing deforestation drivers is essential for maintaining forest health and resilience, supporting biodiversity, climate regulation, human well-being, and sustainable development.

The call is for demonstration projects aimed at developing space-based services and applications boosting sustainable forestry taking advantage of various source of data and cutting-edge technologies. Topics of relevance to the call include:

• improving the Ecosystem Service (ES) procedure for certification 
• improving forest inventory process
• deforestation management
• agroforestry
• pest and disease management
• carbon storage estimation
• natural disaster response (with emphasis on fire and flood detection)

ESA are looking for promising business ideas addressing topics of relevance or related areas that propose:

• attractive market opportunities, identified customer needs and customer engagement
• commercially-viable service concepts
• technically feasible solutions
• added value of space data or technology
• motivated teams with business, technical, and financial expertise

Find out more about the Space For Sustainable Forestry challenge and how to apply.

First published 1 November 2024