Costs and benefits of spatial data accuracy on comprehensive conservation planning assessments - A conceptual approach

The planning of protected habitat networks to safeguard global biodiversity requires substantial knowledge on exposure, services, and functions of ecosystems. Spatial-ecological datasets contain important information for the adequate assessment of spatial economic and ecologic interdependencies. However, these data are still lacking in many places. Comprehensive earth observation can play an important role in the provision of such data but it also involves costs. Cost-benefit analyses may answer the question whether the preparation of such comprehensive spatial data is worthwhile and may help to find the appropriate data resolution for conservation planning questions under consideration of costs. We compare several wetland data sets on global, national, and regional scale according to their spatial accuracy of wetland distribution and the costs of data survey, monitoring, and supply. The spatial data are integrated into bioeconomic land use models of different scales to assess benefits and uncertainties of increased data resolution and accuracy

A Governance Perspective for System-of-Systems

The operating landscape of 21st century systems is characteristically ambiguous, emergent, and uncertain. These characteristics affect the capacity and performance of engineered systems/enterprises. In response, there are increasing calls for multidisciplinary approaches capable of confronting increasingly ambiguous, emergent, and uncertain systems. System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) is an example of such an approach. A key aspect of SoSE is the coordination and the integration of systems to enable ‘system-of-systems’ capabilities greater than the sum of the capabilities of the constituent systems. However, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring how coordination and integration are achieved. The objective of this research is to revisit SoSE utility as a potential multidisciplinary approach and to suggest ‘governance’ as the basis for enabling ‘system-of-systems’ coordination and integration. In this case, ‘governance’ is concerned with direction, oversight, and accountability of ‘system-of-systems.’ ‘Complex System Governance’ is a new and novel basis for improving ‘system-of-system’ performance through purposeful design, execution, and evolution of essential metasystem functions.

An assessment of monitoring requirements and costs of 'Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation'

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Negotiations on a future climate policy framework addressing Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) are ongoing. Regardless of how such a framework will be designed, many technical solutions of estimating forest cover and forest carbon stock change exist to support policy in monitoring and accounting. These technologies typically combine remotely sensed data with ground-based inventories. In this article we assess the costs of monitoring REDD based on available technologies and requirements associated with key elements of REDD policy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We find that the design of a REDD policy framework (and specifically its rules) can have a significant impact on monitoring costs. Costs may vary from 0.5 to 550 US$ per square kilometre depending on the required precision of carbon stock and area change detection. Moreover, they follow economies of scale, i.e. single country or project solutions will face relatively higher monitoring costs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although monitoring costs are relatively small compared to other cost items within a REDD system, they should be shared not only among countries but also among sectors, because an integrated monitoring system would have multiple benefits for non-REDD management. Overcoming initialization costs and unequal access to monitoring technologies is crucial for implementation of an integrated monitoring system, and demands for international cooperation.</p

Impact of Global Earth Observation - Systemic view across GEOSS societal benefit area

The work of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) is perceived as instrumental to attain sustainable dEvelopment goals and to be a major driver of how the society-technology-environment system is managed. However, appropriate scientific methodologies to assess the benefits of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and validate investments in Earth observation infrastrucure have been missing. This paper presents a systems approach to measure and analyze the impact oF Glbal Earth Observation across the nine Societal Benefit Areas defined by GEO. The methodological framework presented here was developed and applied to be complete across space, time and sectors through Integration and aggregation. Apart from the general assessment framework, we present some speciFics of the numerical tool, which is based on System Dynamics modeling and simulation technique. Our results indicate that through the total system benefits are strongly policy dependent, improvements of GEOSS per se and data availability and interoperability, the accrued benefits are large and have a great potential shaping mankind's course to sustainability

Impact of Global Earth Observation – Systemic view across GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas

Global Earth Observation (GEO) is perceived as instrumental to attain sustainable development goals and to be a major driver of how the society–technology–environment system is managed. However, appropriate scientific methodologies to assess the benefits of GEO and validate investments in earth observation infrastructure development have been missing. This paper presents the systems approach to measure and analyze the impact of Global Earth Observation across nine GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas. The described methodology framework was used as part of global-wide earth observation assessment conducted during the European Commission sponsored project “Global Earth Observation – Benefit Estimation: Now, Next and Emerging” (GEOBENE). The applied systems approach enabled integration and aggregation of GEOBENE project findings. Apart from the assessment framework, there are described specific tools used for the GEO’s impact assessment, i.e. system dynamics model and based on it freely available simulator, as well as some assessment results. Although the total system benefits are strongly policy scenario dependent it was found that improved data due to use of Global Earth Observation and the data availability for community has a great potential in shaping the sustainable future of our planet

Socio-Economic Benefits from the Use of Earth Observations

This report summarizes the outcomes of the discussion of the workshop on Socioeconomic Benefit from the use of Earth Observation workshop held at JRC from 11 to 13 July 2011.JRC.H.6-Spatial data infrastructure

A conceptual framework for assessing the benefits of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems

The aim of the Global Earth Observation System-of-Systems (GEOSS) is to improve the information available to decision makers, at all levels, relating to human health and safety, protection of the global environment, the reduction of losses from natural disasters, and achieving sustainable development. Specifically, GEOSS proposes that better international cooperation in the collection, interpretation, and sharing of Earth observation information is an important and cost-effective mechanism for achieving this aim. While there is a widespread intuition that this proposition is correct, at some point the following question needs to be answered: how much additional investment in Earth observation (and specifically, in its international integration) is enough? This leads directly to some challenging subsidiary questions, such as how can the benefits of Earth observation be assessed? What are the incremental costs of GEOSS? Are there societal benefit areas where the return on investment is higher than in others? The Geo-Bene Project has developed a ldquobenefit chainrdquo concept as a framework for addressing these questions. The basic idea is that an incremental improvement in the observing system (including its data collection, interpretation and information-sharing aspects) will result in an improvement in the quality of decisions based on that information. In turn, this will lead to better societal outcomes, which have a value. This incremental value must be judged against the incremental cost of the improved observation system. Since in many cases there will be large uncertainties in the estimation of both the costs and the benefits, and it may not be possible to express them in comparable monetary terms, we show how order-of-magnitude approaches and a qualitative understanding of the shape of the cost and benefit curves can help guide rational investment decisions in Earth Observation Systems