11-21, 09:30–09:55 (Pacific/Auckland), WG607
Digital Earth Pacific (DEP) adapts proven Earth Observation frameworks to the unique needs of Pacific island states. Presentation explores DEP’s regional scaling journey, highlighting design choices, partnerships, data architecture, and strategies that address scale, capacity, and sustainability - advancing equitable cloud-native EO infrastructure for sustainable development in the Pacific.
Translating a successful public-good Earth Observation (EO) infrastructure across regions is not a straightforward process of replicating technology stacks and methodologies. Digital Earth Pacific (DEP) builds upon the established open-source, standards-based foundations of Digital Earth Australia and Digital Earth Africa, yet it adapts these frameworks to suit the distinctive environmental, political, and technical circumstances of the small island states in the Pacific region. This presentation provides an overview of the journey undertaken by DEP to scale Earth observation capabilities to a regional, multi-agency context within the Pacific. We will delve into the design choices, partnership models, data architecture transformations, and scaling-up strategies that are pivotal to DEP’s success. From the challenges posed by disparity in scale to the capacity-building requirements, this presentation highlights both the limitations and innovations inherent in constructing a cloud-native platform designed for equitable access, scalability, and long-term sustainability, to inform sustainable development efforts within the Pacific region.
Sachindra Singh is the Team Leader of the Earth and Oceans Observation Programme, at the Geoscience, Maritime and Energy Division (GEM), Pacific Community (SPC). He has 15 years experience in geospatial-oriented systems and software engineering. A strong advocate of open source technologies for capacity building and sustainable development in developing countries, he has implemented robust decision-making tools and services around disaster risk analysis, climate impacts and natural resources monitoring based on geospatial and remotely-sensed data in the Pacific, both on regional and national levels. He has designed and conducted numerous capacity building exercises on open source GIS/RS and earth observation tools and systems in the Pacific Region, and currently is providing lead technical support for the Digital Earth Pacific (DEP) initiative within Pacific Community (SPC).