The accelerating biodiversity crisis underscores the urgent need for effective strategies to conserve and restore critical ecosystems, especially wetland., Both inland and coastal wetlands support diverse species and vital ecological functions, provide a wide range of ecosystem services, offering increased resilience to global change for local communities.
This workshop explores how satellite-based technologies can play a pivotal role in supporting wetland mapping and restoration prioritisation efforts and addressing the biodiversity crisis by improving our understanding of wetland habitats. Leveraging high-resolution imagery and advanced analytical techniques, earth observation (EO) and geotechnologies offer unique capacities to monitor wetlands and provide information supporting biodiversity monitoring and enabling conservationists, policymakers, and land managers to make informed, timely decisions.
This workshop seeks to foster open dialogue among scientists and practitioners, exploring current practices, identifying remaining challenges, and highlighting research opportunities to better harness satellite technology for wetland monitoring locally and globally.
The workshop is divided into two sessions.
· The first session focusses on key global conventions and policy instruments for protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems. It will highlight the role of EO tools in assessing and restoring wetlands, emphasizing national wetland inventories and regional and global mapping initiatives, including links to the Global Biodiversity Framework, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
· The second session addresses the policy context in Europe with special attention to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Nature Restoration Regulation. Based on case studies, the participants will discuss EO applications to support habitat restoration, mitigate habitat loss, and strengthen EU biodiversity policy frameworks.
The expected outcomes include:
· Workshop summary reporting on priority topics identified by the workshop participants
· Short paper on the identified priorities and recommendation for future direction on developing EO technologies in support of policy-relevant information, with open contribution from all workshop participants
