Session 1 report and presentations

The first session looked at the European users’ perspective. It was a fully virtual workshop gathering experts from user organisations and especially from each of the 3 key domains on which the transversal analysis had been focused (see above). Presentations were made by the primary users in the relevant SeBS core cases in the 3 domains. In addition, some agencies in countries not covered in the Transversal report provided information on their use. The presentations and discussion in each topic area were led and introduced by international organisations.

For the topic on roads management, Joanna Balasis Levinsen from the European Environment Agency (EEA) led the session and provided a perspective on the European Ground Motion Service whilst both Italy and Norway provided updates on their national services. We also heard about a use case in Portugal where a SeBS case is currently being analysed.

For the topic on forests management, the session was led by Rob Shaw from the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) who explained how the EUDR will affect the management of forests around the world, but in Europe also. Sweden provided an update on their use of Sentinel data whilst Finland reported their use as being similar to Sweden but also regarding their common interest with respect to early detection of bark beetle infestations.

For the topic on water quality monitoring, Erin Jordan from the International Water Association (IWA) talked about the wide range of interests coming from the members of IWA regarding their potential and actual use of satellite data. We then heard from Germany, Finland and the Netherlands about their interests and status of lake water quality in their regions as well as from France and Belgium (Flanders Region) of their interest but not actual use of Sentinel data for this purpose.

Many of the speakers spoke about their experiences regarding the use of satellite data within their organisations which is reflected in the Transversal Report. Many expressed the wish that its use could be prescribed within EU legislation so unblocking budget to support its deployment in their respective organisation. A final view was provided by Mark Dowell of the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) who remarked upon the growing number of references to Copernicus contained within new official documents including legislation.