ProgressReportPreambleThis report is prepared and submitted to the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SustainableDevelopmentGoal (IAEG-SDGs) Indicatorsby itsWorkingGrouponGeospatial InformationattheSixthMeetingofIAEG-SDGsfrom11–14November2017inManama,Bahrain.MembershipTheWorkingGroupcurrentlycomposedof16nationalrepresentativeswhoaresubjectmatterexperts from 15 Member States. In addition, the Working Group includes 7 expertsrepresentingtheUnitedNationsSystemandinternationalorganizations.TheWorkingGroupisco-Chaired by Mexico (Mr. Rolando Ocampo Alcantar, INEGI) and Sweden (Ms. MarieHaldorson,StatisticsSweden).Itsweb-presenceisat:athttp://ggim.un.org/UNGGIM-wg6/Membership of theWorking Group is in accordancewith the Terms of Reference, from thestatisticalcommunity,comprisingIAEG-SDGsand/orHLG-PCCBmembers.FromthegeospatialcommunityarenationalexpertsnominatedbytheCommitteeofExpertsonGlobalGeospatialInformationManagement(UN-GGIM)throughitsRegionalCommittee.SincethelastreportingtoIAEG-SDGs,threemembers(CaboVerde,JamaicaandUganda)wererotatedofftheWorkingGroupandto-date,andonenewmember(Canada)joinedtheWorkingGroup. Theco-Chairsand theSecretariataim to inviteup to twonewmemberswhoarecurrentlymembers IAEG-SDGsand/orHLG-PCCB, andmore importantlywhoareable toparticipateand contribute totheobjectivesandtasks,tojointheWorkingGroup.MeetingsThirdmeetingoftheWorkingGroup,Kunming,ChinaThethirdmeetingoftheWorkingGroupwasheldinKunming,Chinafrom6-8May2017,andattendedby18ofthe23membersoftheWorkingGroup,twoinvitedresourcepersons,fournational experts and the Secretariat. TheNationalAdministrationof Surveying,Mapping andGeoinformationofChinahostedthemeetingonthesidelineoftheKunmingForumonUnitedNations Global Geospatial Information Management with the theme “Cities of the Future:Smart, Resilient and Sustainable” that was held from 8 – 10 May 2017. Members of theWorkingGroup also participated and contributed to the successful outcomeof the KunmingForum.
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Themeetingreviewedanddiscussedupdatesandreportsfromtheco-Chairs,TaskTeamsandtheSecretariat,andcontinuedworkingonidentifying,prioritizinganddevelopingthe"how"toaddressidentifiedgeospatialinformationgaps,issuesandcontributionstotheglobalindicatorframework,andtheassociatedgeospatialmethodologies,datasourcesanddataavailability.Inanyofthesedevelopmentalworks,asapracticalstartingpoint,theWorkingGroupintendstodefertotheshort-listofindicators1preparedbytheWorkingGroupfromareviewoftheglobalindicatorframeworkfroma“geographiclocation”lens.The Working Group deliberated and considered issues around data availability vis-à-visproductionofindicators:i)whatandwhereareuseableandapplicabledatasets(inparticularsatellite imageries)andhowtoensuredata ready for theproductionarenationally led? ii) isthere a need for a ‘demonstration project’ on the availability and applicability of geospatialinformation? and iii) what are themodalities to engage custodian agencies to support theirdevelopment of definitions, methodologies, identifying appropriate data sources and toaddressdataavailability?WebExMeetingTheWorkingGroupheldit’sfirstWebExmeetingon5thOctober2017,considereditsactivitiesandprogresssinceMay2017,deliberatedonadraftWorkPlanfor2017/2018,aswellastheprovisionalagenda for the fourthmeetingof theWorkingGroup inDecember2017. Theco-ChairsandtheWorkingGroupagreedthatregularWebExmeetingwouldbeusefultoadvanceitsactivitiesandtasksbeforetheWorkingGroup,notwithstandingthechallengetoco-ordinatetimezonedifferencesamongstallmembersoftheWorkingGroup.TheWorkingGroupseekstoimprovethepaceofitsactivitiesandtasksbyleveraginge-meetingfromnowon.FourthmeetingoftheWorkingGroup,NewYorkAfourthmeetingoftheWorkingGroupwillbeheldatUNHeadquarters,NewYorkfrom6–8December 2017. The meeting’s web page is at: http://ggim.un.org/meetings/2017-4th_Mtg_IAEG-SDG-NY/ and information about the meeting will be progressively uploaded.Thismeeting,shouldallowtheWorkingGrouptocomeandworktogetheroverthreedaystodevelop advice and guidance to the IAEG-SDGs and thewider statistical community on howgeospatial information, Earth observations and other new data sources can reliably andconsistentlycontributetotheproductionofindicators.
1 Theglobalindicatorframework(togetherwithitscompiledmetadata)fortheGoalsandtargetsofthe2030Agendawasreviewedthrougha“geographiclocation”lens.Therewasconsensusaroundaninitialshort-listcomprisingof15indicators(4TierI,4TierII,7TierIII)wheregeospatialinformationandEarthobservations,togetherwithstatisticaldata,cancontributedirectlytotheproductionofthese15identifiedindicators.Anadditionalshort-listof9indicators(1TierI,4TierII,3TierIIIand1 thathasmultiple classifications for its sub-indice)was identifiedwheregeospatial informationandEarthobservations cansignificantlysupporttheproductionoftheseindicators.TheseindicatorswerereportedtoIAEG-SDGsat itsfifthmeetingandUN-GGIMatitsseventhsessioninAugust2017.
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IssuesandconsiderationsDataavailabilityremainsoneoftheprimarychallenges.“Productionready”datamustbemadeavailabletoallowfortheproductionofindicatorsandinformingoftargetsandGoalsthatarecountry owned and country-led, in accordancewith national priorities andneeds.Data frominternationalagenciesmaydifferfromnationaldata,butcouldbeappliedtoaugmentand/orvalidatenationaldata,usedinmodels,andprovideestimatese.g.toimproveexistingdatasets,or produce regional and global aggregates. Data interoperability and comparability betweensuchinternationalandnationaldataisthuscrucial.The application of geospatial processes, its integration with statistical processes for theproductionofaspecificindicatormayrequirespecialistcapacitiesandexpertisethatMemberStates may not have e.g. specialist operational capacities and expertise on land coverclassificationsthatmeetaspecificapplicationrequiredfortheproductionofanindicator.TheWorkingGroupisrealizingtheneedtobeginsomeconsiderationoncapacitydevelopmentfornational statistical systems to ensure the wider utilization of geospatial informationmanagementandtheapplicationofgeospatialinformation.Inthisregard,theWorkingGroupis seeking to work with the Expert Group on the Integration of Statistical and GeospatialInformation,astheGlobalStatisticalGeospatialFrameworkwillfacilitateconsistentproductionandintegrationapproachesforgeo-statisticalinformation2.TheWorkingGroupcontinuestodeliberateonhowtoproactivelyengagewiththecustodianagencies in order to support and contribute to the development of both methodology andmetadataof indicators,aswellas toaddressdatasourcesanddataavailability,aspartof itsongoingeffortstoadvancethetasksandexpectationsbeforetheWorkingGroup.The Working Group has concluded that geospatial information management, its data,methodologiesandprocesses,isabletoprovideenablingmethodologiesandprocessesfordatato be disaggregated by geographic location. It observed that the disaggregation of nationalstatisticaldataisconsiderablystrengthenedthroughthelensofgeospatialinformation.The Working Group at its fourth meeting from 6-8 December 2017 will address all theseidentifiedissuesandgaps.
2 TheCommitteeofExpertshasadoptedthefiveguidingprinciples(atitssixthsession,August2016),asthefoundationof the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework; subsequently endorsed at the 48th session (March 2017) of the StatisticalCommission.
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ConcludingRemarksOneofthestrengthoftheWorkingGroupiswith itsrepresentation,fromboththestatisticalcommunity and the geospatial community. With unique understanding of context andcircumstances,thecombinedstatisticalandgeospatialexpertiseiswellpositionedtofacilitateandenablea‘dataecosystem’thatleveragesanaccessible,integrativeandinteroperablelocaltoglobalinformationsystemformeasuringandmonitoringtheSDGs,andtrackingprogress.RolandoOcampoINEGIMexico
MarieHaldorsonStatisticsSweden
co-ChairsIAEG-SDGs:WorkingGrouponGeospatialInformation(4November2017)
