The Pacific, comprised of 13 Pacific Island Countries (PICs), as well as Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste is home to around 12 million people, including over 500,000 European citizens.  Despite differences in geography, size, history, culture, economic and political systems, the Pacific Island Countries face similar challenges when it comes to natural resources management and biodiversity and is particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, which impacts their abilities to grow their economies, services and infrastructure sustainably. In the quest for climate resilience and socio-economic growth, accurate and reliable data is needed to enable sound decision-making, policies and action at a local and regional level. 

The European Union’s Copernicus Programme offers free and open access to vast amounts of global data from Earth Observation satellites, alongside ground-based, airborne, and seaborne measurement systems to help service providers, public authorities, international organisations, NGOs, and citizens fight against climate change, improve emergency response, protect our oceans and manage our planet’s resources sustainably. 

This series of presentations aim to promote awareness of the many potential uses of Copernicus data and information in the Pacific region and to discuss the current local and regional initiatives, best practices and future opportunities and data needs.