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GIS for Science
A different study, carried out by another one of the collaborative’s members, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), highlights the significance of gridded population data to measure SDG 9.1.1: The Rural Access Index (RAI). Open datasets are essential for producing globally comparable results in measuring progress toward the SDGs where high-quality local data is unavailable. CIESIN calculated RAIs for Nigeria, Colombia, and Spain using openly available roads data from OpenStreetMap41 and gridded population data from the High Resolution Settlement Layer42 and the Global Human Settlement Layer43 to measure the proportion of a country’s rural population that lives within 2 kilometers walking distance of an all-season road. Data on access to roads are critical to help ensure rural communities have access to health care facilities, local markets, schools, and other infrastructures and services necessary to enhance their quality of life.
The SDSN is a member of the Nature Map Consortium,44 which developed an approach based on spatial priority that allows areas to be ranked based on their significance for biodiversity and carbon storage. This approach is already applied worldwide using globally consistent data on species distribution and carbon stocks. More recently, the Nature Map Consortium has been requested to adapt the data and methods developed by the project to provide scientifically robust estimates of the potential contribution that achieving global biodiversity targets can make to climate change mitigation at global and national scales. This work aims to quantify the emissions reductions and removals that could result from achieving a range of global biodiversity targets and make the results available in appropriate forms to climate policy leaders, national decision makers, and the scientific community. Global progress requires national action, so it is crucial to apply these analytical approaches to inform national scale decision-making, including the revision and delivery of NDCs.
The SDSN partners with many organizations to assess progress toward SDG achievement at national and local levels. The methodology to assess progress at national and subnational levels was audited by the European Commssion Joint Research Center in 201945 and measures distance to targets for each of the SDGs. The SDG Indices aim to complement the official UN monitoring efforts and identify priorities for action, understand key implementation challenges, track progress,
ensure accountability, and identify gaps that must be narrowed by 2030. SDGs Today and the SDGs Index and Monitoring will integrate geospatial data and analysis to provide SDSN with real-time assessment of SDGs progress and inform more timely decision-making processes.
Building a better future with GIS
The potential of GIS applications for the SDGs is boundless, especially when these applications draw from a combination of policy and technical expertise. Looking ahead, we have only just scratched the surface on using GIS to address many critical challenges. SDSN’s Science Panel for the Amazon, composed of more than 40 scientists and researchers from the eight Amazonian countries and one territory, combines scientific research on the Amazon and proposes solutions that will secure the future of the region and its inhabitants.46 GIS and real-time data have and will continue to play a vital role in helping these scientists understand and guide solutions for the region’s most pressing socioecological challenges.
In early 2021, the SDSN launched a new initiative to convene leading experts in urban planning and geodesign to support the green and digital transformation of cities globally. The SDSN’s Six Transformations framework emphasizes the role of “Sustainable cities and communities” (Transformation 5) and “Harnessing the digital revolution for sustainable development” (Transformation 6) to achieve the SDGs and requires robust geospatial, disaggregated, and real-time data to achieve them. From the remote depths of our most precious ecosystems to the center of our rapidly changing cities, GIS will play a profound role in the global community’s effort to achieve the SDGs.
SDGsToday: The Global Hub for Real-Time SDG Data will continue to grow and adapt to the needs of policy makers, researchers, students, and the public to ensure they can effectively use the best data and tools to track progress and implement solutions for the SDGs. The SDSN looks forward to continued collaboration and partnership with leaders in GIS technologies to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda and beyond.
The Nature Map Consortium priority rankings on global areas of significance for biodiversity and carbon storage.45