The implementation and monitoring of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nation 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pose wicked problems to society, that is, socio-economic and cultural problems that are difficult or nearly impossible to solve because of incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden associated with progress towards a solution, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems. All of this applies to making progress towards the SDGs.

The iterative development and implementation of transformational policies to reach the targets hinges on knowledge derived from data related to the state and trajectory of the Earth system. Likewise, validating these policies and monitoring progress towards the SDG Targets depends observations of the human and non-human environment. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) prioritizes support of the 2030 Agenda. Among others, the GEO Initiatives “Earth Observations in Service of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (EO4SDGs) and “Oceans and Society: Blue Planet” focus on data needs of the SDGs. To better serve the 2030 Agenda, a detailed knowledge of the observational requirements to serve the 2030 Agenda is required, and creating this knowledge necessitates a system approach considering the data needs of the full set of the SDGs.

The challenges faced by Small Island States in the execution of the 2030 Agenda are closely linked with the ocean surrounding these states. Human interactions with the Earth’s life-support system have impacted the physical, chemical, and biological state of the ocean and triggered distinct trends in the ocean system and its functional position in the Earth’s life-support system. The trends in marine ecosystems, ocean circulation, the global water cycle, and sea level have many impacts on human communities and influence progress towards most of the goals. For Small Island States, the changing ocean poses a complex challenge, and many of the observational requirements will be related to the changing ocean.

In a collaborative effort of GEO Initiatives, governments of the Caribbean Small Island States, United Nations Agencies, and regional non-governmental organisations, a workshop is organized that will bring together stakeholders engaged in the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs in the Caribbean Small Island States with the goal to link these efforts to required ocean observations and to engage in the co-creation of the knowledge supporting these efforts. Collaborating with the governments in the Small Island States and participating in their efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda is a novel avenue for those providing Earth observations to better understand what ocean observations are required and what products are available to inform decisions. These requirements, where possible, will be matched to existing data sets and services to create the knowledge needed by the governments and the people in the Caribbean Small Island States, and gaps will be addressed where such products don’t exist or are not accessible.

The main outcomes of the project include a workshop report summarizing the deliberations, and a white paper detailing the relevance of ocean observations for the implementation and monitoring of SDGs in Caribbean Small Island States. The white paper will provide details on how to ensure and improve support of SDG implementation and monitoring with data and products and how to facilitate the co-usage of the products. These outcomes inform GEO initiatives engaged in supporting the 2030 Agenda. The workshop also will identify a demonstration project on the use of Earth observation in creating ownership of the SDGs in governments and public in the Caribbean.

For more information, see http://www.gstss.org/2018_Ocean_SDGs.