Geoscience Australia confirmed its role as a leading global collaborator last week at one of the world’s largest gatherings of Earth observation practitioners and policy makers – GEO Week 2019.

Geoscience Australia confirmed its role as a leading global collaborator last week at one of the world’s largest gatherings of Earth observation practitioners and policy makers – GEO Week 2019.

During meetings held in Canberra with international partners, Geoscience Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Dr James Johnson formalised international agreements with Sri Lanka, Mexico and New Zealand respectively.

Dr Johnson said these new collaborations present exciting opportunities for Geoscience Australia to exchange knowledge on Earth observations and support global innovation.

“Collaborations like these on geospatial and geoscience data will help us and our global partners to progress our goals for a sustainable future,” Dr Johnson said.

A report commissioned by the Australian Government and released during GEO Week 2019 estimates Earth and marine observation adds $29 billion in value to Australia’s economy. The report projects this could increase to $101 billion by 2030.

“We are pioneering the use of Earth observation technologies to drive future business and better environmental management, and are helping communities better prepare for natural hazards through our national-scale disaster risk information,” Dr Johnson said.

“Australia has huge potential for international investment and economic growth through our naturally-occurring resources and advanced space technologies.

“We are focused on making a difference to the way Australia develops and does business into the future, and I’m excited to share this goal with our international partners.”

International agreements signed by Geoscience Australia during GEO Week 2019 include:

• On Tuesday, 5 November, the Chairman of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau of the Government of Sri Lanka, Mr Iddawela and Dr James Johnson signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

• On Wednesday, 6 November, Land Information New Zealand Chief Executive, Ms Gaye Searancke, and Dr James Johnson signed an agreement to continue our productive working relationship on mutual interests in geoscience including positioning, location-based data, mapping, marine data and information, Earth observations from space, and engineering.

• On Thursday, 8 November, Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography’s Ms Paloma Merodio and Dr James Johnson signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build on existing collaboration, especially in remote sensing and open data-cube technology.

Read more about Geoscience Australia’s commitment to delivering for Australia over the next ten years in Strategy 2028 here: https://www.ga.gov.au/strategy-2028

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