Around 3.2 billion people, or 40 percent of the global population, are adversely affected by land degradation.

Source : UNEP

Launched in October 2024 for a duration of 24 months, the PEOPLE-ECCO project is coordinated by ITC (Netherlands), in collaboration with 52°North (Germany), DHI (Denmark), and Hatfield Consultants (Canada). The project has two overarching objectives. The first is to engage civil society and non-governmental organizations working in ecosystem conservation through co-design processes and capacity development in Earth Observation (EO). The second is to develop, test, demonstrate, and validate EO-integrated methodologies that respond to their operational needs and conservation strategies.

Building upon existing EO initiatives, PEOPLE-ECCO supports two conservation goals in parallel. The first is to monitor the condition and management effectiveness of existing protected areas. The second is to identify high-priority areas that are suitable for future protection and conservation efforts. These goals are addressed through user-driven innovation in collaboration with six CSOs and NGOs acting as Early Adopters: African Parks, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, IUCN Vietnam, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, the Prince Edward Island Watershed Alliance, and Reef Check Malaysia.