Earth observation data, including forest maps and commodity-specific land-cover products, are increasingly used to support due diligence, risk assessment, and compliance monitoring in deforestation-free value chains. The EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) has accelerated interest in EO-based tools because of their potential to provide scalable, location-based monitoring and increased transparency across complex supply chains. However, their practical application raises scientific, technical, and governance challenges. Differences in forest definitions, spatial resolutions, classification methods, reference dates, and data sources can create ambiguity in compliance assessments and uncertainty for stakeholders, including smallholder farmers, traders, NGOs, and competent authorities.
This session will present recent findings from the GEOS-EUDR research project as a starting point for broader discussion on EO systems in deforestation-free value-chain governance. It will examine opportunities such as scalable monitoring, risk screening, and improved transparency, as well as limitations related to data consistency, interpretation, uncertainty communication, and unequal stakeholder capacities.
The format combines multiple short presentations:
- Introduction to EUDR, Due Diligence requirements on geolocation and deforestation-free production – Melvin Lippe
- Introduction to Sirio App to geolocate smallholder coffee production systems in Southern Mexico – Alejandra Mosig
- Findings of pilot study comparing polygons of smallholder coffee production systems Mexico with forest agreement layer – Juliana Freitas Beyer
- A moderated interactive exchange with guided questions – Margret Köthke
Participants will share experiences and perspectives on using EO data for deforestation-free value chains, with attention to implementation challenges, stakeholder needs, and land-system science. Interested participants will be invited to contribute to a follow-up position paper.
