"COMUNIDAD - Combined Use of EGNSS and Copernicus Data to Develop Innovative Downstream Services for the Users from Chile and Colombia."

COMUNIDAD is a project funded by the European Union under the project call: HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE. It aims to form a stakeholder community dedicated to leveraging Copernicus data. The project focuses on the collaborative development of algorithms, services, and products tailored to local user needs, thereby enhancing the quality of Copernicus global products. The initiative will also explore the combined use of EGNSS (European Global Navigation Satellite Systems) and the Copernicus-related Platform in Chile and Colombia, with the potential for knowledge transfer to other relevant CELAC countries.

The COMUNIDAD project is set to establish a comprehensive framework for utilizing Copernicus data in agriculture, forestry, and rural development. This framework will emphasize the usage, development, testing, and evaluation of existing (CELAC customized) and new Copernicus downstream services, explicitly focusing on forestry in Chile and rural development in Colombia.

Background & Objectives

COMUNIDAD aims to develop, test, and implement a framework that will use Copernicus data from agriculture, forestry, and rural development in Chile and Colombia. It will develop solutions integrated into the COMUNIDAD platform (a complex platform providing services and methods utilising Copernicus and GEOSS data and services for final users in Chile and Colombia) with different sources of data. The COMUNIDAD Platform will form an important base for the use of EGNSS and the sharing of expertise with public and private entities from the target countries to introduce EU-space-based applications and to use Copernicus data to jointly develop algorithms, services and products, which serve local user needs.

The interaction with each Pilot Application in Chile and Colombia will feed long-term policy strategy development, aiming at bringing about the transition into the new paradigm of sustainable agriculture and forestry growth. The combined use of EGNSS and Copernicus to develop innovative downstream applications combining positing navigation and timing with Earth observation services will be an essential part of the COMUNIDAD development through pilot applications in Chile and Colombia with the direct involvement of regional end-users, decision-makers and support organisations.

This approach not only demonstrates the possibilities of potential transfer of the results and addresses potential barriers but also introduces added value for developing new markets, information sharing, open access, and transparency. The platform combines existing components and services for new target regions where the potential for utilization is expected. The COMUNIDAD project will address 4 main Scientific Objectives via 6 WPs. The project consortium is composed of 8 partners; from them 4 are from Chile and Colombia, and 4 are from the EU.

The project consortium: