Objectives of the Product

BridGEO addresses a common challenge faced by public authorities, planners, and institutions in emerging and developing countries: critical environmental and urban decisions rely on complex satellite data that are fragmented, difficult to interpret, and often inaccessible to non-expert users. As a result, water management, urban growth control, and risk mitigation are frequently based on incomplete or disconnected information.

BridGEO provides an online, WebGIS-based platform that integrates satellite and local geodata into a unified, user-friendly system tailored to each country’s context. Its modular EO-based analytical services allow users to select affordable, fit-for-purpose solutions covering water body dynamics, imperviousness and urban sprawl, and ground motion or slope stability. A map-centric interface, cross-service analysis tools, and contextual interpretation layers transform raw data into clear, actionable insights without requiring advanced technical expertise.

To ensure long-term impact, BridGEO complements its tools with targeted, hands-on training for non-technical and technical staff alike. This builds local capacity to operate the platform independently, interpret results confidently, and apply evidence-based insights to urban planning, water management, and environmental governance, supporting sustainable and locally driven decision-making.

Customers and their Needs

BridGEO targets national and local public authorities, research institutes, and regional planning bodies in emerging and developing countries, such as those in Ethiopia, Peru, and Chile. These users are directly involved in territorial monitoring, disaster risk reduction, water resource management, and urban planning. They use the BridGEO web-based platform to routinely monitor ground movements, surface water dynamics, and land consumption, supporting early warning systems, risk mapping, and evidence-based planning decisions.

Their needs include accurate and frequent detection of landslides, the ability to analyse ground deformation trends over time, regular monitoring of reservoir volume and extent, and reliable identification of urban expansion and loss of agricultural land. They also require improved skills in GIS and satellite data analysis to integrate EO information with socio-economic and administrative data.

Meeting these needs is challenging due to limited financial resources, fragmented and inconsistent historical data, insufficient data resolution or update frequency, and a shortage of trained personnel. Traditional field surveys are costly and slow, while many EO solutions are complex and require expert knowledge. BridGEO addresses these challenges by providing affordable, integrated services and hands-on training that enable institutions to independently apply EO data in their daily operations.

Targeted customer/users countries

Targeted countries are Ethiopia, Peru, and Chile.

Product description

BridGEO is an online, WebGIS-based platform that delivers integrated Earth Observation services for territorial monitoring, risk management, and environmental governance. The system combines three core analytical services within a unified environment. The Water Bodies Dynamics service provides monthly monitoring of reservoirs in user-defined areas, delivering trend analysis and change detection at 10 m spatial resolution and a minimum mapping unit of 0.5 ha. The Imperviousness Dynamics service classifies and monitors land cover using an adapted EAGLE Level 2 scheme, generating six-monthly updates and automated land-change maps at the same spatial resolution. The Ground Motion service delivers trends in ground elevation change over a three-year window, updated every six months, with outputs available at native resolution and resampled grids of 50 m or greater.

The main innovation lies in the integration of these services into a single, map-centric web interface. Users interact through intuitive dashboards, predefined thematic views, and automated cross-service analyses that reveal correlations between urban growth, water dynamics, and ground instability. A contextual interpretation layer translates technical results into plain-language insights. BridGEO is complemented by modular, hands-on training—delivered on-site or remotely via an AI-supported LMS—enabling users to independently analyse data and apply results in real-world decision-making.

Added Value

BridGEO delivers significant added value compared to existing EO-based monitoring methods by combining higher-resolution data, more frequent updates, and integrated analysis within a single operational platform. For water bodies monitoring, BridGEO goes beyond commonly used approaches—such as reliance on a single index like NDWI—by generating inland surface water detection maps based on multiple multispectral indices. This improves detection accuracy and robustness across different environmental and seasonal conditions. The service also provides water occurrence and frequency maps, distinguishing maximum, seasonal, and permanent water bodies, as well as inter-annual and seasonal variation maps that support informed management of agricultural activities during dry and wet periods.

Compared to existing national and international services, BridGEO offers capabilities that are currently unavailable or limited in many emerging countries. High-resolution imperviousness maps enable detailed urban analysis and detection of subtle land cover changes, addressing a major gap in countries such as Ethiopia. Relative to Copernicus services, BridGEO delivers higher spatial resolution, more frequent updates, and a tighter integration between imperviousness analysis and next-generation IRIDE data. By integrating these advanced datasets into a unified, user-friendly system, BridGEO provides more actionable, locally relevant insights than standalone or medium-resolution EO services.

Current Status

The project has made significant progress in assessing current conditions, identifying vulnerabilities, and spotting opportunities, establishing a solid foundation for prioritizing services. Requirements definition is underway, with user needs, system specifications, and service expectations being gathered, analysed, and documented to ensure clarity of functional and non-functional requirements.

Technical development has commenced, focusing on the design, construction, and testing of EO services, the delivery platform, and associated training courses. Work in progress includes refining technical solutions, validating system functionalities, and preparing training materials. Upcoming activities will concentrate on finalizing requirements, completing system testing, and rolling out training programs. Overall, the project is advancing steadily, with foundational analysis and technical development progressing in parallel to ensure services are well-aligned with user needs and operational priorities.