The Biodiversity Virtual Constellation (B-VC) was established in April 2026, with the mission to advance biodiversity understanding, monitoring, and application for the benefit of society by strengthening the community’s use of space-based Earth observations and data products.
B-VC’s priority work areas are:
- Identify priority gaps in observations and data products and facilitate development of solutions to fill critical gaps.
- Facilitate enhancement of data processing and utilisation tools needed to enable broader and more effective utilisation of EO for biodiversity applications.
- Enhance existing Ecosystem Extent demonstrators, and explore possibilities for new prototype monitoring systems to facilitate development and testing of EO products and capabilities as well as to engage users.
- Prioritise and implement capacity building initiatives through collaboration with CEOS WGCapD.
- Actively seek to increase biodiversity community engagement with EO data, tools and applications that support biodiversity understanding, monitoring, and decision making.
- Coordinate with GEO BON and its Global Biodiversity Observing System concept to facilitate the wider use of space-based EO.
More information can be found in the B-VC Terms of Reference and initial Implementation Plan (2026).
Contact Us
B-VC can be contacted through the co-leads: Gary Geller (NASA), Lucie Viciano (CSA) and Marc Paganini (ESA).
History of Biodiversity Activities in CEOS
The Ecosystem Extent Task Team (EETT) was formed in 2021 to investigate the use of Earth observation data to support the critical Biodiversity variable of Ecosystem Extent. The team was tasked with developing two deliverables, though the overarching goal was to explore the potential for a sustained role for biodiversity within CEOS. The deliverables were:
- A white paper outlining an integrated international perspective on how space-based Earth observations can be used to support ecosystem mapping and monitoring with a focus on ecosystem extent.
- An initiative to demonstrate the use of EO for ecosystem extent mapping and monitoring.
With the completion of the two deliverables, the 2024 CEOS Plenary formally concluded the Task Team’s work and mandate.
To build upon the work of the EETT and assess the options for a sustained role for biodiversity activities within CEOS, the CEOS Biodiversity Study Team (BST) was established at the 2024 CEOS Plenary with a one-year duration.
The BST was tasked with:
- Conducting a stakeholder assessment;
- Consulting across CEOS entities and agencies to leverage existing practices on biodiversity and implementing lessons learned and recommendations;
- Assessing the options for sustainable support for biodiversity in CEOS;
- Developing supporting documentation for the recommended option in collaboration with the CEOS Executive Officer.
More about how Earth observations can be used in the framework of Biodiversity can be found here.