January 1st, 2024 officially marked the beginning of the new Horizon Europe project - OBSGESSION. Coordinated by Petteri Vihervaara of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the four-year project is going to monitor and predict biodiversity change and its drivers in both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems through Earth Observation technologies. 

To mark the start of this exciting research endeavour, 11 partners from 7 countries across the EU, Switzerland and the UK are gathering between 30 January and 1 February 2024 in Tuusula, Finland for the OBSGESSION kick-off meeting. 

At the foreground of the project's vision is to facilitate action on biodiversity change by integrating Earth Observation methods, in-situ data, ecological models, and uncertainty estimations, thereby fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. As such, OBSGESSION will strive to advance the understanding of direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity change through cutting-edge data integration and modeling. Moreover, the project is to address science-policy gaps, support conservation planning, and share knowledge for effective engagement of international and EU stakeholders in ecosystem and biodiversity management.

Follow OBSGESSION on X and LinkedIn, and stay tuned for updates from the #OBESGESSIONKickOff.