ESRI's Co-founding of Planet Action, Questions and Answers with Jack Dangermond:

"ESRI has agreed to be a founding partner of Planet Action. Can you tell us what motivated you to join this programme, and share a bit about ESRI’s long history of working on projects like this?"

The continuous impact of human influences on the natural habitats of our planet is real, and ESRI is reminded of it every day through our relationships with the conservation community. Our belief is that Spot Image’s contribution of Earth imagery to the conservation community will make an important difference in understanding the impact of global climate change. By equipping these NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) with a marriage of Earth imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) technology, software and data, Planet Action is giving them access to the valuable information and visualization required to conduct their research. GIS is a powerful tool for the conservation community to use when storing, managing and analyzing their findings. Because of this, ESRI has done its best to make our GIS software and technology experience readily available to conservation programmes of all sizes. By our donations of software, financial support, training and hardware to NGOs, we believe researchers will have a geographic advantage in developing solutions toward resolving climate change issues. In the case of Planet Action, ESRI is happy to be a part of an organization with such a strong and innovative partnership of technologies that have come together to make a difference.

"What is your vision for Planet Action?"
Our vision is a very worthwhile one, offering a place where the NGO conservation community can go for the technology and data that allow them to work more effectively and to understand what changes are required to make the world a better place. I see Planet Action as a framework for this vision where ESRI, Spot Image and others join as an effective alliance in understanding and fighting global climate change.

"What can the geoinformation industry do to help combat global warming?"
The GIS and the Earth observation industries can continue to provide technology and solutions that will open the world’s eyes to the significance of global warming. By integrating our technologies, we can provide better information and insight into how the world’s actions and decisions affect the planet. Planet Action is taking a step in this direction because it is building a stronger link among researchers, scientists and users of geospatial technology by giving them the tools to research, analyze, visualize and present their findings.