UN Environment and Google announced a global partnership that promises to change the way we see our planet. Combining environmental science, big data and unprecedented accessibility, this joint effort aims to expand what the world knows about the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems.

Google and the United Nations have decided to work on a water data with vast quantities of raw satellite imagery and data which will be distilled into an online platform showing how water ecosystems have changed, and how countries can manage them to prevent further loss. This partnership is of real significance especially the world is facing water scarcity as a result of global warming. Focusing initially on freshwater ecosystems such as rivers and forests, Google will produce geospatial maps and data for a publicly available platform to be launched in October in partnership with the UN Environment Program (UNEP).

According to Elisabeth Mullin Bernhardt, a program manager at UNEP, the data will help you find out what went wrong regarding drying up of a particular water reservoir and will help to locate the exact situation. Bernhardt also explained that for Africa’s Lake Chad, for example, access to comprehensive data and images showing surrounding land and rivers could help explain why the lake, on which so many depend, is drying up so quickly. She also said that most countries share water sources, the information could also be used to encourage neighboring nations to work together on strategies to manage rivers or lakes.

 Google is using artificial intelligence and cloud computing to process a massive amount of satellite imagery and data, stretching back over three decades, before it can be analyzed, said Rebecca Moore, director of Google Earth and Earth Engine. She pointed out that much of the world does not have access to good data about the state of their forests, their rivers and lakes and coastal ecosystems and how they’ve been changing over time. Improved information could lead to better investment in environmental services as countries try to meet their Sustainable Development Goals, said UNEP.

Governments are currently reviewing progress on the goals at UN headquarters in New York, where UNEP and Google announced the satellite initiative. While researchers will focus on water ecosystems, the platform could be expanded to include issues such as desertification or plastics in the world’s oceans.