The legacy of a regional geospatial pioneer, who actively advocated for Earth Observation, environmental conservation, and climate resilience will live on to make a difference in the lives of Pacific communities, with the launch of the Emma Luke Regional Earth Observation Centre (ELEOC) in Vailima, Samoa.
Housed at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the ELEOC honours the memory of the late Ms Emma Luke, who championed the role of Pacific countries in leading earth observation conversations and interventions for the Pacific.
In 2019, Ms Luke’s generous support helped organise the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Ministerial Summit in Canberra, where she facilitated the drafting of the Talanoa Statement, which recognised Traditional Knowledge (TK) in the Pacific and how earth observations could benefit regional blue economies.
The late Emma Luke left a generous donation to allow SPREP to strengthen its capacity and capabilities in earth observation and this led to the establishment of the Emma Luke Earth Observation Centre as a regional hub for geospatial collaboration and learning. The Centre was launched on Wednesday night, as part of the Thirty second SPREP Meeting of Officials (SM32) and associated meetings taking place in Samoa, from 1-5 September.
The launch was attended by more than a hundred Pacific government officials, partners, youths, civil society, academia, NGOs, and the private sector.
