Rome, February 14, 2025 – Oikon was honoured to participate in the BioSpace25 – Biodiversity Insight from Space Conference, organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) at their ESRIN facility near Rome. As a conference exclusively dedicated to the application of Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) across various dimensions of biodiversity, BioSpace25 aligns closely with Oikon’s mission, particularly the work of our Department of Natural Resource Management and the Laboratory for Remote Sensing and GIS.
Representing Oikon, our CTO Branimir Radun and our ecologist Nela Jantol, PhD discussed how Earth Observation (EO) can support nature restoration targets established by European and international policies. The event brought together key stakeholders to assess the role of EO in achieving these goals, underscoring the importance of collaboration across agencies, industry, and research institutions.
Following an invitation from our friends at EARSC, Branimir Radun presented the background and efforts of Oikon and took part in a high-level panel discussion. The panel featured representatives from the European Environment Agency (EEA), FAO, Eurosite, EARSC, and Biodiversa+, all of whom play critical roles in implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Oikon had a strong voice in the discussion, contributing insights from our extensive experience in consulting services for nature restoration and environmental protection.
A key highlight of our participation was the presentation of our work on creating the official map of benthic and coastal marine habitats – a crucial dataset that will support Croatia in achieving its goal of protecting 30% of its marine territory by 2030. The panel discussion also delved into the practical challenges shared by public entities, agencies, and industry in meeting the EU’s ambitious nature restoration targets. A key takeaway from these discussions was that a partnership approach is essential for success.
Beyond the panel discussion, we participated in the conference’s poster sessions. We presented two studies: “Transpiration Dynamics in Pedunculate Oak Using Sentinel-2: A Study of Spačva Forest, Croatia” and “Earth Observation and Spatial Analytics in Marine Habitat Mapping.”
Additionally, we met with our ESA Technical Officer to present the progress of our ongoing project, “Forest Pests and Diseases Sentinel-Based Early Detection and Monitoring.” Exciting developments are happening with this project, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon! 😉
We are very grateful to EARSC and Evenflow for recognizing our role in the market and inviting us to share our expertise. We also extend our sincere thanks to ESA for organizing the first BioSpace conference and we hope that many more will come. Although the numerous parallel sessions kept us on our toes running around ESRIN, it truly felt like home. We left BioSpace25 inspired and eager to continue driving innovation in EO applications for biodiversity and nature restoration.
