International Geospatial Digest for March 10, 2025

1. Mapping Ukraine’s Minerals
2. Yanomami are Protecting their Amazon Territory with Drones
3. A New Clinic Trial Map in the EU
4. Singapore is using Geospatial Technology to Respond to Climate Change
5. NASA May See it’s Budget Cut by 50%
6. Humanitarian Aid Brings New Opportunities for Women in the Spatial Tech Field

Mapping Ukraine’s Minerals

There have been recent discussions between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the future of Ukraine and its significant mineral resources. Although previous negotiations between the two leaders faltered after an explosive meeting, President Zelenskyy has signaled a willingness to restart negotiations with the United States, which could benefit from a piece of the estimated £12 trillion worth of mineral resources within Ukraine. Even if negotiations are restarted, a potential deal may be complicated by the fact that many of Ukraine’s largest reserves of minerals are in areas occupied by Russian forces and the uncertainty associated with mineral extraction in a war zone. To better understand the conflict, both The Independent and Al Jazeera have created map graphics showing the concentration of minerals in Ukraine.

Read more from the Independent

Read more from Al Jazeera

Yanomami are Protecting their Amazon Territory with Drones

Over the past several years, illegal miners have been encroaching on Yanomami territory in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. Tens of thousands of miners entering Yanomami territory have caused an ecological and humanitarian disaster for the community, which has responded by embracing drone technology. In 2022, the Hutukara Yanomami Association began training members of the community on utilizing drones to monitor their 10-million-hectare territory. Indigenous-led instruction helped to ensure the success of the program, with students learning skills such as drone operation and how to take georeferenced pictures and videos. 

While the 2023 election of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has come with increased enforcement against illegal mining in the area, it hasn’t completely stopped the flow of miners entering Yanomami territory. This has left the Yanomami to take a leading role in managing their land in order to better protect their cultural traditions and environment with the help of drones.

Read more here

A New Clinic Trial Map in the EU

The European Union has recently released a digital map containing real-time information about clinical trials occurring throughout its member states. Available through the Clinical Trials Information System, this map allows users to search for clinical trials based on area and medical condition, while also providing contact information for relevant researchers. This map is part of the Accelerating Clinical Trials in the European Union initiative workplan.

Read more here

View the map here

Singapore is Using Geospatial Technology to Respond to Climate Change

In response to the growing impacts of climate change, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has announced a partnership with two organizations to better help leverage spatial and remote sensing technologies. The first partnership is with the Office for Space Technology and Industry, with the aim of developing Singapore’s space technology ecosystem. This partnership aims to improve capacity for measuring changes in coastlines, urban areas and vegetation, perform prediction analysis and forecasting of climate change and to provide leadership in sustainability initiatives through Singapore and Southeast Asia. The second partnership is between SLA and the National University of Singapore Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP). This partnership seeks to leverage SLA’s 3D mapping dataset with CRISP’s knowledge of remote sensing to help foster developments in digital mapping, carbon biomass research and geospatial analysis.

Read more here

NASA May See it’s Budget Cut by 50%

US President Donald Trump is expected to request funding reductions for scientific research in his upcoming budget, including at NASA. It is possible that cuts to NASA’s Science Mission Directive could be as high as 50%, which has caused concerns in the scientific community. This would be the largest budget cut in NASA’s history and would likely devastate the organization. These cuts appear to be driven by Russell Vought, the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, who has previously voiced his displeasure with NASA’s climate change-related research. 

Although much uncertainty remains around cuts to NASA’s funding, significant budget reductions could mean that NASA would have to shut down long-term missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Voyager probe or the Curiosity rover. Deep cuts would also make it effectively impossible for NASA to begin new missions and could go against the Trump Administration’s goal of commercializing space exploration. These cutbacks would likely benefit China, which has been racing to catch-up to the United States in space exploration development.

Read more here

Humanitarian Aid brings New Opportunities for Women in the Spatial Tech Field

Humanitarian aid organizations have become common places of opportunity for women to work in the information industry. Often, culture norms can dissuade women from joining STEM fields – currently, less than 25% of jobs in the global digital sector are held by women. This is different in humanitarian aid, where roughly 40% of GIS-related positions are currently held by women. GIS positions can serve as a safe space for women, who may be excluded from more male-dominated employment positions. One non-profit organization that is trying to increase female employment in the geospatial industry is iMMAP Inc., which provides information management services to humanitarian and development organizations. Building on the success of their previous program in Nigeria, iMMAP Inc. is currently offering 6-month internships to women in Ethiopia. Another organization working to empower women in the information industry is the HALO Trust, currently the world’s largest landmine clearing operation, which employs women in 40% of its GIS roles. In 2024, the HALO Trust launched Women in GIS for Demining, which is currently training 11 women from 7 different countries.

Read more here