In the face unprecedented threats to global biodiversity, there is a need to establish standardized monitoring programs that are able to inform environmental research, assessment, policy, and management. The Group on Earth Observation Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) strives to improve the acquisition, coordination and delivery of biodiversity information and services to decision makers and the scientific community. GEO BON has been working toward this goal through the development of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) that will inform research, reporting, and management of biodiversity. The effort draws from the process of Essential Climate Variables developed under the Global Climate Observing System.  The global perspective provided by satellite remote sensing, combined with the ability to look at local to regional scales, makes it suitable to serve as a significant data source for many EBVs, such as phenology, net primary productivity, and ecosystem extent and fragmentation.

The effectiveness of the EBV effort requires feedback and support from the ecological community to assist in the development, deployment, and use of these variables. This panel will present a summary of EBV activities and examples with a focus on remote sensing. We will solicit feedback from ESA membership through panel discussion of the utility of EBVs and by identification of existing gaps in efforts to date. We will also identify areas where ecologists can engage and convey input gathered during the meeting to GEO BON and other communities to inform the development and implementation of EBVs.