Towards a FAIRer future: insights from Europe's geospatial community

Berger, K., Requena Suarez, D., Szantoi, Z., César de Sá, N., Fritz, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0420-8549, Milenkovic, M., Maso, J., Heinrich, V., & Herold, M. (2026). Towards a FAIRer future: insights from Europe's geospatial community. European Journal of Remote Sensing 59 (1) e2676254. 10.1080/22797254.2026.2676254.

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Abstract

Geospatial environmental and Earth observation (EO) data have recently become an indispensable source for a wide range of land management applications, from research to monitoring for land-related policies of the European Union (EU) under the umbrella of the Green Deal. To maximize the potential of these valuable datasets, the four foundational FAIR principles - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable - offer a critical framework for geospatial data management and sharing. Here, we offer our perspective on the current adoption and implementation of the FAIR principles within the European geospatial and EO community, critically reflecting on FAIR geospatial data usage. Despite the push for FAIR principles, European practitioners still face major adoption barriers. Survey results reveal critical gaps between the perceived importance of FAIR principles by data producers and users and their actual implementation. We argue that a lack of incentives for producers and limited user knowledge about the benefits of FAIR data hinder its effective utilization. Addressing these challenges through targeted interventions is crucial for ensuring that all stakeholders can effectively use EO and geospatial data to support informed and timely land-related applications within the EU.

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