Call for proposals – NICFI Satellite Data Program Level 2 Access

In September 2020, Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment, via the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) entered into a contract with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and its partners Airbus and Planet, to provide universal access to high-resolution satellite monitoring of the tropics through the NICFI Satellite Data Program. The ultimate aim of this is to support efforts to stop the loss of tropical rainforests.

The high-resolution satellite images provide an overview of all tropical forests and land masses, and these images are updated every month. Anyone can become a user and thereby access image archives that include data dating back to 2015. This allows any interested party to see the development that has taken place in tropical forests over several years. This service is completely free of charge and available via www.planet.com/nicfi.

In addition to the images available to the general public, Norway has a very limited set of access keys to not only the mosaics but also the underlying imagery as well as selected scenes from the historic SPOT5/6/7 archive back to 2002. This level of access is referred to as “level 2” access and those that receive this access are called “General Partners” in the contract between the Ministry and the data suppliers. Level 2 access for General Partners includes access to the following for viewing, download and streaming:

2. Historical Airbus orthoimagery selected scenes dating back to 2002 (publicly available bi-annual archive mosaics only go back to December 2015).
   • SPOT 6/7 at 6m resolution, orthorectified multispectral image in reflectance mode. 4 bands: RGB, NIR.
     • Time period 2012-2015
   • SPOT 5 at 5m resolution, pansharpened product, 3 bands in false colour, Green, Red, NIR.
     • Time period 2002-2012
3. Access to daily viewing of Planetscope satellite imagery (24 hours after capture).
   • Planet Explorer view-access to 3.77m Optical Imagery from September 2020 until end of program.

Access is granted for the duration of the program; September 2020 until 30 August 2022 with the possibility for extension for a further two years until 30 August 2024 upon review.

The level 2 data is licensed by Planet and Airbus under the attached Master Content License Agreements. The terms of use stipulate that access is provided for the primary purpose of

 “reducing and reversing the loss of tropical forests, contributing to combating climate change, conserving biodiversity, contributing to forest regrowth, restoration and enhancement, and facilitating sustainable development as it relates for forest and land use.”

Airbus_MCLA_NICFI

Planet_MCLA_NICFI

All use must be not in the primary pursuit of profit or non-commercial.

All data products licensed through this program have a perpetual license meaning that data downloaded can continue to be used once the program has ended.

The products cover tropical landmasses between 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South. Not included in the covered area are non- or low forest covered areas and countries. Additionally, Australia, China and the United States are excluded.

While Planet imagery updates are continuous, historical Airbus scenes (pre-2015) are focused on pre-defined areas.

The Ministry is issuing a call for proposals for access to the above-mentioned “level 2” data products. The Ministry is seeking any organization, institution, company or consortium that can leverage this resource in pursuit of NICFI’s main goal:

• Reduced and reversed loss of tropical forests contributes to a stable climate, protects biodiversity and enhances sustainable development

Proposals must be made to one of two slots;

1. Slot 1 – Operational application of the data access
2. Slot 2 – Research and development application of the data access

A proposal cannot be made to both slots. The two slots are evaluated according to different evaluation criteria.

Winning proposals will be granted General Partner status and a set number of user keys determined by the proposal and the Ministry’s evaluation. No single proposal will be awarded more than 10 user keys.

Reporting requirements

Winning proposals will deliver the following:.

– A brief summary of use of level 2 data access within first 3 months of being granted access.

– A report detailing the use of the data products and its impact, delivered by 30th November 2022. The report will be made publicly available. If the duration of access is extended, reporting requirements will be expanded to include annual reports for each year of access.

– General Partners will share examples of user stories with the NICFI Satellite Data Program for communication purposes.

Proposal Slot 1 – Operational application of the data

The proposal shall be submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, PO Box 8013 Dep, NO-0030 Oslo, Norway, or by e-mail: postmottak@kld.dep.no. The proposal must be marked 21/1506. The deadline for proposals is 13^th June 2021 23:59 CET. Proposals received after this date will not be assessed.

The proposal will be assessed based on the criteria outlined in proposal template below:

The proposals must describe the intended application of the data product(s) Call for proposals SLOT 1 application form

I.               Full name of applicant organization Legal status Year of establishment Contact e-mail Location of Head Office: country, city and full postal address. Website

II.              A description of the intended application

–        For example a description of the involved parties, the theory of change of how the intended application is intended to impact the world, and the achieved results and impacts of the application.

III.            A description of the relevance of the intended application of the data for any of the 7 outcomes of NICFI’s strategic framework. Furthermore, a description of how the intended application may improve information on the selected indicators listed in italics below. Outcomes: 1.     Approved and implemented policies for sustainable forest and land use in tropical forest countries and jurisdictions 2.     Improved rights and livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local communities in tropical forest countries o   One indicator in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals is: §  “forest trends in indigenous people’s territories” 3.     Effective international incentive structures for reduced deforestation in tropical forest countries 4.     Increased transparency in land management, land use, value chains and financing o   Three indicators in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals are: §  “Proportion of trade with goods that drive deforestation that stem from areas with deforestation risk, where deforestation can be linked to specific companies in the supply chain” §  “Quality of estimates of deforestation and degradation, and their degree of use” §  “Available data (and use of these) on ownership/use rights (concessions) to tropical forest areas” 5.     Commodity markets stimulate deforestation-free production in tropical forest countries 6.     Financial markets stimulate deforestation-free commodity production in tropical forest countries o   Two indicators in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals are: §  “To what degree deforestation risk is included in relevant reporting of climate and/or environmental risk” §  “Share of market that uses objective and reliable data on deforestation risk in investment portfolios” 7.     Reduced forest crime o   One indicator in the strategic framework that is of relevance to this call for proposals is §  “Area of illegal tropical deforestation, and proportion of tropical deforestation that is illegal”

–        For example how the application would contribute to achieving specific outcomes

IV.            Demonstrated ability to exploit high resolution satellite data

–        For example previous or existing use of similar data product(s)

V.             A demonstration of the intended application’s scale and reach

–        For example a description of users, impact, and any geographic or thematic focus

VI.            A description of how the intended application leads to, supports, or enables action

–        For example, how the application connects with decision makers, such as tailoring report output or integrating with existing and relevant systems.

VII.          An explanation of the added benefit of access to the 3 offered data products

–        For example, describing why existing freely available satellite data (including NICFI satellite program access level 1) is not sufficient for intended impact of the application

VIII.         Minimum number of user keys (IP addresses) necessary, as well as the ideal number of use keys required.

–        For example, the intended application cannot be realized with less than 2 user keys. Ideally the application will have access to 4.

IX.            Free text

Slot 2 – Application of the data for research and development

The proposal shall be submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, PO Box 8013 Dep, NO-0030 Oslo, Norway, or by e-mail: postmottak@kld.dep.no. The proposal must be marked 21/1506. The deadline for proposals is 13^th June 2021 23:59 CET. Proposals received after this date will not be assessed.

The proposal will be assessed based on the criteria outlined in the Call for proposals SLOT 2 application form template below:

The proposals must describe the intended research and/or development goal and fill out the following form using maximum 6 pages:

I.               Full name of applicant organization Legal status Year of establishment Contact e-mail Location of Head Office: country, city and full postal address. Website

II.              A description of the intended research and/or development goal

–        For example a description of the research goal, the involved parties, relevant ongoing or past efforts

III.            A description of the relevance of the intended research for any of the 7 outcomes of NICFI’s strategic framework. Furthermore, a description of how the intended research or development may improve information on the selected indicators listed in italics below. Outcomes: 1.     Approved and implemented policies for sustainable forest and land use in tropical forest countries and jurisdictions 2.     Improved rights and livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local communities in tropical forest countries o   One indicator in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals is: §  “forest trends in indigenous people’s territories” 3.     Effective international incentive structures for reduced deforestation in tropical forest countries 4.     Increased transparency in land management, land use, value chains and financing o   Three indicators in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals are: §  “Proportion of trade with goods that drive deforestation that stem from areas with deforestation risk, where deforestation can be linked to specific companies in the supply chain” §  “Quality of estimates of deforestation and degradation, and their degree of use” §  “Available data (and use of these) on ownership/use rights (concessions) to tropical forest areas” 5.     Commodity markets stimulate deforestation-free production in tropical forest countries 6.     Financial markets stimulate deforestation-free commodity production in tropical forest countries o   Two indicators in the strategic framework that are of relevance to this call for proposals are: §  “To what degree deforestation risk is included in relevant reporting of climate and/or environmental risk” §  “Share of market that uses objective and reliable data on deforestation risk in investment portfolios” 7.     Reduced forest crime o   One indicator in the strategic framework that is of relevance to this call for proposals is “Area of illegal tropical deforestation, and proportion of tropical deforestation that is illegal”

–        For example how the intended outcomes of the R&D can aid in achieving specific outcomes

IV.            Potential for replicability and scalability

–        For example a description of the project’s transparency, hardware and software and capacity requirements,

V.             A description of the sustainability of the project and its outcomes

–        For example, a description of whether and how the R&D efforts, or the actions that the R&D may enable, can be continued once free access to the data products end.

VI.            An explanation of the added benefit of access to the 3 offered data products

–        For example, describing why existing freely available satellite data (including NICFI satellite program access level 1) is not sufficient for intended R&D efforts

VII.          Minimum number of user keys (IP addresses) necessary, as well as the ideal number of use keys required.

–        For example, the intended research and development cannot be realized with less than 2 user keys. Ideally the research and development project will have access to 4.

VIII.         Free text