End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

The aim by 2030 is the eradication of extreme poverty, plus access to economic resources and opportunity, and the mobilisation of projects to improve resilience. One in seven live in extreme poverty and tackling the challenge requires knowledge of where.

“In this new century, millions of people in the world’s poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved, and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”

– Nelson Mandela

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages.

Location Intelligence is a fundamental resource in building resilience within countries with less advanced health systems and infrastructure and achieving global health equality.

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Progress of a society can be measured in part by gender equality – in other words, the woman’s place. Girls and women in the poorest countries get a raw deal, whether it’s politically or socially, or pertaining to  health, opportunity or choice. Challenges can be met by visualising this varied data in map form for easy comprehension and more rapid action.

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

– Kofi Annan

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Measuring access to reliable energy is a strong poverty indicator. Mapping who has access and who does not can allow for targeted development efforts as well as specific energy development strategies.

“Our universe is a sea of energy – free, clean energy. It’s all out there waiting for us to set sail upon it.”

– Robert Adams

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

With accurate population and demographic data, and a strong foundation of geographic data and location insight, a decent infrastructure is achievable. This will transform the connectivity of rural and urban lives and determine the success of manufacturing as well as agricultural industries.

The World Bank says, “Investments in water, sanitation, energy, housing, and transportation also improve lives and help to reduce poverty.” Investment in infrastructure at a simple level, such as building a footbridge between rural communities can increase new business growth by as much as 15%.

“Never before in history has innovation offered so much to so many in so short a time.”

– Bill Gates

Make cities and human communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

More than half of us now live in towns and cities, and with migration and population growth, that proportion is set to keep rising. But for the poorest people, that often means living in slums where conditions are dire. Our cities are only going to get busier—but we can make them safe, healthy, and happy places to live. By visualising  such things as transportation needs, housing development, air quality and wastewater management, the role of location intelligence is vital.

“Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations, a planet that is healthy and habitable for all species.”

– Sir David Attenborough

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Data and technology can be used to monitor and anticipate climate changes and to aid data-led decision-making. There is much more that can be done to use climate-related data to improve food resilience, increase the number of people insured against flooding, save lives by anticipating life-threatening weather events and more.

“No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.”

– Barak Obama

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

We need good, accurate data on land use and impact of this usage to be able to combat the destruction of fragile ecosystems. We need to be able to understand the true cost of human actions and use this data to reverse the effects of overuse of land. Mountains and coasts are also under threat because land there is being exploited—causing droughts and floods which in turn lead to food and water shortages.

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving strength to our people.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

GIS is enabling people across many organisations and geographies to create useful data that contributes to geospatial frameworks and ultimately helps to accomplish the 2030 agenda.

“Broad partnerships are the key to solving broad challenges. When governments, the United Nations, businesses, philanthropies and civil society work hand-in-hand, we can achieve great things.”

– Ban-Ki Moon