sustainability Article Challenges in Using Earth Observation (EO) Data to Support Environmental Management in Brazil Mercio Cerbaro 1,* , Stephen Morse 1, Richard Murphy 1 , Jim Lynch 1 and Geoffrey Griffiths 2 1 Centre for Environment & Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;
[email protected] (S.M.);
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[email protected] (J.L.) 2 Department of Geography, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AB, UK; g.h.griffi
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[email protected] Received: 27 November 2020; Accepted: 10 December 2020; Published: 12 December 2020 Abstract: This paper presents the results of research designed to explore the challenges involved in the use of Earth Observation (EO) data to support environmental management Brazil. While much has been written about the technology and applications of EO, the perspective of end-users of EO data and their needs has been under-explored in the literature. A total of 53 key informants in Brasilia and the cities of Rio Branco and Cuiaba were interviewed regarding their current use and experience of EO data and the expressed challenges that they face. The research builds upon a conceptual model which illustrates the main steps and limitations in the flow of EO data and information for use in the management of land use and land cover (LULC) in Brazil. The current paper analyzes and ranks, by relative importance, the factors that users identify as limiting their use of EO. The most important limiting factor for the end-user was the lack of personnel, followed by political and economic context, data management, innovation, infrastructure and IT, technical capacity to use and process EO data, bureaucracy, limitations associated with access to high-resolution data, and access to ready-to-use product.