Space science, technology, and its applications have the potential to make essential contributions to the implementation of global development agendas which encompass the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Member States of the United Nations are ultimately responsible for implementing the development agendas at the national level. The use of Earth observation tools can provide timely and reliable input data to the Global Indicator Framework to directly follow-up and review some of the sustainable development goals 169 targets. The continued user of these tools gives Member States the capability to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken to reach specific targets and to report on progress achieved or shortcomings that need to be addressed. For many countries, capacity development is an essential factor for making optimal use of solutions offered by space activities. A large number of stakeholders, including international, regional, and national entities, are providing relevant capacity development activities. This article provides a pragmatic conceptual framework for improved collaboration and coordination of capacity development to assist Member States to fully utilize the contributions of space science, technology, and its applications to implement the global development agendas and to benefit society. The proposed coordination of capacity development needs to be integrated into an overall results-based management approach for optimizing the use of space science, technology, and its applications in support of global development agendas.

This article examines the commitments of a number of space-faring nations to the development and application of remote-sensing activities, including the development of human resources. It also reflects on the ‘application syndrome’ in developing countries, resulting in an over-concentration on practical, short-term projects to the detriment of more long-term research capabilities. There is a growing awareness that this trend should not continue indefinitely, and that the developing countries should be concerned not only with what a given technology can do, but also with how and why it works the way it does. Through such a process, the developing countries can contribute to its growth and development, and make effective use of their research efforts in solving their own problems. The article concludes with a discussion of the efforts of the United Nations, particularly its Space Applications Programme, to foster the development of indigenous capability in remote-sensing technology.