INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE A KEY STAKEHOLDER GROUP FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT AND ADDRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS. THERE IS A NEED TO ENHANCE THE MONITORING CAPABILITIES OF INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT THEY CAN READILY ACCESS TECHNICAL TOOLS AND INFORMATION TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THEIR TERRITORIES ENSURE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LIVELIHOODS AND PROTECT THEIR INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED RIGHTS. WE PROPOSE TO STRENGTHEN THE TECHNICAL CAPACITIES OF INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE AMERICAS TO HARNESS THE POWER OF EARTH OBSERVATION (EO) DATA FOR ENHANCED SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT ACROSS INDIGENOUS LANDS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE ONGOING GROUP ON EARTH OBSERVATIONS (GEO) WORK PROGRAMME AMERIGEOSS INITIATIVE TO INCREASE THE REGIONAL CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND USE DECISIONS AND DATA INFRASTRUCTURE UTILIZING EO DATA BY PROMOTING TOOLS AND DATA PLATFORMS DEVELOPED BY COLLABORATORS INVOLVED IN THE AMERIGEOSS INITIATIVE TO NEW AUDIENCES (INDIGENOUS GROUPS) AND NETWORKS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL INCLUDE THREE MAJOR ACTIVITIES AND WILL LEVERAGE CURRENT CI INITIATIVES IN THE FOCAL GEO COUNTRIES BY FOCUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES WITH INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN ECUADOR PERU AND COSTA RICA. FIRST WE WILL DEVELOP METHODS FOR AN INNOVATIVE PARTICIPATORY NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO UNDERSTAND HOW A SELECTION OF INDIGENOUS GROUPS CURRENTLY APPROACH SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS RELATED TO THE FOUR AMERIGEOSS FOCAL SOCIETAL BENEFIT AREAS (I.E. FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURE DISASTER RESILIENCE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY) AND HOW THE USE OF EO DATA AND TOOLS COULD IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING. SECOND IN COLLABORATION WITH NASA S APPLIED REMOTE SENSING TRAINING (ARSET) PROGRAM WE WILL DESIGN TARGETED TRAINING MATERIALS AND CONDUCT WEBINARS AND ON-SITE TRAININGS TO IMPROVE LAND MANAGEMENT UTILIZING EO DATA PRODUCTS AND TOOLS BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. TO FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION AND GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGES THESE TRAININGS WILL ALIGN WITH GLOBAL INITIATIVES ENGAGING INDIGENOUS GROUPS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT (E.G. THE WORLD BANK S DEDICATED GRANT MECHANISM FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES THE INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IIPFCC) AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ACTIVITIES UNDER THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE). THE ANTICIPATED RESULTS FROM THIS WORK ARE: 1) A NOVEL FRAMEWORK FOR ENGAGING VITALLY IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS -- INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS -- TO UTILIZE EO DATA TO INFORM DECISIONS AND ACTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; 2) ENHANCED CAPACITY OF INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATIVES FROM AT LEAST THREE AMERIGEOSS COUNTRIES TO ASSESS AND USE EO DATA IN DECISION-MAKING; AND 3) INCREASED KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE OF EO APPLICATIONS WITHIN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE AMERICAS AND GLOBALLY. THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVEMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) AND THE SOCIETAL BENEFIT OBJECTIVES OF NASA S EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION APPLIED SCIENCES PROGRAM AND GEO. ULTIMATELY WE HOPE TO EXPAND THE UNDERSTANDING AND ACCESS OF EO DATA AND TOOLS BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES TO HELP INFORM DECISIONS AND ENABLE ACTIONS TO PROTECT AND SUSTAINABLY MANAGE INDIGENOUS LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES.