This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Digital Belt and Road Science Program (DBAR), the halfway point of the United Nations Decade of Action for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the inaugural year of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD). At this critical juncture, the Chengdu Declaration calls on scientists, institutions, and international organizations along the Belt and Road to strengthen collaboration, fully utilize Earth big data and digital innovation, and serve the sustainable development practices of BRI countries.
The Declaration outlines seven key actions for the next decade:
Deepen the Digital Sustainability Programme (DSP) international science plan.
Build an open, interconnected, and inclusive digital ecosystem.
Create decision-support platforms integrating artificial intelligence and Earth system data.
Strengthen capacity building and knowledge sharing to enhance digital skills and local application capabilities.
Expand international cooperation networks aligned with regional priority development needs.
Promote equitable sharing of data, technologies, and tools to bridge the digital divide.
Enhance the application of space-based observation technologies in monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and boost policy support capabilities.
DBAR was initiated by Chinese scientists in May 2016 with the aim to promote the application of digital technology, with a particular focus on Big Earth Data, towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Belt and Road Countries by promoting and enabling sharing of data, technology and knowledge, to facilitate decision-making process in service of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the implementation of Global Development Initiative.
Held over three days under the theme "Digital Science Driving Sustainable Development Transformation," the conference was co-hosted by DBAR, Chengdu University of Technology, the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), and the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It featured 9 thematic sessions, 4 regional side meetings, and 2 special sessions, focusing on key regional development issues such as Africa, ASEAN, and high mountains and polar regions. The event attracted experts, scholars, and representatives from nearly 30 countries, who collectively witnessed the official release of the Chengdu Declaration.