Institutional partnerships enable long-term use of Earth observations in water security and resilience

Abstract Global water security demands reliable monitoring and resilient infrastructure, especially amid global and regional change. Although Earth observation technologies provide unprecedented information, institutions responsible for water, environmental, and disaster risk management in low- and middle-income countries still underuse their potential. Long-term use of Earth observations depends on translational infrastructure that connects scientific capabilities with operational decision-making. The SERVIR initiative provides a 20-year record (2005-2025) for identifying mechanisms that enable Earth observations to become embedded in policy and practice. Analysis of this record suggests that long-term use of Earth observations depends on distributed boundary organizations, iterative service co-design and embedded human capacity. Cases in which Earth observations remained in use after donor funding ended highlight transferable design principles for future digital public goods and show that long-term adaptation requires governance systems that bridge science and policy through locally driven co-production.