GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE AND THE USE OF OPEN BIG DATA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE-CHANGE ASSESSMENTS: A KOSOVO CASE STUDY

Abstract. This paper presents a framework for utilizing available open data resources, such as Google Earth Engine, to assess environmental conditions and climate change vulnerability in Kosovo. This paper lays the groundwork for academic, government, and private sector institutions to develop strategies for addressing climate change and environmental issues in Kosovo and for other developing nations to understand the extent of change occurring. The study demonstrates the value of open data for environmental sustainability and resilience building. The framework is based on the analysis of air pollution, groundwater monitoring, urban environments, and deforestation in Kosovo using publicly available models. The model is re-coded for Kosovo in JavaScript using open datasets to create an environmental assessment of the scopes and scales of the environmental issues that plague Kosovo. The results show that there is a lack of institutional frameworks for assessing climate change impacts in Kosovo, with limited capacity for conducting environmental assessments, and with limited data capacity for resource and data scarce environments with community managed frameworks. By leveraging extensive amounts of data and applying analytical frameworks, this paper contributes to the knowledge base of environmental conditions in Kosovo with emphasis on open data and technological advancements.