SDGs

1. SDGs United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ___________________ Geoinformation & Spatial Statistics ___________________ Andre Nonguierma Earth Observations in Service of Global Development : African Perspectives GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective - 10 November 2015

2. The African Paradigm : People, Institutions & Technicalities • Putting Africa First • The new paradigm to generate and disseminate knowledge products to inform sustainable development decisions and track and monitor implementation from an African perspective • Data • Capacity • Policy 01/01/2020 Slide 2 of 20

3. What We Know... • Satellites provide vital means of obtaining observations of the earth system from a global perspective • And that a detailed global effort for the future will not be possible without a major, sustained spatial component • Earth Observation is useful in constituting factual, precise and updated data in: • Enhancing Observing Systems • Providing Easier & More Open Data Access • Fostering applications development … to answer Society’s need for informed decision making Water Resource Crop & Range Land Coastal & Marine

4. African EO Policy Drivers: Global Need for Complex Spatially-Enabled Information • Earth Observation Perspective • All the information products exemplified would not be complete without the location. They need to be localized: • Where are the features located? • Who will benefit from an activity or event ? Or at risk? Where are they? • Where are the markets for the products? The input factors? • Where are the infrastructure elements, utilities, etc? • What areas are suitable (or unsuitable) for specific activities ? • How do we move (people, products, services) from source to destination? • They all need to answer “where” questions from a regional perspective GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

5. African EO Opportunities : Data and Products • Considerable Purpose-oriented datasets exist Source: 2008 USGS GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

6. African EO Opportunities : Operational Services • Maturity in Developing Core Operational Services GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

7. African EO Opportunities : Improved Infrastructures • Commonalities between sub-regions • Improved capabilities of the Operational Centres of Excellence • Data collection, accessibility & integration • Monitoring and Assessment • Information Diffusion & Capacity Building GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

8. ARM member ALSAT-1 DMC ALSAT-2A & 2B EGYPTSAt-1 NIGERIASAT-1 (DMC) and 2 ARM member ARM member SUMBANDILASAT ARM member African EO Opportunities : National Space Programmes • Many African countries have established national remote sensing centres and/or mapping agencies and many universities on the continent are offering remote sensing programmes. • Four African countries (Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa) have developed/acquired EOS. • At least two (2) African countries - Egypt and South Africa- have active programmes in Astronomy. GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

9. African EO Opportunities: Individual Capacity • Professional Skills… • Large spectrum of fields in space science and technologies GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

10. African EO Nexus Issues

11. Therefore… There is Need • Coordinated mechanism with: • Policies, Infrastructures & Institutional Frameworks : UN-GGIM:Africa and AfriGEOSS • Explicit, quantified and ‘commoditized’ data for development: African Data Consensus • Comprehensive, holistic, vision-driven, long-term transformative development of capacities

12. Why We Need a EO Governance Framework in Service of Sustainable Development • From a Policy point of view… • African policy makers can benefit from the right information at the right moment (when they need it; where they need it; in a form they can use) to make the appropriate decision for sustainable development. • It will help develop an African holistic Earth Obersvation strategy linking global to local • From an Institutional point of view… • The policy framework shall help develop a cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach to EO applications, strengthening prevailing networks or building new ones to meet the actual and future potential use of EO resources to address emergent issues such as the SDGs. • From a Technological point of view... • The EO Governance Framework shall be the starting point of strong transfer of related applicable technology to Africa that will enable the continent to develop its own technologies and systems. • From a Societal point of view… • Constitution of coherent seamless and equivalent spatially enabled information is an essential precondition for setting up coordinated policy and strategy for Africa burning issues with global impact.

13. Africa Paradigm Shift… • The international and continental landscapes are changing • Generate the policy thinking that would help African countries own their development efforts and narrative. • Develop research and policy analysis that focus on structural transformation • Africa Endeavour to make his own marks in the space arena • Advancing holistic geospatial information policies • Establishing authoritative repository of (sustainable) development data • Fostering citizens spatial literacy, spatial awareness and navigational abilities.

14. What Africa want :Continent-wide Space Applications Governance • Synergism • A cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach to production, management, and dissemination of spatially enabled data: Regional and National level. • Possibly an African Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure (ARSDI). • Intergovernmental Coordinating body that oversees space activities and where stakeholders needs and expectations can be expressed and discussed • Possibly an African Space Agency • Partnership • Enhance and expand International Cooperation with emphasis on Intra-African Cooperation. • Develop national frameworks on space applications GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

15. What Africa Want : Enabling Environment • Multi-level long term Infrastructures and Networking • Strengthen the functions and operational infrastructures of existing regional Centres • Develop appropriate swift communication’s capacities • Indigenous Space Capabilities • A dedicated continent-wide space imaging information system owned & operated by Africa • A core African scientists and engineers involved in design, planning, development and operation of space missions and satellites systems. GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

16. What Africa want :High-Level Education and Capacity Building • Education is essential • Leads to technology adoption, ingestion and use • Basic training • To maintain operational capacity in space applications for technicians, managers, scientists and basic users • High Level Training • Empower African youth in space science and technology culture at all education levels (schools, universities). • Build a crticial mass of African space scientists (pure and applied research) GEO Plenary XII – EO for SD : African Perspective

17. d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 d6 d7 ../.. d13 2000 d14 d15 d16 d17 d18 What Africa Want : EO Data Democracy • Clear understanding of data required to address key development priorities • Fundamental data themes and datasets • Metadata Clearinghouses

18. Way Forward • Africa is increasingly acquiring capacity to produce, process and use Earth Observation data. • The World is increasingly developing satellites that are relevant to the African context, mechanisms for timely access (availability, affordability, infrastructure) to the data (historical, current and future). • Africa is slowly developing / updating capacity in the engineering and application of space science and technology and the requisite infrastructural capabilities … • Need for inter-disciplinary North-South and South–South partnerships of excellence

19. Contacting Us… • United Nations Economic Commission for Africa • ANonguierma@uneca.org • http://geoinfo.uneca.org/sdiafrica/ • www.uneca.org