Building African Capacity to Use
Geographic Information for
Development Planning and to Influence
Sustainable Development Policy Debate
International Workshop on
Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa:
Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development
5-7 September 2005
Jacob Gyamfi-Aidoo
Sives Govender
EIS-AFRICA
http://www.eis-africa.org
Outline of presentation
 The EIS Program
 Background to EIS development
 Guiding Principles
 Program outcomes and responses
 Evolution of EIS
 Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
 Lessons Learnt
 Challenges
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
The EIS Program
 Initiated in 1990 as platform for capacity building in EIS
 First Africa-wide initiative to facilitate capacity building in
environmental information management
 Coordination framework for various stakeholders
 International agencies
 Bi-lateral donors
 Sharing knowledge and experiences
 Newsletter
 Annual meetings
 Publishing country-case studies
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
The EIS Program
 Promoting data standardisation and harmonisation
 Use of shared data resources
 Recognition of data custodianship
 Need for interoperability of systems and data
 Inter-agency collaboration and consensus-building
 Networking
 Most essential for improving the flow of information for
environmental management
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Background to EIS development
 Capacity development
 Need to develop African capacity to manage and use
environmental information
 1992 Earth Summit and Rio Declaration
 Agenda 21
 Chapter 40 of summit action plan emphasised role of
information in sustainable development
 Demand for information on the environment
 Integrated management of natural and environmental
resources
 Decision-making based on credible information
 Priority needs of countries
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Guiding Principles
 Generation of environment information must be




demand-driven and user-oriented.
Environmental information tools must be cost-effective.
Use of information management tools must be
integrated with a long-term sustainable development
plan.
Information management tools must be flexible, and
adapted to priority national needs.
Environmental information must be integrated into the
whole national data management system.
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Program outcomes and responses
 Individual level
 More than 2000 Africa professionals at the time of closure
 Institutional level
 National centres
 EIS-AFRICA, the NGO
 Programmes and initiatives
 UNDP/UNSO
 UNEP ENRIN/AEIN
 FAO AFRICOVER
 UNITAR/OSS SISEI
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Program outcomes and responses
 Collaboration and networking with other African
geoinformation organisations/initiatives
 African Association for Remote Sensing of Environment
 African Organisation for Remote Sensing and Cartography
 UNECA Committee on Development Information Sub-committee
on Geoinformation (CODI -Geo)
 AFRICAGIS conference and exhibition series
 Stared as a humble workshop of about 40 participants in 1993
 Leading geoinformation conference and exhibition on the
continent, with approx. 500 participants from around the world
 7th conference to be held 31st Oct. – 4th Nov. 2005 in City of
Tswhane, South Africa
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Evolution of EIS
 Original definition
 Strong focus on technology
 Evolved definition
 “Institutional and technical framework, essential for improving
the flow and use of information in environmental management.”
 The framework includes:
 Strategies
 Policies and procedures
 Core data sets and data management tools
 Communication and networking mechanisms
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
 Spatial data infrastructure not in general use at the time
 GSDI
 A global and open process for coordinating the organisation,
management, and use of spatial data and related activities.
 GSDI-2 (1997) adopted the following definition:
"… The policies, organizational remits, data, technologies,
standards, delivery mechanisms, and financial and human
resources necessary to ensure that those working at the
global and regional scale are not impeded in meeting their
objectives ..."
http://www.gsdi.org
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Lessons Learnt
 Adoption of the distributed (“enterprise”) data model
 Common data infrastructure
 Data warehousing
 Custodianship of data
 Data discovery
 Use of harmonised data for multiple uses
 Framework approach
 Work together
 Adopt common principles and norms
 Standards
 Long-term perspective, founded on consensus building
 Build upon existing successful knowledge networks and
structures
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Fascinating Times!!!
 Better civilian-use imagery
 Resolution less than 1 metre
 Open-window availability of
positioning data
 High-capacity, powerful and affordable computers
 Fast and cheap data transfer facilities
 Data servers (internet map servers — Google Earth !!!)
 Mobile GIS, hand-held devices and location-based
services
Current earth observation systems and technologies
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
provide
unique ways of5-7looking
at our world today
September 2005
Challenges
 Information should seen as an asset and managed as
such
 Value of environmental information not fully recognised
 Need for appropriate infrastructure to be in place for effective
leveraging
 Develop effective information exchange mechanisms
 Information is not power! Knowledge is not power!!
 What we do with information and knowledge gives us power
 New focus for capacity building
 Capacity development today ought to be about leveraging
information assets
 Data mining, adding value, and leveraging
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Challenges
 Basic problem still not solved
 New initiatives, same problem
 Promote the development of a dynamic information
market that is evolving and self-sustaining
 Systematically update “fundamental” data
 Ensure “legitimate” access to data
 Facilitate data discovery
 Remove barriers (political, institutional, technological, technical,
high cost, etc.)
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Challenges
 Change management
 Structural issues
 Organization norms and practices
 Capacity building
 Leverage all available resources and networks in
order to add value and derive maximum benefit
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Conclusions
 Link to development policy framework and initiatives
 Take into consideration needs of local people
 Avoid duplication of effort!!
 Need for sustained funding
 Money, money, money!!!!
 Data for development must be seen as part of national priorities
 Information is a strategic asset
 Need to move away from donor-funded projects
 Use donor to implement home-grown initiatives
 Need to tap into internal resources
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005
Contacts
EIS-AFRICA
www.eis-africa.org
sgovender@eis-africa.org
International Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa,
5-7 September 2005