African Ownership of Critical Data

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) of Kenya is taking complete charge of DEA which is a geospatial platform based on satellite data that can be used to help solve environmental, agricultural and climate issues in Africa.

This has happened amid the ongoing issues of food security that Africa has been encountering. East Africa is currently facing the biggest crisis of food insecurity in the world as per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The current drought, floods, changes in weather and high cost of food and fertilizers are causing problems in already struggling food systems.

According to Tobias Landmann who is a senior research scientist at icipe, control over the analysis-ready data is very important for African independence when it comes to research and decision-making. Here, it is noteworthy to mention that icipe operates in all 54 countries in Africa.

A Platform Built for African Needs

Digital Earth Africa was introduced in 2019 and was formerly governed separately by organizations such as the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa and the African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology. The transfer of the platform's management to icipe is likely to promote African control of the platform in the future.

An illustration of the platform's extent of operation is in the form of its Waterbodies Continental Service, where it monitors over 750,000 waterbodies in Africa at the minimum resolution of 10 meters. Scientists can utilize this data to determine the condition of the water bodies, nutrient enrichment, and invasive vegetation.

Scientists are making use of satellite information in Kenya and Ethiopia to track the distribution of Prosopis juliflora, an invasive shrub that is negatively impacting waterbodies, biodiversity, and drought conditions.

Supporting Farmers and Climate Planning

Satellite technology also gives data concerning droughts, lack of water, and improper use of water resources. However, it may be difficult to use satellite information for farming since there is prevalence of small landholdings in Africa. About 75 percent of farmlands in sub-Saharan Africa occupy less than two hectares, while over 50 percent occupy less than one hectare. It may be quite challenging to measure such land areas from satellites.

The "geo-medians" used by DEA overcome some of these obstacles through integration of satellite pictures taken at different times, thus helping to get clearer results in case of clouds in particular pictures. Thus, it becomes possible to examine long-term processes like deforestation, cultivation, and change of water cycles.

Beyond Agriculture

These uses of the platform go further than agriculture. The information can be used by scientists to study water and air pollution, urbanization, loss of biodiversity, carbon neutrality, and logistics chains. Hence, the management of the platform by icipe makes Digital Earth Africa an even more useful tool for decision-making with regards to African realities.