Down To Earth Geographical Information For Sustainable Development in Africa

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Down to Earth: Geographical Information for

Sustainable Development in Africa
Committee on the Geographic Foundation for Agenda
21, Committee on Geography, Mapping Science
Committee, National Research Council
ISBN: 0-309-50021-4, 172 pages, 8.5 x 11, (2002)
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Down to Earth: Geographical Information for Sustainable Development in Africa
DOWN TO EARTH
Geographic Information for
Committee on the Geographic Foundation for Agenda 21

Committee on Geography
Mapping Science Committee
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

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Front cover: Left—a GeoCover-Ortho image of Mount Kilimanjaro originally obtained at 30 × 30 m

spatial resolution. It has a positional accuracy of better than 50 m (root mean square error). Landsat TM
bands 7,4,2 (mid-infrared, near-infrared, and green) are displayed (courtesy of Earth Satellite Corpora-
tion). Each color or shade is unique and depends on the vegetation type, health, and growth stage. The
bright greens are dense vegetation. The purples and pinks are sparse to no vegetation. The bottom third
center of the image along Mount Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes contains areas of clear cuts (in pinks) sur-
rounded by uncut verdant forest (bright greens). The top of the mountain is snow-covered (blue) and the
white areas are clouds. Upper Right—artist’s rendition of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 60-m
(200-ft) mast being deployed from the space shuttle Endeavor (courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Labora-
tory). Radar images are collected from the end of the mast and from the shuttle payload bay. Lower
Right—paper maps used in decision support in Namibia (courtesy of Jo Tagg, Namibia Nature Founda-
tion).
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www.national-academies.org

COMMITTEE ON THE GEOGRAPHIC FOUNDATION FOR AGENDA 21

JOHN R. JENSEN, Chair, University of South Carolina, Columbia
KWESI BOTCHWEY, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
ELLEN BRENNAN-GALVIN, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
Washington, D.C.
CHRISTIAN J. JOHANNSEN, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
CALESTOUS JUMA, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
AKINLAWON L. MABOGUNJE, Development Policy Center, Ibadan, Nigeria
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER, Columbia University, Palisades, New York
KEVIN P. PRICE, University of Kansas, Lawrence
PRISCILLA A. C. REINING (Retired), International Office of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
DAVID L. SKOLE, Michigan State University, East Lansing
ANDREW STANCIOFF, Stone Environmental, Inc., Washington, D.C.
D. R. FRASER TAYLOR, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
NRC Staff
ANTHONY R. de SOUZA, Director, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
PAUL M. CUTLER, Study Director
LISA M. VANDEMARK, Study Director
KRISTEN L. KRAPF, Program Officer
EILEEN M. McTAGUE, Research Assistant
TERESIA K. WILMORE, Project Assistant
iv

COMMITTEE ON GEOGRAPHY
BILLIE L. TURNER II, Chair, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
BERNARD O. BAUER, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
RUTH S. DEFRIES, University of Maryland, College Park
ROGER M. DOWNS, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
MICHAEL F. GOODCHILD, University of California, Santa Barbara
SUSAN HANSON, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
SARA L. MCLAFFERTY, University of Illinois, Urbana
ELLEN S. MOSLEY-THOMPSON, The Ohio State University, Columbus
ERIC S. SHEPPARD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
NRC Staff
MONICA R. LIPSCOMB, Research Assistant
VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Associate

MAPPING SCIENCE COMMITTEE

DAVID J. COWEN, Chair, University of South Carolina, Columbia
ANNETTE J. KRYGIEL, Vice-Chair, Independent Consultant, Integro, Great Falls, Virginia
ERIC A. ANDERSON, City of Des Moines, Iowa
WILLIAM J. CRAIG, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
MARK MONMONIER, Syracuse University, New York
JOEL MORRISON, Ohio State University, Columbus
SHERYL G. OLIVER, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Springfield
HARLAN J. ONSRUD, University of Maine, Orono
C. STEPHEN SMYTH, MobileGIS, Ltd., Bellevue, Washington
JAMES V. TARANIK, University of Nevada, Reno
REX W. TRACY, BAE Systems, San Diego, California
A. KEITH TURNER, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
NRC Staff
PAUL M. CUTLER, Program Officer
RADHIKA S. CHARI, Senior Project Assistant
vi

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

RAYMOND JEANLOZ, Chair, University of California, Berkeley
JILL BANFIELD, University of California, Berkeley
STEVEN R. BOHLEN, Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Washington, D.C.
VICKI J. COWART, Colorado Geological Survey, Denver
DAVID L. DILCHER, University of Florida, Gainesville
ADAM M. DZIEWONSKI, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
WILLIAM L. GRAF, University of South Carolina, Columbia
RHEA GRAHAM, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, Albuquerque
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
DIANNE R. NIELSON, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City
MARK SCHAEFER, NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia
BILLIE L. TURNER II, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
THOMAS J. WILBANKS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee
NRC Staff
ANTHONY R. de SOUZA, Director
TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Senior Program Officer
DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer
ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer
PAUL M. CUTLER, Program Officer
KERI H. MOORE, Program Officer
LISA M. VANDEMARK, Program Officer
YVONNE P. FORSBERGH, Research Assistant
MONICA R. LIPSCOMB, Research Assistant
EILEEN M. McTAGUE, Research Assistant
JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Associate
VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Associate
RADHIKA S. CHARI, Senior Project Assistant
KAREN L. IMHOF, Senior Project Assistant
SHANNON L. RUDDY, Senior Project Assistant
TERESIA K. WILMORE, Project Assistant
WINFIELD SWANSON, Editorial Consultant
vii


Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individu- Dr. Barry N. Haack
als chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical exper- George Mason University
tise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Fairfax, Virginia
Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose
of this independent review is to provide candid and critical Dr. David Kaplan
comments that will assist the institution in making its pub- Department of Trade and Industry
lished report as sound as possible and to ensure that the re- Cape Town, South Africa
port meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence,
and responsiveness to the study charge. The review com- Dr. Pamela A. Matson
ments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect Stanford University
the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank California
the following individuals for their review of this report:
Dr. John Mugabe
Dr. André Bassolé African Centre for Technology Studies
Environmental Information Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Nairobi, Kenya
(EIS-AFRICA)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Dr. Marilyn Silberfein
Temple University
Dr. Ruth S. Defries Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Maryland
College Park Although the reviewers listed above have provided many
constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked
Dr. Paul V. Desanker to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they
University of Virginia see the final draft of the report before its release. The review
Charlottesville of this report was overseen by Dr. Thomas J. Wilbanks, Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, and Dr. Brian J. L. Berry, Uni-
Dr. Michael F. Goodchild versity of Texas. Appointed by the National Research Coun-
University of California cil, they were responsible for making certain that an inde-
Santa Barbara pendent examination of this report was carried out in
accordance with institutional procedures and that all review
Dr. James Guseh comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the
North Carolina Central University final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring
Durham committee and the institution.
ix


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xi
Preface
On July 9, 2001, Undersecretary of State for Global Af- vate, and non-profit organizations working with geographic
fairs Paula Dobriansky sent a letter to Dr. Bruce Alberts, information and applications in Africa (Appendix B) and its
president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, request- own experience and judgment to determine broad lessons
ing a study as a contribution to the U.S. Department of learned. Committee and staff members also participated in
State’s “Geographic Information for Sustainable Develop- international conferences and meetings of geographic infor-
ment” Alliance for the World Summit on Sustainable Devel- mation practitioners in Bamako, Mali; Dar es Salaam, Tan-
opment in Johannesburg in August 2002. Being held a de- zania; Nairobi, Kenya; Niamey, Niger; and Ouagadougou,
cade after the United Nations Conference on Environment Burkina Faso.
and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the main goals of the In a symposium at the U.S. National Academy of Sci-
summit are to “reinvigorate the global commitments to and ences in 1999 Professor John E. Estes first noted the need for
achieve a higher level of international solidarity and partner- a study of this type. He suggested compiling a resource high-
ship in the promotion of sustainable development” (UN, lighting the value of geographic data and tools for address-
2001). ing issues of sustainable development. Professor Estes stated,
The Geographic Information for Sustainable Develop- “We cannot have sustainable economic development and
ment Alliance is an international collaboration and alliance improved environmental quality without understanding how
whose objective is to apply a new generation of earth our global resource base is changing through time.”
observation data and GIS-linked technologies to ongoing In addition to the U.S. Department of State the study re-
sustainable development problems in Africa. The alliance ceived support from the Environmental Systems Research
focuses on four case-study regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Institute, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
These are the Upper Niger basin, the Kenya-Tanzania coast, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, National Oceanic
the African Great Lakes Region, and the Limpopo and and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Founda-
Zambezi river basins. As a component of the Geographic tion, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the
Information for Sustainable Development Alliance, this U.S. Geological Survey.
study concentrates on sub-Saharan Africa and draws on John R. Jensen, Chair
experiences from activities in these case-study regions.
Descriptions of ongoing activities in these areas are provided
as examples of the application of geographic information to
REFERENCE
sustainable development in Africa. Given the embryonic
state of some activities in the case-study regions and the UN (United Nations). 2001. SADC Progress Report on the Implemen-
available time and resources, the committee chose not to tation of Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development: A Report to the
2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Available at
critically analyze these efforts. Instead the committee (Ap- <http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/web_pages/sadc_prepcom
pendix A) drew on literature and testimony from public, pri- _progress_report.pdf>. Accessed August 1, 2002.
xi


Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
1 INTRODUCTION 11
Purpose of the Report, 11
Geographic Data and Sustainable Development, 14
Structure of the Report, 15
References, 17
2 AGENDA 21 IMPLEMENTATION: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES,

AND THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 18
Introduction, 18
Global Progress with Implementation of Agenda 21, 18
Implementing Agenda 21 in Africa, 21
The Role of Geographic Information in Meeting Agenda 21 Objectives, 23
An Approach to Evaluating the Role of Geographic Information in Sustainable
Development Applications, 25
Summary, 27
References, 27
3 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA 29

Introduction, 29
Organizations with Continent-Wide Activities, 29
Geographic Information Activities in Case-Study Regions, 31
Summary, 36
References, 36
4 FACILITATING THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC DATA: SPATIAL DATA

AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURES 37
Introduction, 37
Spatial Data Infrastructures, 37
Telecommunications Infrastructure in Africa, 43
Summary, 50
References, 50
5 GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT I:

FRAMEWORK DATA 52
Introduction, 52
xiii

xiv CONTENTS
Historical Legacy Data as a Baseline for Documenting Change, 52

Framework Foundation Geographic Data from Modern Sources, 54
Framework Thematic Geographic Data, 66
Summary, 69
References, 69
Annex 5, 71
6 GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT II:

OTHER THEMATIC DATA 79
Introduction, 79
Land Cover and Land Use, 79
The Condition of Vegetation and Hydrologic Resources, 90
Data for Managing Human Health, 94
Coordination Among Data Producers and Users, 95
Summary, 96
References, 97
Annex 6, 99
7 GIS-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN AFRICA 104

Introduction, 104
Decision-Making and Geographic Information, 105
Examples of Decision-Support Systems in Africa, 108
Impediments to Implementing Spatial Decision-Support Systems in Africa, 110
Opportunities for Enhancing Decision Support in Africa, 111
Summary, 113
References, 113
8 BUILDING CAPACITY TO APPLY GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA 114
Introduction, 114
Human Capacity, 115
Organizational Capacity, 116
Societal Capacity, 121
Summary, 126
References, 126
9 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 128

Introduction, 128
Lessons Learned, 128
Conclusions and Recommendations, 130
Summary, 134
References, 135
APPENDIXES
A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 139
B Oral and Written Contributors 142
C FGDC Statement 146
D Acronyms 148
E Glossary 153

Executive Summary
In 1992 world leaders adopted Agenda 21 (UNCED, in African countries and examines how future sources and
1992), the work program of the 1992 U.N. Conference on applications of geographic data could provide reliable sup-
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The land- port to decision-makers2 as they work toward sustainable
mark event provided a political foundation and action items development. The committee emphasizes the potential of
to facilitate the global transition toward sustainable develop- new technologies, such as satellite remote-sensing systems3
ment (Box ES-1). The international community is marking and geographic information systems (GIS), that have revo-
the tenth anniversary of this conference by holding the World lutionized data collection and analysis over the last decade.
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg,
South Africa, in August 2002. The goals of the summit are to
The Charge to the Committee
“reinvigorate the global commitments to, and achieve a
higher level of international solidarity and partnership in the As a component of the State Department’s contribution to
promotion of sustainable development” (UN, 2001). The the World Summit in Johannesburg (August 2002), this study
summit builds on the political momentum created by the will examine the geographic foundation for natural resource
U.N. Millennium Declaration, in which world leaders com- management and development issues in Africa. Centered on
mitted themselves to achieving a broad range of time-bound a place-based,4 integrative framework, the study draws on
international sustainable development objectives for which experiences of U.S. government agencies, international
sustainable development provides a unifying framework groups, decision-makers, and experts to examine
(UN, 2001).
This report is a component of the U.S. State Department’s (1) existing remote-sensing and GIS efforts in case-study
contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Develop- regions and lessons learned from those efforts;
ment, the “Geographic Information for Sustainable Develop-
ment” project (GISD, 2002). Because South Africa is hosting
1Geography is an integrative discipline that brings together the physical
the summit, it seemed appropriate for this report to focus on
and human dimensions of the world in the study of people, places, and
sub-Saharan Africa. Examples are drawn from case-study
environments. Its subject matter is the Earth’s surface and the processes that
regions where the U.S. Agency for International Develop- shape it, the relationships between people and environments, and the con-
ment (USAID) and other agencies have broad experience. nections between people and places (Geography Education Standards
Although African countries are the geographic focus of the Project, 1994).
2Decision-makers in the context of sustainable development choose ac-
report, the material in the report has broader applicability.
tions that directly or indirectly affect the environment and reside in all lev-
els of government, the citizenry, the private sector, non-governmental orga-
PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT nizations, or overseas development agencies, for example.
3Remote-sensing is “the measurement or acquisition of information of
This report summarizes the importance and applicability some property of an object or phenomenon by a recording device that is not
of geographic1 data for sustainable development. Geographic in physical or intimate contact with the object or phenomenon under study”
(Colwell, 1997). Satellites and aircraft are common platforms for remote-
data describe spatial variations across the landscape at a va-
sensing systems.
riety of scales (local, national, global) and include such ele- 4Place-based studies are “the systematic analysis of social, economic,
ments as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land political, and environmental processes operating in a place that provides an
use, and economic activity. The report draws on experiences integrated understanding of its distinctiveness or character” (NRC, 1999).

2 DOWN TO EARTH
BOX ES-1
Sustainable Development: A Matter of Definition
The concept of sustainable development has a long compromising the ability of future generations to meet
history in scientific thought. As early as 1749 the Swed- their own needs.” Our Common Journey, a report of the
ish botanist Linnaeus in his Oeconomia naturae linked U.S. National Research Council (NRC, 1999), added a tem-
economy to nature in a way that resembles many of the poral dimension, defining sustainable development as “the
concepts of sustainable development. His economic pro- reconciliation of society’s developmental goals with its en-
gram focused on the need to make efficient use of exist- vironmental limits over the long term.” These definitions
ing resources rather than pursue military expeditions as a reflect the growing need to provide an ethical framework
means of economic survival. Over 200 years later in Our for integrating developmental and environmental goals.
Common Future the World Commission on Environment Sustainable development is therefore a set of guiding prin-
and Development (WCED, 1987) gave international promi- ciples whose implementation is reflected in a variety of
nence to sustainable development and defined it as “de- action programs, of which Agenda 21 is the most promi-
velopment that meets the needs of the present without nent.
(2) existing levels of local expertise and technology, and data to be collected at all scales to track the status and trends
ongoing efforts in geospatial capacity building5; of Earth’s ecosystems, natural resources, pollution, and so-
(3) a range of questions relating to the practical applica- cioeconomic variables. Chapter 40 concludes that “the gap
tion of new and existing spatial data (e.g., required in the availability, quality, coherence, standardization and
resolution, challenges of integrating layers of environ- accessibility of data between the developed7 and the devel-
mental and social data, and baseline data against which oping world has been increasing, seriously impairing the
future change can be measured); capacities of countries to make informed decisions concern-
(4) the role of decision-support systems in the application ing environment and development.”8
of these data; and Five years after the U.N. Conference on Environment and
(5) options for making efforts sustainable beyond 2002. Development (UNCED), in a 1997 assessment of the state of
data supporting decision-making on each of Agenda 21 ac-
The geographic foundation for Agenda 21 in Africa in- tion items (UN, 1997), most of the nine responding African
volves a wide array of geographic data, tools, and perspec- governments9 described their existing databases as “poor”
tives (including social, environmental, and economic data; or containing “some good data but many gaps.” Ten years
maps and models; and the analysis of pattern and processes, after UNCED, the work of the U.N. Economic Commission
place, and scale). This study was undertaken in support of for Africa (ECA), which presses for greater awareness of the
the U.S. Geographic Information for Sustainable Develop- significance of geographic information in socioeconomic
ment Alliance, which focuses on the uses of Earth observa- development among African governments and other sec-
tion data and GIS to address Agenda 21 issues. In this con- tors10 (ECA, 2001), illustrates that much remains to be
text the report emphasizes fundamental data types that are achieved in applying geographic information to sustainable
needed in many applications and ways of increasing accessi- development.
bility to these data in Africa. An assessment of the potential Geographic data are obtained from ground-based (in situ)
applications of the full range of geographic data, tools, and measurements or from remote-sensing systems. These data
concepts for natural resource management and development are of little practical value in sustainable development deci-
in Africa would also be valuable. sion-making if they cannot be analyzed in conjunction with
development data, such as economic or health data, that are
geographically referenced11 (Jensen, 2000). Data that de-
GEOGRAPHIC DATA AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
6Information is data that humans assimilate and evaluate to solve a prob-
Chapter 40 in Agenda 21, “Information6 for Decision- lem or make a decision (EIS-Africa, 2001).
Making,” stresses the need for more and different types of 7Developed countries are those with “high” gross national income (World
Bank, 2002). Developing countries are those with “low” or “medium” gross
national income. The committee adopted these terms in the report.
5Capacity is the ability to undertake certain activities, solve problems 8Development includes at least four related concepts (Dernbach, 2002):
and achieve objectives (Fukuda-Parr et al., 2002) such as interpreting a map peace and security, economic development, social development, and na-
(an example of human capacity), possessing a computer (organizational tional governance that secures peace and development.
capacity), or sharing data (societal capacity). Capacity is built by enhancing 9Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Gabon, Malawi, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda,
these abilities. Zimbabwe

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
scribe environment and development can be linked by geo- • fire monitoring using DMSP nighttime lights and Terra
graphic location to provide greater understanding of com- MODIS imagery (Chapter 6).
plex issues, and GISs were developed specifically for this
purpose. A GIS is formed from a set of map layers or over- Geographic data and information such as these are funda-
lays registered to a common geographic coordinate system mental for addressing Agenda 21 issues. For example, they
and is “a digital information system that is designed to work are used in early warning systems for natural disasters, hu-
with data referenced by spatial or geographic coordinates” man and livestock health, and crop production, and for moni-
(Star and Estes, 1990). Geographic information systems are toring soil erosion, rainfall, crop yields, disease vectors (e.g.,
powerful tools for ingesting, storing, retrieving, transform- insects), and biodiversity. Decision-support systems that in-
ing, processing, and displaying geographic data (Burrough, clude geographic information and tools (e.g., GIS) are used
1986). If a GIS involves the integration of geographically in decisions about land use, water-resource allocation, flood
referenced data in a problem-solving situation, it can become and erosion prevention, and natural resource management.
important for decision-making, or a “decision-support sys- Additionally, decision-support systems in the form of two-
tem” (Cowen, 1988). Geospatial capacity is essential for all dimensional maps and images promote the application of
these steps so that full use can be made of the capabilities of geographic information at the local level where many sus-
geographic data for supporting sustainable-development de- tainable development challenges occur (e.g., Chapters 3 and
cision-making. 7).
The United States provides geographic data for a wide The next section discusses lessons learned about the
variety of applications in Africa. These data include: application of geographic information in the four case-study
regions and other areas in Africa. The committee’s conclu-
• data from the 24-satellite Global Positioning System sions and recommendations are presented in the final section.
(GPS) (Chapter 5); The conclusions and recommendations follow the three-
• global 30 × 30 m orthorectified Landsat Thematic im- section structure of the report: namely, the spatial data and
agery from circa 1990 through the National Aeronau- telecommunications infrastructure (Chapter 4), geographic
tics and Space Administration (NASA) Data Buy and data and tools (Chapters 5, 6, and 7), and geospatial capacity
Earth Satellite Corporation (Chapter 6); building (Chapter 8).
• imagery of many African countries from CORONA
data and Space Shuttle photography;
• global digital elevation model information (90 × 90 m LESSONS LEARNED
spatial resolution) derived from NASA’s Shuttle Ra- Africa has a small but growing community of geographic
dar Topography Mission (Chapter 5) (in processing); data providers, processors and analysts, trainers, technicians,
• hydrologic information derived from the Global To- advocates, and data and information users (decision-mak-
pography at 30 arc seconds (GTOPO30) dataset ers). The community’s growth is demonstrated by the more
(Chapter 5); than 400 participants at the Africa-GIS conference in Nairobi
• land cover derived from satellite sensors including in November 2001 compared to the 70 attendees at the first
Landsat, NASA’s Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Africa-GIS conference in Tunis in 1993.12 As the commu-
Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the National Oce- nity grows, its activities are becoming better coordinated.
anic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) This community comprises African and international part-
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer ners from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), univer-
(AVHRR) (Chapter 6); sities, private companies, and foreign governments, includ-
• remote-sensing-derived vegetation indexes, including ing the space and aid agencies that are a major source of
the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) geographic data, training, and support.
(Chapter 6); Efforts to expand the use of geographic information at
• rainfall measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Mea- national and regional levels are resulting in data and infor-
suring Mission (Chapter 6); mation for decision-making, technical training for students
• soil moisture measurements from the Defense Meteo- and professionals, and creation of geospatial capacity. The
rological Satellite Program (DMSP); capacity to manage and use geographic data and information
• estimation of human population distribution using is growing through continent-wide activities (e.g., EIS-Af-
LandScan 2000 and Gridded Population of the World rica and ECA’s regional centers) and partnerships (e.g.,
datasets (Chapter 5); and NOAA’s Radio and Internet for the Communication of Hy-
dro-Meteorological and Climate-related Information across
Africa [RANET] project, the Miombo Network, and the
10The committee applies the term “sector” to groupings such as environ-
mental, social, and economic sectors.

11These are data with known latitude, longitude, and elevation, or other 12Daniel Tunstall, World Resources Institute, personal communication,
horizontal and vertical coordinates. May 10, 2002.

4 DOWN TO EARTH
Food and Agricultural Organization’s [FAO’s] Africover ment. This separation can result in short-term, project-ori-
project). Some of these activities like the Famine Early ented data collection; single-issue development agendas
Warning System Network (FEWS NET) have been in place (e.g., economic growth divorced from environmental and
for many years, whereas others like Uganda’s Advocates intergenerational equity considerations); and spurious at-
Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), tempts to make tradeoffs between inseparable dimensions of
Burkina Faso’s National Program for Environment Informa- sustainable development such as human well-being and en-
tion Management (PNGIM), and the Livestock Early Warn- vironmental protection (NRC, 2002).
ing System (LEWS) in East Africa are new. Sustainable development necessarily links people, their
needs, and the impacts of their behavior over time (including
patterns of population growth and consumption, cultural pat-
Needs-Driven Approaches and Data Sharing
terns, and political activities) to the environment and the
Needs-driven approaches and open data-sharing environ- economy. Consequently, data on human population distribu-
ments are common among effective applications of geo- tion are fundamentally important to decision-makers as they
graphic information (e.g., the Community Based Natural address Agenda 21 issues.
Resources Management [CBNRM] program in Namibia, the
continent-wide Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa [MARA] Lesson Learned: Geographic information and technolo-
project, and the Miombo Network in southern Africa). The gies are central to the transition from traditional environ-
needs-driven approach of the CBNRM program has built mental management to sustainable development that brings
credibility with field users, led to a strong feeling of owner- people to the fore, rightfully integrating environment and
ship by rural people and field-based support staff, fostered a development.
culture of sensitivity to community needs among technical
institutions that are partners in the program, generated trust
Geographic Information at the Intersection of Sectors
and a common vision among partners (communities, gov-
ernment, donors), and built a critical mass to enhance Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992) calls for integrated social,
sustainability of the program. Data sharing, facilitated by all economic, and environmental data. There is growing recog-
users adopting the same software, data formats, and file di- nition by decision-makers in Africa that problems at the in-
rectory structure, and a metadata database has resulted in tersection of agriculture and environmental management,
cost savings. climate change, and land-cover change, with their attendant
The agricultural and natural resource management sec- social and economic consequences, will be at the forefront
tors are a likely primary source of demand for geographic in the new century.
information and related decision-support tools. These sec- Technological advances fostering the integration of satel-
tors are the main users because the livelihoods of the major- lite imagery with other data (such as socioeconomic or health
ity of Africans depend on them. Additional demand will arise data) in GIS are opening new ways to synthesize complex
as African countries need to satisfy reporting requirements and diverse geographic datasets, creating new opportunities
on treaties to which they are signatories. for collaboration among natural and social scientists and
decision-makers at all levels (e.g., the LEWS project, the
Lesson Learned: Needs-driven as opposed to prescriptive Miombo Network, the MARA project, CBNRM, and South-
approaches with provision of information in appropriate ern African Development Community [SADC]).
and usable forms are most likely to result in effective appli-
cation of geographic information. Lesson Learned: In this century many environmental prob-
lems will occur at the intersection of sectors. Geographic
information technologies can assist people in tackling this
From Environmental Management to Sustainable
integration challenge.
Development
Geographic information and technologies are central to
Good Governance
achieving a successful transition from traditional environ-
mental and resource management practices to sustainable Societal capacity is built by governance13 that promotes
development because of their integrative quality (linking the relationships among individuals, organizations, and the
social, economic, and environmental data) and their place- larger society. In this way governance contributes to the de-
based quality (addressing relationships among places at lo-
cal, national, regional, and global scales).
13Governance is defined by the UN Development Program (UNDP) as
A narrow focus on either economic development or envi-
“the exercise of political, economic, and administrative authority to manage
ronmental management can obscure the connections between a nation’s affairs.” Sound or good governance is defined as that sub-set of
environmental change and social, political, and economic governance, “wherein public resources and problems are managed effi-
activities, artificially separating environment from develop- ciently and in response to the critical needs of society” (UNDP, 1997).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
velopment of geospatial capacity. Linkages that facilitate • ineffective transfer of technology to the local level
collaboration among academics, governmental and non-gov- where many decisions are made that impact sustain-
ernmental actors, and the private sector are needed for the able development (Chapter 7; NRC, 1999).
transition to sustainable development (NRC, 1999).
Human and organizational capacity to apply geographic The available data often are not of sufficiently high spa-
information and technology to Agenda 21 issues cannot grow tial or temporal resolution to be useful for decision-support
or be maintained unless rooted in a wider societal context at the local level. Urban planners require regularly updated
that values the contributions of science and technology, up- data at 1-m spatial resolution to take into account the rapid
holds principles of openness and sharing of information, and pace of change in cities. In rural areas where the bulk of the
provides incentives for change and adaptation. The develop- population still live the minimum spatial resolution of value
ment of a policy environment that supports the use of geo- to agricultural extension workers and rural development spe-
graphic information depends on the attention given to scien- cialists is that of the small farms. Existing coverages, as out-
tific and technological issues in general. lined in this report, are impressive at national and sub-na-
Geographic data, hardware, and software systems are in- tional levels but virtually nonexistent at local scales. The
creasingly sophisticated but it is really the political, social, problem is confounded by the fact that what data are avail-
economic, and educational institutions of a country that ulti- able rarely reach the rural and urban decision-makers at the
mately determine the application and use of these data and local level dealing with the day-to-day realities of sustain-
tools for decision-making. Good governance creates a cli- able development.
mate in which geospatial capacity can grow and vice versa. In addition to data-availability challenges, many decision-
Geographic information illuminates social and political makers in developed and developing countries have no ex-
problems, such as the uneven distribution of the benefits of perience with GIS and other spatial decision-support tools,
economic development, lack of accountability of elected of- and thus do not appreciate their potential for using geo-
ficials, and a burden of disease that impacts societal cohe- graphic information. Other impediments to implementation
sion. of spatial decision-support systems include the orientation
of projects toward data production rather than application,
Lesson Learned: Good governance promotes geospatial lack of planning for the decision-support process, lack of
capacity and vice versa. Access to integrated geographic communication between technicians and scientists within an
information allows civil society to hold government ac- organization, and lack of inclusion of university research that
countable; and government creates policies that determine could drive data analysis (EIS-Africa, 2001). With limited
public access to information and public participation in geographic data and a limited appreciation for its value the
the decision process. ability of African countries to address Agenda 21 issues and
to fulfill their international treaty obligations for environ-
mental reporting is compromised.
Barriers for Use of Geographic Information
There remain barriers to effective use of geographic in- Lesson Learned: There are several barriers to the use of
formation in Africa, including geographic data to address Agenda 21 issues. The next
section describes approaches to overcome some of these
• technical limitations of accessibility to data such as barriers.
inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, limited
bandwidth, and low Internet connectivity (Chapter 4);
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• administrative challenges of accessibility to data, in-
cluding lack of (1) familiarity on the part of govern-
Enabling Frameworks
ment officials with requests for information, (2) effi-
cient protocols for requesting government data (Chap-
Spatial Data Infrastructures
ter 8), (3) common data standards to promote sharing
(Chapter 4), and (4) issues of copyright and distribu- Conclusion: There is no universally accepted framework for
tion; geographic data management in Africa. An integrated,
• inability to afford needed data and lack of availability interoperable approach would provide Africans with better
of hard currency and foreign exchange in many coun- access to more diversified data that could then be applied to
tries (Chapter 6); specific questions or problems. Decision-making on Agenda
• educational and organizational limitations on access 21 issues requires access to data from multiple sources, in-
to data and technology including a poorly trained cluding international ones, and this is facilitated by standard-
workforce and limited private-sector demand to spur ization within a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) (Chapter 4).
the development of geographic information and tools Countries could benefit economically from SDIs because of
(Chapter 8); and the possibility to use data many times for many applications.

6 DOWN TO EARTH
Recommendation: Because of the potential benefits, devel- graphic information activities. Rapidly evolving technology
oping countries should consider using a standardized SDI makes it difficult to provide access to low-cost data analysis
that is compatible with the emerging Global Spatial Data tools and to generate continuous datasets. Without some way
Infrastructure (GSDI). Data derived from international devel- to assure data continuity (NRC, 1995), investments by de-
opment programs (for example, those of USAID) should con- velopment organizations in training and capacity building
form to the standards recommended by the GSDI. In this way will be less useful than they could be. Without assurances
data collected by these programs are rendered more useful. that these investments will be useful in the future, it will be
more difficult for African governments to invest in their own
capacity and infrastructure. Changes in data access policy,
Telecommunications Infrastructure
data cost, or the elimination of an observation program cre-
Conclusion: Sustainable development activities would be ate uncertainties about long-term benefits of international
improved if a greater emphasis were placed on distributed programs to Africans.
systems that enabled access to multiple geographic datasets
and linked networks of African scientists, data users, and Global Positioning Systems
organizations. An efficient telecommunications infrastruc- Conclusion: Global Positioning System (GPS) information
ture facilitates accessibility, use, and dissemination of geo- is broadcast worldwide to virtually anyone in any country,
graphic data and information, and forms the backbone of and is of great importance to the practical collection and use
any SDI. Although telecommunications infrastructures are of fundamental geographic data for Agenda 21-related ini-
improving, in Africa as in much of the developing world tiatives.
they often are inadequate to support efficient SDIs (Chapter
4). Access to geographic data through the Internet is limited, Recommendation: The utility of GPS information should
and high connection cost and low bandwidth restrict data not be reduced by reintroducing selective availability, and
sharing. its continuity should be guaranteed. The U.S. Department of
In response to these problems a range of organizations is Defense should continue to allow free access to Global Posi-
developing and improving telecommunications infrastruc- tioning System data.
ture in Africa (e.g., the African Information Society, the Af-
rican Development Forum, the African Telecommunications National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satel-
Union, the African Connection, USAID’s Leland Initiative, lite System, Terra, and Landsat
and NOAA’s RANET project). There are low-cost sources of coarse and medium spatial
resolution land-cover information for Africa. These come
Recommendation: The U.S. government (e.g., USAID and from sensors that include AVHRR (1 × 1 km), the Moderate
NOAA) should continue to assist African countries in im- Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (250 × 250 m
proving telecommunications infrastructure so that large com- to 1 × 1 km), and Landsat satellite sensors (79 × 79 m to
puter files containing geographic data can be readily distrib- 15 × 15 m). The resultant datasets include Global Land Cover
uted within national and global spatial data infrastructures. (AVHRR), Tropical Ecosystem Environment Observations
by Satellite (AVHRR), GeoCover Land Cover (Landsat), and
Africover (Landsat). In addition to global land-cover mapping
Collection and Maintenance of Geographic Information
applications, NOAA’s AVHRR is a widely used source of
and Data
satellite data for cloud and sea-surface temperature mapping
in meteorological applications, natural resource management
Data Continuity and Technological Uncertainty
and early warning systems (e.g., FEWS NET, LEWS). This
For geographic information to be useful for long-term class of sensor flies onboard NOAA’s “operational” satellites,
sustainable development and natural resource management, and its successor will likely continue operating until 2018
the data source needs to be dependable into the foreseeable onboard the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environ-
future. With the exception of development programs now mental Satellite System (NPOESS). NASA’s advanced MO-
capitalizing on satellite meteorological observations, most DIS sensor on its Terra satellite platform has a range of map-
programs will conclude as demonstrations rather than be- ping applications including land cover, fire, and productivity.
coming operational, in part because of cost and related un-
certainty over future availability of data. Conclusion: Land-cover datasets and vegetation indexes are
Geographic information technology is rapidly changing. valuable resources for natural resource management and de-
Dramatic changes in architectures, configurations, and ap- velopment planning in rural areas. Similar datasets and in-
proaches to data processing and handling technologies are dexes can be constructed in the future for change detection
creating concerns about technological obsolescence. The is- and many other applications as long as there is continued
sues of data continuity and rapid technological change are flow of data from AVHRR, MODIS, and Landsat (or their
important considerations when building sustainable geo- equivalents).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7
Recommendation: Until at least 2018, NASA, NOAA, and high costs and insufficient funds. Progress toward Agenda
the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) should carry out 21 goals is impeded by this lack of complete, reliable data on
their plan for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Envi- human population distribution.
ronmental Satellite System to ensure that it supplies rela-
tively coarse spatial and high temporal frequency observa- Recommendation: USAID and the U.S. Bureau of the Cen-
tions (such as the AVHRR follow-on) that are necessary for sus should provide financial and technical support to national
the multitude of applications in Africa and elsewhere. census offices and bureaus in Africa to help them complete
censuses, geographically reference the data, and make the
Recommendation: NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey data available in disaggregated form to decision-makers.
(USGS) should take measures to ensure that the Landsat data
continuity mission(s) provides long-term continuous data,
Very High Spatial Resolution Remotely Sensed Data
perhaps through making the Landsat program an operational
system for land observations to support sustainable develop- Conclusion: Many Agenda 21 issues concentrate on urban
ment and natural resource management in Africa and else- and suburban areas (Chapter 2). Addressing sustainability
where. NASA should also ensure that sensors on its Terra issues relating to urban and suburban land use (including
and Aqua satellites (e.g., MODIS, ASTER, AMSR-E) con- ownership) and infrastructure requires very high spatial reso-
tinue to provide data for meteorological and land observa- lution (≤ 1 × 1 m resolution) remotely-sensed data. High-
tion applications. resolution data are costly whether obtained from satellites or
These actions would address data continuity at the data airborne sensors. Although there are inexpensive options for
source. One means of reducing uncertainty in the data at the obtaining high-quality coarse (1 × 1 km) and medium (30 ×
downstream end is to develop databases using data from 30 m) spatial resolution land-cover datasets for parts of Af-
more than one source. Such multi-sensor approaches as the rica, there is no economical method of obtaining very high
twinning of Landsat and Système Pour l’Observation de la spatial resolution imagery to inventory and monitor change
Terre (SPOT) satellite imagery for high-spatial-resolution in urban areas in Africa. “Image grants” would help to in-
land-cover change information promote flexibility for agen- ventory and map the continually changing characteristics of
cies that base new programs on the availability of data. This urban infrastructures.
approach would benefit from close coordination and coop-
eration among international data providers and between data Recommendation: USAID should consider purchasing very
providers and donor agencies. Flexibility in the provision of high spatial resolution images (i.e., < 1 × 1 m) on a regular
hardware and software technologies would also be neces- basis (at 5 to 10 year intervals) for urban areas in Africa and
sary; often, programs are tightly coupled to specific, some- donating them to African organizations to ensure continuity
times unique data processing and analysis systems. More of the data source and change detection. The imagery might
use of open, interoperable software environments, as pro- include airborne analog or digital photography or satellite-
moted in SDIs, would enhance the flexibility and reduce the derived high-resolution imagery. The areas surveyed could
vulnerability of these programs. be requested by African organizations on the basis of impor-
tance of the problem and technical and organizational capac-
ity to use the data. One model for this concept is the U.S.
Focused Geographic Data Requirements
Science Data Buy (Box 5-3).
Human Population Distribution
Elevation Data
Conclusion: National census data provide the foundation for
measuring population distribution and change at the national Elevation (topographic) data have many uses (Table 5-2)
to local scales. The strengths of human population censuses but are often inaccurate, of limited extent, or nonexistent,
arise from their completeness of coverage; continuity of sta- owing to inaccessibility of Earth’s mountain ranges, deserts,
tistics from census to census; and the detail that each census and forests. Even where access is practical, traditional sur-
provides about population sub-groups in local areas. In the veying methods are expensive. Furthermore, neighboring
current worldwide development arena, such key issues as countries may use differing data-collection methods that
good governance, poverty eradication strategies, and the cause data discontinuities at borders, whereas natural re-
need to promote economic growth with social equity all resources (e.g., rivers) often cross these borders. To address
quire population and other demographic data at the detailed these challenges the United States has joined with a number
local scale that only a population census can provide. More- of countries and organizations to produce two digital eleva-
over, there exists an increasing demand for disaggregated tion datasets: the GTOPO30 dataset (with its derivative hy-
data at the sub-national level. drologic product: HYDRO1K), and the 2000 Shuttle Radar
Despite these needs, datasets on population distribution Topography Mission (SRTM) dataset. The GTOPO30
from many African censuses are incomplete often owing to dataset is a global digital elevation dataset whereas the

8 DOWN TO EARTH
SRTM dataset covers 80 percent of the globe. In the current Despite their obvious benefits, legacy data are being lost
plan, which is not finalized, SRTM data will be released at or remain inaccessible and unused. Efforts are underway to
30 × 30 m spatial resolution for the United States and at 90 × preserve legacy data and ensure that they are used. Interna-
90 m spatial resolution for the rest of the world. tional organizations including the French Institute of Scien-
tific and Technological Research for Cooperative Develop-
Conclusion: The GTOPO30 dataset is of limited value in ment and DEVECOL,14 and African regional organizations
Africa and most other developing countries for monitoring such as the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa in Dakar,
ecosystems, urban and rural infrastructures, and hydrology Senegal, and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria are work-
because of its coarse spatial resolution (1.1 × 1.1 km). Fortu- ing to preserve legacy data and make it available to decision-
nately, elevation data derived from NASA’s Shuttle Radar makers.
Topography Mission in 2000 may be more suitable for many
applications because all data (a) were collected during a Recommendation: To complement these efforts to preserve
single 11-day mission using standardized technology, (b) and enhance the use of valuable legacy data, U.S. govern-
will have accurate geodetic control, and (c) will be homoge- ment agencies (e.g., USAID and USGS) should assist Afri-
neous across each continent (Chapter 5). can countries and organizations to identify, integrate, and
maintain existing sources of information (legacy data). They
Recommendation: NASA should produce digital elevation should also provide African countries with copies of such
data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission at the high- legacy data as reports, maps, statistics, aerial and satellite
est possible spatial resolution (e.g., 30 × 30 m) for all areas. photographs, and other relevant data and materials currently
The data should be made available without restriction and at held outside those countries. The first task would be sub-
affordable cost. NASA should also provide the synthetic stantial, whereas the second would be more routine once the
aperture radar ortho-image mosaics at 30 × 30 m spatial reso- first is addressed.
lution that are being produced as part of the processing. These
mosaics would provide additional information about land-
Cadastral Data
cover conditions and surface roughness characteristics espe-
cially in tropical regions shrouded by cloud cover. Owning land provides individuals with economic assets
that can be traded in land markets, used as collateral to raise
Conclusion: A valuable hydrologic product for application credit or as security for various forms of economic improve-
to Agenda 21 issues could be derived from the Shuttle Radar ments. Because individual land ownership is nonexistent in
Topography Mission with almost global 90 × 90 m (perhaps large parts of rural Africa, except in eastern and southern
30 × 30 m) spatial resolution. This derivative product would Africa, challenges remain for rural Africans to obtain credit
have applications at the sub-regional level where the low- from lending institutions in their bid to improve quality of
resolution (1.1 × 1.1 km) HYDROlK dataset currently is in- life.
applicable.
Conclusion: The production of cadastres15 is costly and has
Recommendation: Serious consideration should be given by been a low priority for most African countries and donor
the USGS to modeling the Shuttle Radar Topography Mis- agencies, even when there are clear benefits. GPS, used in
sion-derived 30 × 30 m digital elevation data to produce the concert with GIS, produces cadastral data more cheaply than
most accurate, affordable hydrologic network database with traditional surveying techniques and will facilitate produc-
global coverage. tion of cadastres. Continued, cautious development of
cadastres will facilitate land management and administra-
tion, promote greater efficiency in the operation of land mar-
Legacy Data
kets, strengthen the operations of free-market economies,
The earliest baseline against which future change can be and reinforce the ability of governments to initiate and sus-
compared often comes from historical legacy data (e.g., pa- tain land and agrarian reforms (e.g., de Soto, 2000).
per maps, and information in monographs, other documents, Over time, cadastres could play an indirect role in pov-
and verbal histories). In many instances legacy data can be erty reduction, especially through enhancing access to credit
digitized, placed in a GIS, and analyzed in conjunction with facilities and providing socioeconomic information for ef-
more recent geographic data, such as satellite remotely- fective settlement management. Many Africans have no eas-
sensed data. The time scales over which change can be de- ily located residential addresses to facilitate their effective
tected are extended through use of legacy data. Additionally,
they contain place names and provide valuable insights on 14A contraction of DEVelopment ECOLogy: an information resource
ethnicity and population growth. Bridges between local organization in the United States.
knowledge and modern technology are built through the use 15A cadastre is a map accompanied by a register showing the ownership
of legacy data. or possession of individual units of land.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9
participation in social and economic transactions (ECA, Recommendation: Data providers, U.S. government agen-
2001). These inadequacies have been one reason why the cies, and partners should work closely with African organi-
systematic delivery, management, expansion, and improve- zations to define and integrate the data needs of Africans
ment of services to all segments of the population, the effec- into future programs (e.g., for new satellite remote-sensing
tive collection of taxes and rates, and the cost recovery for missions), and to maximize efficiency of new programs
utilities and services have been difficult to implement in ur- through a coordinated approach.
ban areas (ECA, 2001).
Partnerships for Capacity Building
Recommendation: Because of the potential of cadastres to
address Agenda 21 issues including poverty reduction and Conclusion: Partnerships promote sharing of resources, im-
land resource management, the U.S. government (USAID proved communication and cooperation, and acceptance of
and USGS) should assist African countries to develop shared standards required for spatial data infrastructures.
cadastres. Effective use of geographic information science in sustain-
able development will be associated with the strengthening
of existing partnerships and the emergence of new forms of
Decision-Support Systems
partnerships involving universities, industry, government,
Conclusion: Decision-support in the area of land cover and civil society. Partnerships among universities and the
(Chapter 6) will be one of the most fruitful application areas private sector in geospatial capacity building are key to
of geographic data and tools in Africa. The livelihoods of the achieving a balance between supply and demand for geo-
majority of Africans depend on agriculture and natural re- graphic information, tools, and services in Africa. Research
sources, and there are many pressing problems within these networks that develop as a result of these partnerships pro-
sectors. Addressing these problems demands better data and mote broad exchange of information on sustainable develop-
better ways of analyzing the relationship between human ment including best practices. Development of effective part-
activities and changes on the land surface. International ac- nerships requires the support and incentives of both African
tivities could accelerate the use of decision-support systems and international donor governments.
for land-cover applications in Africa. Strategies to improve
or create these datasets are needed, and these strategies Recommendation: In promoting organizational cooperation,
would work best when built on existing initiatives and net- emphasis should be placed on fostering innovation and the
works. transfer of geographic data and technology through: (1) part-
nerships and research networks among government agen-
Recommendation: An effective land-cover decision-support cies, research and training institutions, the private sector, and
system should include a standard classification system; the non-governmental sector; (2) international collaboration
baseline data and change detection capabilities; hot spot de- involving developed and African countries; and (3) coopera-
tection and high risk zone prediction capabilities; analysis tion between African and other developing countries.
and modeling of proximate (mainly human) causes of
change; linkages between direct observations, case studies,
Human and Organizational Capacity
and models; and established environmental indicators.
Most of the existing geographic information activities in
Africa were initiated in response to humanitarian needs such
Geospatial Capacity Building for Sustainable
as famine and natural disaster, and implemented through fo-
Development
cused, time-limited projects. Learning to apply modern geo-
graphic information and tools to address evolving societal
Coordination and Partnering for Meeting African Data Needs
needs requires a long learning period and attention to the
Conclusion: Moving beyond the current state of the art in development of societal capacity in science and technology.
the application of geographic data in Africa will require Universities are the logical source of this kind of education
greater coordination among data providers, donor agencies, and training because they focus on teaching and research.
and the science community and end-users in Africa. Already With the appropriate policies and incentives, universities are
the requirements for the next generation of remote-sensing also natural incubators for enterprises and social organiza-
systems are being defined or developed, yet there appears to tions. The organizations of civil society are important in
be little dialog between the space agencies and the donor many African countries where the functions of the state are
agencies, and even less input from potential end-users of the inadequate.
data in Africa. Lessons learned in the application of existing
data for decision-making could be fed back into the defini- Conclusion: It is unlikely that long-term capacity building
tion of future observation and data system requirements, par- in technical fields such as geographic information science
ticularly in government science agencies. can be sustained in the absence of strong foundations in

10 DOWN TO EARTH
higher education with emphasis on science and technology. De Soto, H. 2000. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the
Despite the difficulties African universities face, they remain West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York: Basic Books.
Dernbach, J. C. 2002. Sustainable Development: Now More Than Ever.
vital to the generation of new knowledge and have the Environmental Law Reporter 32 (1):10003-10019.
potential for organizational capacity building. The applica- ECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa). 2001. The Future Orienta-
tion of geographic information to sustainable development tion of Geoinformation Activities in Africa: A Position Paper. Avail-
will depend on the quality, character, and direction of able at <http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Conference_Reports
university education in Africa. There is an urgent need to _and_Other_Documents/disd/codi/docs/doc3EN.pdf>. Accessed May
15, 2002.
coordinate and strengthen the capacity of university depart- EIS-Africa (Environmental Information Systems-Africa). 2001. Environ-
ments providing both research and training in geographic mental Information Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ap-
information science. proaches, Lessons and Challenges. E. Gavin and J. Gyamfi-Aidoo, eds.
EIS-Africa.
Recommendation: African universities should become a fo- Fukuda-Parr, S., C. Lopes, and K. Malik. 2002. Capacity for Development:
New Solutions to Old Problems. London: Earthscan Publications.
cus for capacity-building including training and research in Geography Education Standards Project. 1994. Geography for Life: Na-
geographic information science, and development organizational Geography Standards. Washington, DC: National Geographic
tions should coordinate their efforts to achieve this goal. Society.
GISD (Geographic Information for Sustainable Development). 2002. Geo-
Conclusion: A cadre of well-trained individuals will need to graphic Information for Sustainable Development. Available at <http://
www.opengis.org/gisd>. Accessed May 15, 2002.
be formed in each country to apply geographic data and in- Jensen, J. R. 2000. Remote Sensing of the Environment: An Earth Resource
formation in support of sustainable development in Africa. Perspective. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
NRC (National Research Council). 1995. Earth Observations from Space:
Recommendation: Continuing and on-the-job training History, Promise, and Reality. Washington, DC: National Academy
should become an integral part of the process of enhancing Press.
NRC. 1999. Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability.
geospatial capacity. Organizations that provide professional Washington, .C: National Academy Press.
training in geographic information sciences, such as regional NRC. 2002. Community and Quality of Life: Data Needs for Informed
centers and polytechnics, should be strengthened. Decision Making. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Star, J. L. and J. Estes. 1990. Geographic Information Systems: An Intro-
duction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
SUMMARY UN (United Nations). 1997. Earth Summit: Rio + 5. Country Profiles–Afri-
can States. Available at <http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/afri-
Geographic data lie at the heart of many Agenda 21 issues. cp.htm>. Accessed May 17, 2002.
These data are already in use in a growing geographic infor- UN. 2001. SADC Progress Report on the Implementation of Agenda
mation community in Africa. Although there exist a number 21 and Sustainable Development: A Report to the 2002 World
of barriers to effective application of geographic data to Summit on Sustainable Development. Available at <http://www.
johannesburgsummit.org/web_pages/sadc_prepcom
Agenda 21 issues, it is likely that demand for these data will _progress_report.pdf>. Accessed August 1, 2002.
quicken the pace toward the disappearance of these barriers. UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development).
1992. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992. Rio de Janeiro: UN. (An-
REFERENCES nex I: Rio Declaration; Annex II: Agenda 21).
Burrough, P. A. 1986. Principles of Geographic Information Systems for UNDP (United Nations Development Program). 1997. Governance for Sus-
tainable Development. Policy paper. Available at <http://magne
Land Resource Assessment. Monographs on Soil and Resources Survey
No. 12. New York: Oxford University Press. t.undp.org/policy.default.htm>. Accessed May 20, 2002.
Colwell, R. N. 1997. History and place of photographic interpretation. Pp WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development). 1987. Our
Common Future. New York: Oxford University Press.
33–48 in Manual of Photographic Interpretation, W. R. Philipson, ed.
Bethesda, MD: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote World Bank. 2002. Data and Statistics. Available at <http://www.world
Sensing. bank.org/data/countrydata/countrydata.html>. Accessed June 5, 2002.
Cowen, D. J. 1988. GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: What are the differ-
ences? Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1551-
1554.

Introduction
In 1992, world leaders adopted Agenda 21 (UNCED, riety of scales (local, national, global) and include such ele-
1992), the work program of the 1992 U.N. Conference on ments as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The land- use, and economic activity. The report draws on experiences
mark event provided a political foundation and action items in African countries and examines how future sources and
(Table 1-1) to facilitate the global transition toward sustain- applications of geographic data could provide reliable sup-
able development (Box 1-1). The international community port to decision-makers2 as they work towards sustainable
is marking the tenth anniversary of this conference by hold- development. The committee emphasizes the potential of
ing the World Summit on Sustainable Development in new technologies, such as satellite remote-sensing systems3
Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002. The main goals and geographic information systems (GIS), that have revo-
of the summit are to “reinvigorate the global commitments lutionized data collection and analysis, over the last decade.
to, and achieve a higher level of international solidarity and
partnership in the promotion of sustainable development
The Charge to the Committee
(UN, 2001).” The summit builds on the political momentum
created by the U.N. Millennium Declaration, in which world As a component of the State Department’s contribution to
leaders committed themselves to achieving a broad range of the World Summit in Johannesburg (August 2002), this study
time-bound international sustainable development objectives will examine the geographic foundation for natural resource
for which sustainable development provides a unifying management and development issues in Africa. Centered on
framework (UN, 2001). a place-based,4 integrative framework, the study draws on
This report is a component of the U.S. State Department’s experiences of U.S. government agencies, international
contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Develop-
ment, the “Geographic Information for Sustainable Devel-
opment” project (GISD, 2002). Because South Africa is host-
1Geography is an integrative discipline that brings together the physical
ing the summit, it seemed appropriate for this report to focus
and human dimensions of the world in the study of people, places, and
on sub-Saharan Africa. Examples are drawn from case-study
environments. Its subject matter is the Earth’s surface and the processes that
regions where the U.S. Agency for International Develop- shape it, the relationships between people and environments, and the con-
ment and other agencies have broad experience. Although nections between people and places (Geography Education Standards
African countries are the geographic focus of the report (Fig- Project, 1994).
2Decision-makers in the context of sustainable development choose ac-
ure 1-1), the material in the report has broader applicability.
tions that directly or indirectly affect the environment and reside in all lev-
This chapter describes the purpose of the report, presents the
els of government, the citizenry, the private sector, non-governmental orga-
committee’s charge, provides background on major themes, nizations, or overseas development agencies, for example.
and outlines the organizational structure. 3Remote-sensing is “the measurement or acquisition of information of
some property of an object or phenomenon by a recording device that is not

in physical or intimate contact with the object or phenomenon under study”
PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT (Colwell, 1997). Satellites and aircraft are common platforms for remote-
sensing systems.
This report summarizes the importance and applicability 4Place-based studies are “the systematic analysis of social, economic,
of geographic1 data for sustainable development. Geographic political, and environmental processes operating in a place that provides an
data describe spatial variations across the landscape at a va- integrated understanding of its distinctiveness or character” (NRC, 1999).
11

12 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 1-1 Action Items from Agenda 21a
SECTION I. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

2. International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development in developing countries and related domestic policies
3. Combating poverty
4. Changing consumption patterns
5. Demographic dynamics and sustainability
6. Protecting and promoting human health conditions
7. Promoting sustainable human settlement development
8. Integrating environment and development in decision-making
SECTION II. CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT

9. Protection of the atmosphere
10. Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources
11. Combating deforestation
12. Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought
13. Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development
14. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
15. Conservation of biological diversity
16. Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
17. Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and
development of their living resources
18. Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water
resources
19. Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products
20. Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes
21. Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage-related issues
22. Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes
SECTION III. STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF MAJOR GROUPS

24. Global action for women toward sustainable and equitable development
25. Children and youth in sustainable development
26. Recognizing and strengthening the role of indigenous people and their communities
27. Strengthening the role of non-governmental organizations: partners for sustainable development
28. Local authorities’ initiatives in support of Agenda 21
29. Strengthening the role of workers and their trade unions
30. Strengthening the role of business and industry
31. Scientific and technological community
32. Strengthening the role of farmers
SECTION IV. MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION

33. Financial resources and mechanisms
34. Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity building
35. Science for sustainable development
36. Promoting education, public awareness and training
37. National mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity building in developing countries
38. International institutional arrangements
39. International legal instruments and mechanisms
40. Information for decision-making
aThe numbers indicate the chapter of Agenda 21 that relates to each action item. Chapters 1 and 23 are preambles, and therefore are not included in this table.
SOURCE: UNCED (1992).

INTRODUCTION 13
BOX 1-1
Sustainable Development: A Matter of Definition
The concept of “sustainable development” has a long history in compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
scientific thought. As early as 1749 the Swedish botanist Linnaeus in needs.” Our Common Journey, a report of the U.S. National Research
his Oeconomia naturae, linked economy to nature in a way that re- Council (NRC, 1999), added a temporal dimension, defining sustain-
sembles many of the concepts of sustainable development. His eco- able development as “the reconciliation of society’s developmental
nomic program focused on the need to make efficient use of existing goals with its environmental limits over the long term.” These defini-
resources rather than pursue military expeditions as a means of eco- tions reflect the growing need to provide an ethical framework for inte-
nomic survival. Over 200 years later, in Our Common Future, the grating developmental and environmental goals. Sustainable develop-
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) ment is therefore a set of guiding principles whose implementation is
gave international prominence to sustainable development and de- reflected in a variety of action programs, of which Agenda 21 is the
fined it as “development that meets the needs of the present without most prominent.
Tu
Mediterranean Sea
n
Morocco
is
ia
Algeria P
er
ara
Libya si
Egypt a
ah
nS
Re
t er
s
d
We
Se
Mauritania
a
Mali Niger
Senegal Chad Eritrea
The so Sudan
Gambia Fa Djibouti
a
Guinea in
rk Nigeria Som
Guinea-Bissau Bu Ethiopia alia
n
Ghana
oo
Central African
Sierra Leone
er
Republic
m
Ca
Liberia Benin
Cote d'Ivoire Togo
Congo Rwanda Uganda Kenya
Equatorial Guinea Gabon
Congo, DRC Burundi
Tanzania
Atlantic Ocean
Angola Malawi
Zambia e
qu
bi
r
sca
m
za
Zimbabwe Mo
aga
Namibia
Mad
Botswana
Swaziland
Lesotho
South Africa
Indian Ocean
0 500 1,000 2,000
Kilometers
FIGURE 1-1 Countries of Africa. Courtesy D. Zimble, ESRI.

14 DOWN TO EARTH
groups, decision-makers, and experts to examine (1) exist- Five years after UNCED in a 1997 assessment of Agenda
ing remote-sensing and GIS efforts in case-study regions, 21 action items (UN, 1997), most of the nine responding
and lessons learned from those efforts; (2) existing levels of African governments9 described their existing databases as
local expertise and technology, and ongoing efforts in “poor” or containing “some good data but many gaps.” Ten
geospatial capacity building5; (3) a range of questions relat- years after UNCED the work of the U.N. Economic Com-
ing to the practical application of new and existing spatial mission for Africa, which presses for greater awareness of
data (e.g., required resolution, challenges of integrating lay- the significance of geographic information in socioeconomic
ers of environmental and social data, and baseline data development among African governments and other sec-
against which future change can be measured); (4) the role tors10 (ECA, 2001), illustrated that much remained to be
of decision-support systems in the application of these data; achieved in applying geographic information to sustainable
and (5) options for making efforts sustainable beyond 2002. development.
The geographic foundation for Agenda 21 in Africa in- Geographic data are obtained from ground-based (in situ)
volves a wide array of geographic data, tools, and perspec- measurements or from remote-sensing systems. These data
tives (including social, environmental, and economic data; are of little practical value in sustainable development deci-
maps and models; and the analysis of pattern and processes, sion-making if they cannot be analyzed in conjunction with
place and scale). This study was undertaken in support of the development data, such as economic or health data, that are
U.S. Geographic Information for Sustainable Development geographically referenced11 (Jensen, 2000). Data that de-
alliance that focuses on the uses of earth observation data scribe environment and development can be linked by geo-
and GIS to address Agenda 21 issues. In this context the graphic location to provide greater understanding of com-
report emphasizes fundamental data types that are needed in plex issues, and GISs were developed specifically for this
many applications and ways of increasing accessibility to purpose. A GIS is formed from a set of map layers or over-
these data in Africa. An assessment of the potential applica- lays registered to a common geographic coordinate system
tions of the full range of geographic data, tools, and concepts (Figure 1-2) and is “a digital information system that is de-
for natural resource management and development in Africa signed to work with data referenced by spatial or geographic
would also be valuable. coordinates” (Star and Estes, 1990). Geographic informa-
tion systems are powerful tools for ingesting, storing, re-
trieving, transforming, processing, and displaying geo-
GEOGRAPHIC DATA AND
graphic data (Burrough, 1986). If a GIS involves the
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
integration of geographically referenced data in a problem-
Chapter 40 in Agenda 21, “Information6 for Decision- solving situation, it can become important for decision-mak-
Making,” stresses the need for more and different types of ing, or a “decision-support system” (Cowen, 1988).
data to be collected at all scales to track the status and trends Geospatial capacity is essential for all these steps so that full
of Earth’s ecosystems, natural resources, pollution, and so- use can be made of the capabilities of geographic data for
cioeconomic variables. Chapter 40 concludes that “the gap supporting sustainable-development decision-making.
in the availability, quality, coherence, standardization and Geographic data provide information for sustainable de-
accessibility of data between the developed7 and the devel- velopment across many sectors including agriculture and
oping world has been increasing, seriously impairing the aquaculture, industry, mining, health, transportation, trade,
capacities of countries to make informed decisions concern- and tourism (Table 1-2). These data can contribute to imple-
ing environment and development.”8 menting Agenda 21 in Africa. Among the Agenda 21 issues
(Table 1-1), many African nations, international organiza-
tions, and African non-governmental organizations have
identified poverty and the unequal distribution of benefits of
development as the most important in Africa today. Poverty
eradication will require equitable economic and social de-
5Capacity is the ability to undertake certain activities, solve problems,
velopment within sustainable environmental parameters. The
and achieve objectives (Fukuda-Parr et al., 2002), such as interpreting a
map (an example of human capacity), possessing a computer (organiza-
tional capacity), or sharing data (societal capacity). Capacity is built by
enhancing these abilities.
6Information is data that humans assimilate and evaluate to solve a prob-
lem or make a decision (EIS-Africa, 2001).

7Developed countries are those with “high” gross national income (World 9Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Gabon, Malawi, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda,
Bank, 2002). Developing countries are those with “low” or “medium” gross and Zimbabwe.
10The committee applies the term “sector” to groupings such as environ-
national income. The committee adopted these terms in the report.
8Development includes at least four related concepts (Dernbach, 2002): mental, social, and economic sectors.
11These are data with known latitude, longitude, and elevation, or other
peace and security, economic development, social development, and na-
tional governance that secures peace and development. horizontal and vertical coordinates.

INTRODUCTION 15
• Introductory material (Chapters 2-3);

• Technology: Infrastructure, data sources, and tools
(Chapters 4-7); and
• Capacity building (Chapter 8).
Chapter 2 describes progress towards sustainable devel-

opment in a global and African context, and the main chal-
lenges for implementation of Agenda 21. Chapter 2 ends
with a discussion of the value of geographic information for
implementing Agenda 21. Chapter 3 introduces the case-
study regions in sub-Saharan Africa and describes ongoing
activities in these regions that involve remote-sensing and
GIS.
Chapter 4 examines the status and prospects of infrastruc-
tures that facilitate broad use of geographic information.
Spatial data and telecommunications are the infrastructures
described. Chapters 5 and 6 summarize fundamental and
supplemental sources of geographic data and their adequacy
for Agenda 21 applications. These chapters are supported by
technical annexes, and by a list of acronyms in Appendix D.
Chapter 7 discusses decision-support tools (in particular
FIGURE 1-2 A geographic information system consists of a num- GIS) that assist users in converting geographic data into valu-
ber of geographic data layers that are linked to one another in a able information for decision-makers.
common geographic coordinate system (such as latitude and longi- The final section (Chapter 8) examines geospatial capac-
tude). In this example the various thematic layers consist of re- ity building—human, organizational, and societal. It looks
motely sensed data (from Landsat Thematic Mapper), the hydro-
at ongoing efforts and ways geospatial capacity building may
logic network, digital elevation, the road network, and watershed
ensure that countries in Africa continue on a path toward
boundaries.
sustained use of geographic information in Agenda 21 ac-
tion items.
Specific examples from the four case-study regions and
applications of geographic data and tools to sustainable de-
velopment challenges in Africa are discussed throughout the
environment is the fundamental matrix providing natural re- report. Chapter 3 presents in tables a broad range of applica-
sources, waste assimilation, and links between people and tions in the agriculture and natural resource sectors, environ-
the natural world (NRC, 2002). mental monitoring, and demography. Human health and food
security are prominent issues in Africa, and Chapters 6 and 7
discuss data for managing contagious and vector-borne dis-
STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
ease (e.g., malaria), famine early warning, and early warning
The report is designed as a resource to develop an appre- systems in forestry and livestock management. Chapter 7
ciation for the applicability of geographic data to sustainable also describes a decision-support system for wildlife man-
development issues and to highlight a path toward integra- agement. The committee’s recommendations appear in
tion of geographic information into the decision-making pro- Chapters 4 through 8, and are summarized in a concluding
cess. Its structure is in three parts. chapter (Chapter 9).

16 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 1-2 Common Issues for Development Planners and Natural Resource Managers in Africa and Applications of
Geographic Data and Information
Issue Geographic Data and Information Needs
Land classification and land-use planning • Elevation data

• Vegetation cover
• Soil data
• Climatic data
Land allocation (allocate land to citizens for • Land classification information to ensure compatibility of use with allocated land
various uses) • Population statistics
Land resource use and management (ensuring • Cadastral data showing allocated users and uses
land is used for designated use; planning for • Administrative land records
future use) • Legal land registers
Infrastructure and urban management (efficient • Population statistics
and equitable provision of urban services) • Location of existing services: waste disposal, water, and power installations (and statistics thereon)
• Urban road networks
Transportation (providing energy-efficient and • Elevation data
safe transportation systems) • Geophysical data
• Statistics of trips between population and employment centers
Tourism (developing and promoting eco-tourism) • Location of existing tourist facilities
• Statistics on tourist preferences and capacities of facilities
• Decision support for land-use decisions
Sewage discharge (prevention of discharge of • Location and capacities of existing sewage treatment plants
untreated sewage into water bodies) • Statistics on population centers
Water resource management and conservation • Location of water bodies and courses with flow and condition data
(to ensure sustained use of water for domestic, • Location of water users
industrial, and agricultural uses) • Meteorological data on precipitation, evaporation
• Geophysical data on rock formations
• Water consumption statistics
Pollution prevention/management • Location of potential sources of pollution
• Location of pathways of pollutant dispersal (e.g., water courses)
• Data on products of industry and input raw materials
Land degradation (to enforce land-use practices, • Land-use data
ensure security of tenure, combat desertification) • Distribution of land cover
• Land allocation data
• Land tenure data
• Population data
• Climate data
• Soils data
• Data on management practices
Rangeland and livestock management • Distribution of agro-ecological zones
• Livestock statistics
Forest resource management • Land-use data and classifications
• Vegetation cover
• Census of endangered species
• Population data
• Location of fuel-energy-intensive industries
Biological diversity (conservation of unique and • Distribution and concentration of unique flora and fauna
endangered species; management of national • Illegal traffic in endangered species
parks, nature reserves, protected areas) • Land cover change
• Elevation distribution
• Transportation infrastructure
Energy resource management (to reduce • Population and socio-economic data, including energy demand
dependence on biomass energy, and to develop • Distribution of forest resources
renewable energy sources) • Climatic data for solar and wind power developments
continues

INTRODUCTION 17
TABLE 1-2 Continued
Issue Geographic Data and Information Needs
Mineral resource management • Distribution of mineral resources

• Administrative data on exploration and prospecting activities
Human health management (equitable • Demographic data
distribution of health facilities; early diagnosis, • Location and capacity of existing facilities and population centers
prompt treatment and environmental • Distribution of disease vectors
management; hygiene education) • Distribution of water pockets for remedial action
• Distribution, flow, and chemical characteristics of water courses
SOURCE: Adapted from ECA (2001)
REFERENCES GISD (Geographic Information for Sustainable Development). 2002. Geo-

graphic Information for Sustainable Development. Available at
Burrough, P. A. 1986. Principles of Geographic Information Systems for <www.opengis.org/gisd>. Accessed May 15, 2002.
Land Resource Assessment. Monographs on Soil and Resources Survey Jensen, J. R. 2000. Remote Sensing of the Environment: An Earth Resource
No. 12, New York: Oxford University Press. Perspective. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Colwell, R. N. 1997. History and place of photographic interpretation. Pp NRC (National Research Council). 1999. Our Common Journey: a Transi-
33–48 in Manual of Photographic Interpretation, W. R. Philipson, ed. tion Toward Sustainability. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Bethesda, MD.: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote NRC. 2002. Community and Quality of Life: Data Needs for Informed
Sensing. Decision Making. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Cowen, D. J. 1988. GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: What are the differ- Star, J. L. and J. Estes. 1990. Geographic Information Systems: An Intro-
ences? Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1551- duction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
1554. UN (United Nations). 1997. Earth Summit: Rio + 5. Country Profiles–Afri-
Dernbach, J. C. 2002. Sustainable Development: Now More Than Ever. can States. Available at <http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/afri-
Environmental Law Reporter 32 (1):10003-10019. cp.htm>. Accessed May 17, 2002.
ECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa). 2001. The Future Orienta- UN. 2001. SADC Progress Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21 and
tion of Geoinformation Activities in Africa: A Position Paper. Avail- Sustainable Development: A Report to the 2002 World Summit on Sus-
able at <http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Conference_Reports tainable Development. Available at <www.johannesburgsummit.org/
_and_Other_Documents/disd/codi/docs/doc3EN.pdf>. Accessed May web_pages/sadc_prepcom_progress_report.pdf>.
15, 2002. UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development).
EIS-Africa (Environmental Information Systems-Africa). 2001. Environ- 1992. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
mental Information Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ap- Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992. Rio de Janeiro: UN. (An-
proaches, Lessons and Challenges, E. Gavin and J. Gyamfi-Aidoo, eds. nex I: Rio Declaration; Annex II: Agenda 21).
EIS-Africa. WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development). 1987. Our
Fukuda-Parr, S., C. Lopes, and K. Malik. 2002. Capacity for Development: Common Future. New York: Oxford University Press.
New Solutions to Old Problems. London: Earthscan Publications. World Bank. 2002. Data and Statistics. Available at <http://www.
Geography Education Standards Project. 1994. Geography for Life: Na- worldbank.org/data/countrydata/countrydata.html>. Accessed June 5,
tional Geography Standards. Washington, DC: National Geographic 2002.
Society.

Agenda 21 Implementation: Progress, Challenges,

and the Role of Geographic Data
INTRODUCTION in increasing involvement of research-based institutions such

as universities and private enterprises (Juma, 2002).
This chapter provides an overview of the progress that
has been made in implementing Agenda 21. Specifically, it
National Government Implementation of Agenda 21
examines national and local Agenda 21 activities, first for
the world as a whole and then for African countries. The At the present time at least 85 countries have developed
chapter looks broadly at what has been accomplished and national strategies for implementing Agenda 21 (UN,
discusses challenges to Agenda 21 implementation. Finally, 2002a). Some common strategies include the development
the chapter summarizes the potential contribution of geo- of the following:
graphic data to achieving Agenda 21 objectives.
• thematic policies that articulate broad sustainable de-
velopment objectives;
GLOBAL PROGRESS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF • traditional master plans based on national planning
AGENDA 21 cycles;
• mechanisms for coordination with donors; and
The 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Devel-
• strategies to address international obligations to inte-
opment (UNCED) provided a political foundation and pro-
grate environmental considerations into thematic ac-
grams to facilitate the transition toward sustainable develop-
tivities.
ment (UNCED, 1992) (Table 1-1). Agenda 21 was accepted
by more than 178 governments in 1992. Progress toward In a number of developing countries sustainable develop-
achieving Agenda 21 goals is occurring, but has been slower ment principles have been introduced in existing national
than anticipated (UN, 2002a). Efforts to integrate environ- frameworks, such as conservation strategies, environmental
ment and development into a common sustainable develop- plans, national vision statements, and national Agenda 21
ment framework remain in the early stages (UN, 2002a). initiatives (UN, 2002a).
Meanwhile, environmental degradation and poverty at a glo-
bal scale is worsening (Dernbach, 2002).
Local Government Implementation of Agenda 21
Three major trends characterize progress on Agenda 21
implementation over the last 10 years. First, the concept of The role of local governments is critical in educating,
sustainable development prompted a shift from focusing on mobilizing, and responding to the public (Lake, 2000). Chap-
single issues toward appreciating complex interactions be- ter 28 of Agenda 21 focuses on the local government role.
tween a wide range of environmental and developmental fac- The contents of that chapter provide the framework for the
tors. This shift is part of what has been called “the transition International Council for Local Environment Initiatives
to sustainability” (NRC, 1999). Second, there is a movement (ICLEI) (Box 2-1).
from international top-down norm-setting to national insti- The U.N. undertook two surveys of Local Agenda 21
tution-building and more “grassroots” approaches at the lo- implementation. The first survey was in 1997, the second in
cal government level. Third, Agenda 21 demands place- 2001 (UN, 2002b). For the purposes of the surveys “Local
based scientific and technical knowledge, which has resulted Agenda 21,” or LA21, was defined as
18

AGENDA 21 IMPLEMENTATION: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES, AND THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC DATA 19
BOX 2-1
Roles of ICLEI Projects in Local Agenda 21 Implementation
1. Local Agenda 21 Incentive Grants Project aims to promote sustainable development at the local level by strength-
Between 1997 and 2000 the Local Agenda 21 (LA21) incentive grants ening partnerships. The project was launched following the First Euro-
project provided grants, training, and program support to LA21 planning pean Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns held in Aalborg, Den-
initiatives in 18 cities in Africa, Latin America, and Europe. ICLEI, in part- mark, in May 1994, in the course of which the Aalborg Charter was
nership with the Open Society Institute, designed the project to learn how adopted. To date, over 1,500 local and regional governments from 38
open societies can be fostered and how quality of life can be improved. European countries have signed the charter. The campaign is the largest
European initiative for LA21.
2. African Sustainable Cities Network
The African Sustainable Cities Network (ASCN) aims to build the ca-
4. Local Agenda 21 Charters Project
pacity of local governments to institute participatory environmental plan-
Between 1997 and 2000 the Local Agenda 21 charters project aimed
ning as an integrated function of public administration. By 2000, 31 Afri-
to establish partnerships between local governments in developed and
can cities in 9 countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa,
developing countries to assist each other in the implementation of their
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) were participating in the ASCN
LA21 action plans. Six African countries participated in the project:
and had signed the local government resolutions. The ASCN also focuses
Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Support
on capacity building and exchanges between these cities (and between
was provided through regional training and technical assistance programs
African and European cities).
and the creation of a global monitoring and reporting system. Between
3. European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign local governments the assistance programs were linked through sustain-
The European sustainable cities and towns campaign unites and as- able development agreements or Local Agenda 21 charters.
sists local governments in engaging in LA21 activities. The campaign
SOURCES: <http://www.iclei.org/la21/igp/>, <http://www3.iclei.org/la21/ascn/ascnsum.htm>, <http://www.sustainable-cities.org/sub2.html>; <http:/

/www.iclei.org/europe/suscam.htm>, and <http://www.iclei.org/la21/charters.htm>.
a participatory, multi-stakeholder process to achieve the TABLE 2-1 Number of Local Governments Involved in
goals of Agenda 21 at the local level through the preparation Local Agenda 21 Activities in December 2001, by Region
and implementation of a long-term, strategic plan that ad-
dresses priority local sustainable development concerns. Number of Number of
(UN, 2002b). Region Countries Local Governments
Africa 28 151
By the end of 2001 nearly 6,500 local governments in over Asia-Pacific 17 674
100 countries were involved in LA21 (Table 2-1). Of these Europe 36 5,292
local governments 44 percent had active programs and the Latin America 16 114
remainder had committed to the process. In the four years Middle East 9 73
North America 2 101
between surveys the number of LA21 activities more than
tripled (driven primarily by activities in Europe), and the
SOURCE: UN (2002b).
number of participating countries nearly doubled. LA21 ini-
tiatives often have evolved at the local level in the absence
of a national campaign. Indeed, 59 percent of the initiatives
progressed without national-level impetus. Private Sector Implementation of Agenda 21
Progress can also be measured by an increase in the num-
ber of LA21 processes that have moved from the vision state- Companies, especially multinational corporations, domi-
ment stage into the action planning stage—from 38 percent nate the transformation of natural resources into products
in 1997 to 61 percent in 2001 (Table 2-2). Most of these and services. Increasingly they find it in their own interests
have focused on the environment (Figure 2-1). Prominent to meet sustainable development goals. The World Business
environmental issues addressed include air quality and wa- Council for Sustainable Development maintains a collection
ter resources management (Table 2-3). Over the next three of case studies of the sustainability transition from a wide
to five years the prominence of natural resources manage- variety of firms (WBCSD, 2002). The private-sector re-
ment issues will increase (Table 2-3).

20 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 2-2 Status of Local Agenda 21 Activities in 2001
Local Sustainable
Vision Action Development Monitoring
LA21 Municipal Planning Documents Statement Plan Policy Report
Municipalities completing document 52% 61% 39% 34%

Average year adopted 1999 1999 1998 1999
Documents developed with stakeholder participation 83% 89% 77% 63%
Level of community participationa Medium Medium Medium High
Documents using indicators 52% 55% 51% 70%
Average document time frameb 4 years 4 years 2 years 1 year
aBased on ranking participation from 1 to 5.

bThe average number of years for which the vision statement, local action plan, sustainable development policy, or monitoring report is valid.
SOURCE: UN (2002b).
sponse includes technological innovation, implementation of The concept of sustainable development integrates
eco-efficiency standards, adoption of social responsibility environment and development in the long term (Box
practices, adjustment of management approaches, and pro- 1-1). The current fragmented approaches to sustain-
motion of dialogue and partnerships (Box 2-2). able development arise from policies and programs at
national and international levels that often are short-
term and inadequately merge environmental and de-
Global Challenges in Implementing Agenda 21
velopmental considerations (UN, 2002a).
The goals of Agenda 21 have met with limited success • a lack of integrated national policies and approaches
(UN, 2002a). According to the U.N., challenges to the imple- in the areas of finance, trade, investment, technology,
mentation of the Agenda 21 objectives are and sustainable development. Commonly, short-term
considerations are placed above the long-term use of
• a fragmented approach toward sustainable develop- natural resources, and policies are often compartmen-
ment that de-couples environment and development. talized.
ic
m
ono
Ec
l
ta
en
nm
ro
vi
En
l
c ia
So
't
ev
.D
st
Su 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Percent of Municipalities
FIGURE 2-1 Focus of local Agenda 21 activities. Sust. Dev’t = Sustainable Development. SOURCE: Adapted from UN (2002b).

TABLE 2-3 Local Agenda 21 Activities Underway and tors include lack of support from national governments, dif-
Future Priority Issuesa ficulties affecting change in the policy sector (lack of em-
powerment), difficulties in generating community interest,
Activities Currently Priority Issues for the and insufficient expertise and information. The last of these
Rank Underway Globally Next 3-5 Years Globally
challenges reflects the urgent need for capacity-building to
strengthen decision-making on economic, social, and envi-
1 Air quality Natural resources management
2 Water resources management Air quality ronmental development in an integrated, place-based man-
3 Energy management Water resources management ner.
4 Transportation Energy management Successful implementation of Agenda 21 entails two
5 Natural resources management Transportation kinds of transition. First, there remains a need to convert
aRespondents
international obligations into national policy.1 Second, this
were allowed to select more than one option.
transition from normative standards to operational activities
SOURCE: UN (2002b). is usually associated with the creation of new knowledge
(through scientific and technological research and the inte-
gration of indigenous or traditional knowledge) as part of a
• continuing unsustainable patterns of consumption and
larger societal problem-solving process. Existing knowledge
production that imperil natural life-support systems.
can also be applied in innovative ways. The need to reorient
Unsustainable consumption and production is rooted
technology to respond to sustainability challenges was noted
in value systems that drive how natural resources are
in Our Common Future.
used. Such value systems have proven slow to adapt.
• inadequate financial resources and technology trans- First, the capacity for technological innovation needs to be
fer from developed countries. Overseas development greatly enhanced in developing countries so that they can
assistance has declined over the last decade, and debt respond more effectively to the challenges of sustainable
burdens limit the opportunities of many developing development. Second, the orientation of technology devel-
countries to address sustainability issues. Additionally, opment must be changed to pay greater attention to environ-
private-sector investment has been volatile and fo- mental factors (WCED, 1987).
cused on certain countries and sectors.
The relationship between environment and development
means that sustainable development requires scientific input
Challenges to implementation of Agenda 21 objectives
to decision-making as well as the application of technolo-
have also been identified at the local level (UN, 2002b), and
gies. Since 1992, science has been central to addressing
financial barriers are the largest impediment there. Other fac-
Agenda 21 challenges in such areas as climate change, glo-
bal warming, ozone depletion, water purity, land integrity,
and air quality.
BOX 2-2
IMPLEMENTING AGENDA 21 IN AFRICA
Corporate Roles in the Sustainability Transition
Efforts to implement Agenda 21 occur at continental, re-
Some private enterprises have demonstrated their commitment to gional, national, and local levels. At the continental level the
sustainable development by signing on to the U.N. global compact most ambitious activity is the establishment of the African
that promotes sustainable growth and good citizenship through cor- Union, successor to the Organization of African Unity set up
porate leadership. The compact calls on enterprises to adopt nine in 1963. Established in 2001, the African Union aims to en-
universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, and hance economic, political, and social integration and devel-
the environment. Several hundred companies from all over the world opment of Africa; promote democracy; and resolve conflicts
have pledged their support to the compact and are implementing the (NEPAD, 2001). To date, 37 of Africa’s 53 countries have
nine principles. In addition, enterprises are securing certification of joined the union. Currently, the African Union is strengthen-
environmental management systems under the ISO 14000 standard of ing 14 regional integration communities to transform them
the International Organization for Standardization or the European Eco- into building blocks for economic coordination in Africa.
Management and Audit Scheme. Rising stakeholder participation has Africa’s sustainable development aspirations are also re-
led to initiatives including the global reporting initiative, which is de- flected in continent-wide strategies of the New Partnership
veloping a common framework for voluntary reporting on the eco- for Africa’s Development (NEPAD, 2001). The NEPAD is a
nomic, environmental, and social aspects of organization-level activi- pledge by African leaders to develop natural and human re-
ties, products, and services.
SOURCE: UN (2002a). 1Almost a decade after UNCED roughly 85 of the original 178 signato-
ries of Agenda 21 have presented national policies.

22 DOWN TO EARTH
sources. It recognizes that sustainability cannot be achieved mentation of Agenda 21. SADC water resources min-
until poverty is reduced, and living conditions are improved isters have adopted a regional approach to integrate
for the majority of the population. The NEPAD outlines the water resources development and management. This
responsibility of African leaders to articulate national and initiative has prevented conflicts over shared waters
regional priorities and to manage development by engaging and improved access to potable water. SADC coun-
people in their own development. tries have also implemented reforms aimed at sustain-
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), able management of water resources.
an intergovernmental group of 14 countries, is one example • Coastal zone. Tourism and population pressure in
of a regional organization committed to equitable economic coastal areas have thwarted implementation of Agenda
integration and sustainable development (Figure 2-2). In 21. Critical to future implementation will be technol-
2001 SADC completed an assessment of the regional imple- ogy transfer, access to research findings and other in-
mentation of Agenda 21 (SADC, 2001). Key issues ad- formation, and capacity-building for policy, institu-
dressed in the report are tional, and regulatory frameworks.
• Land resources. Land-tenure issues, diminishing graz- The Comité Permanent Inter-États de Lutte Contre la
ing lands, and land degradation have hindered progress Sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS), an intergovernmental in-
on Agenda 21 implementation. However, several stitution covering nine West African countries,2 is a second
SADC countries have developed environmental man- regional organization concerned with sustainable develop-
agement programs aimed at protecting and rehabilitat- ment. CILSS has launched the Sahel 21 initiative that en-
ing land resources. courages Sahelians to define the future of development in
• Forest resources. Rapid population growth and in- their region.
creased demand for food and energy resources are de- Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have encountered
pleting forests. Groups have been organized to pro- difficulties in gathering and analyzing national and sub-na-
mote sustainable forestry management.
• Water Resources. Recurrent droughts, increasing wa- 2Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania,
ter demands, and water pollution impede the imple- Niger, Senegal.
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
Tanzania Seychelles
Malawi
Angola
Zambia
Zimbabwe Mozambique
Namibia Botswana
Lesotho Swaziland
South Africa
Mauritius
FIGURE 2-2 Map of the SADC member countries.

tional data on major Agenda 21 issues, such as natural re- TABLE 2-4 African Countries with Local Agenda 21
sources inventories, climate change, and desertification. Activities
Thus, national-level reporting on these matters is uneven.
At the national level only South Africa has formally Country Number of LA21 Initiatives
adopted a national Agenda 21 strategy (UN, 2002b). Al-
Algeria 3
though Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ghana
Benin 1
have not formalized national plans (NCSD, 2002), they have Burundi 2
implemented national policies and laws that address issues Cameroon 1
related to sustainable development. For example, laws have Congo, Democratic Republic of 2
been promulgated on environmental impact assessment; sus- Egypt 7
Gabon 1
tainable use of water, forests, and biodiversity; and manage-
Ghana 3
ment of solid wastes. In addition, over 95 percent of African Kenya 11
countries have ratified the Rio conventions—the Conven- Libya 2
tion on Biological Diversity, the U.N. Framework Conven- Madagascar 5
tion on Climate Change, and the U.N. Convention to Com- Mali 2
Malawi 4
bat Desertification (UNEP, 2001). At the local level there
Mauritania 1
are LA21 activities in 28 African countries (Table 2-4). Morocco 5
African leaders discussed the challenges of implement- Mozambique 2
ing Agenda 21 at three regional consultations of the Rio+5 Namibia 5
Forum3: North Africa and the Middle East (1996), West and Nigeria 5
Rwanda 1
Central Africa (1996), and South and East Africa (1997).
Senegal 3
The following challenges were identified at the consultations South Africa 20
(Dorm-Adzobu, 2002): Sudan 1
Tanzania 13
• Inappropriate institutional frameworks in most coun- Togo 2
Tunisia 1
tries, particularly a lack of coordination among minis-
Uganda 5
tries and across sectors; Zambia 4
• Inadequate coordination between governments, Zimbabwe 39
NGOs, and the private sector;
• Lack of appropriate legal frameworks; SOURCE: UN(2002b).
• Lack of national consultation prior to signing interna-
tional agreements and the proliferation of those agreement, and education, giving a broad sense of environmental
ments, which results in signing conventions without and developmental challenges facing African countries.
full knowledge of the implications to the countries and In summary, most of the progress in African countries
without having the capacity to translate these agree- toward implementation of Agenda 21 has been at the norma-
ments into action; tive rather than the operational level, with the emergence of
• Poverty, illiteracy, and lack of awareness create prob- coordinating organizations such as SADC. In addition, na-
lems in the development and implementation of sus- tional policies and laws relating to environment and devel-
tainable development programs; opment have been agreed upon and international environ-
• Increasing gap between population growth and na- mental treaties have been signed by the majority of African
tional economic output; countries. Effective translation of these measures into opera-
• Marginalization of women in the national development tional programs will require increased use of geographic in-
process; and formation in decision-making (ECA, 2001). The integrative
• Lack of vision and commitment by leaders to imple- nature of GIS lends itself to a unified approach as opposed to
ment sustainable development. the traditional fragmented approach to sustainable develop-
ment (UN, 2002a). Application of GIS exemplifies the reori-
Several documents (NEPAD, 2001; UNEP, 1999, 2001) entation of technology in responding to sustainability chal-
provide detailed information on such topics as living condi- lenges (WCED, 1987).
tions, national debt, armed conflicts, human health, environ-
THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION IN
MEETING AGENDA 21 OBJECTIVES
3Rio+5 was held March 13-19, 1997, as a follow-up to the UNCED in
1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The purpose of the meeting was to review the The implementation of Agenda 21 has been slow (UN,
progress of implementation of Agenda 21 and to move sustainable devel- 2002a) but the collection, analysis, and use of geographic
opment from agenda to action. information offers a starting point on the path to sustainable

24 DOWN TO EARTH
development (Brooner, 2002). Society can benefit from the tension spots (NEPAD, 2001).” In addition, the United Na-
capabilities of geographic and other information sources and tions (2002a) notes the value of satellite remote-sensing sys-
systems.4 The NEPAD recognizes the value of these data tems as data sources for supporting sustainable development
and technologies: “[Information and Communications Tech- (Box 2-3).
nologies (ICTs)] can be helpful tools for a wide range of Geographic data and information have the potential to
applications, such as remote sensing and environmental, ag- play a role in the planning, implementation, and monitoring
ricultural, and infrastructural planning. In conflict manage- of many of Agenda 21’s 38 action items (Table 1-1). In the
ment and control of pandemic diseases, ICTs will help to- committee’s opinion these data and information are directly
wards the organization of efficient early warning applicable to at least 20 of these action items (Table 2-5).
mechanisms by providing tools for constant monitoring of These geographic data are often grouped into framework
foundation data, framework thematic data, and other the-
matic data. Framework foundation data, such as geographic
4Geographic information technologies (e.g., geographic information sys-
position and elevation, are central to most applications,
tems, global positioning systems, and cartographic, surveying, and remote-
sensing technologies) are part of the broader spectrum of information and whereas framework thematic data and other thematic data
communications technologies that includes telephones, radios, and the have specific applications, such as determining land owner-
Internet. ship, possession, or use (Chapters 4, 5, and 6).
TABLE 2-5 Selected Agenda 21 Action Items (numbered by chapter from Agenda 21) and the Geographic Data to
Address Them
Framework Foundation Data

(Fundamental layers of data used in many basic
operations [Chapters 4 and 5])
Aerial
Position Image Digital
(Geodetic (Ortho- Elevation
Agenda 21 Action Items Controla) imageryb) (Topography)
3. Combating poverty ✓ ✓ ✓
4. Changing consumption patterns ✓ ✓
5. Demographic dynamics and sustainability ✓ ✓ ✓
6. Protecting and promoting human health ✓ ✓ ✓
7. Sustainable human settlement development ✓ ✓ ✓
8. Integrating environment and development in decision-making ✓ ✓ ✓
9. Protecting the atmosphere ✓
10. Integrated planning and management of land resources ✓ ✓ ✓
11. Combating deforestation ✓ ✓ ✓
12. Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought ✓ ✓ ✓
13. Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development ✓ ✓ ✓
14. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development ✓ ✓ ✓
15. Conservation of biological diversity ✓ ✓ ✓
16. Environmentally sound management of biotechnology (DNA)
17. Protecting oceans, seas, coastal areas, and rational use and development of living resources ✓ ✓ ✓
bathymetry coastal
18. Protecting the quality and supply of freshwater resources ✓ ✓ ✓

19. Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals ✓ ✓ ✓
20. Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes ✓ ✓ ✓
21. Environmentally sound management of solid waste and sewage-related issues ✓ ✓ ✓
22. Environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes ✓ ✓ ✓
aGeodetic control is the common reference system for establishing the coordinate position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and elevation) of geographic data.
bAn ortho-image is a specially processed image prepared from an aerial photograph or remotely sensed image that has the metric qualities of a traditional line
map with the rich detail of an aerial image.

Temp = temperature; atmo = data on atmospheric conditions; precip = precipitation.

Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992) specifies needs with respect infrastructures (NRC, 1993; ECA, 2001; see also Chapter
to geographic data and information, and related technolo- 4) that permit multisectoral, international, and
gies, including transboundary data use and sharing. However, the data
foundation on which this infrastructure can be built is far
• global sustainability indicators; from complete or accessible to those that need it (Chapter
• data collection and use, including satellite-based re- 1), and the benefits of geographic data for decision-making
mote-sensing; on Agenda 21 issues have not been fully realized (ECA,
• data assessment and analysis; and 2001).
• geographic information systems.
AN APPROACH TO EVALUATING THE ROLE OF
Additionally, Agenda 21 expressed the need for modern in-
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION IN SUSTAINABLE
formation frameworks and improved standards and methods
DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS
for handling information, documentation about information,
electronic networking capabilities, and partnerships among More than one approach can be taken to evaluate the use
governments, international organizations, and the private of geographic information for sustainable natural resource
sector. Many of these issues are fundamental to spatial data management and development in African countries and
Selected Thematic Data

(Supplemental layers of data that are often overlaid
onto framework foundation data [Chapters 4, 5, and 6])
Human
Population Land Land Use/Land Cover Biophysical Data (for Environmental Monitoring)
(Total, Ownership/
Distribution, Possession Local Regional Global Moisture Water
Change) (Cadastre) Scale Scale Scale Vegetation Temp Content Precip Quality Atmo
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
coastal,
oceanic
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

26 DOWN TO EARTH
BOX 2-3
The Value of Earth Observation from Space
Earth observation from space is a valuable technological tool for quality of resources, and inputs for integrated development planning for
understanding Earth. Such observations have provided long-term, con- rural and urban areas. The launching of more than 230 instruments on
sistent measurements of key variables for studying the state and vari- more than 70 satellites over the next 10 to 15 years, with calibrated
ability of Earth’s ecosystems. These observations provide a basis for sensors providing a wide variety of data, will provide an opportunity for
rational action at global, regional, national, and local levels. Global scientists to understand the complex interactions among various com-
phenomena, such as the greenhouse effect and El Niño, jostle for atten- ponents of the Earth system. Parts of the world without the infrastructure
tion with regional problems, such as acid rain, and local problems, to connect to the new global and information communication networks
such as deforestation and soil erosion. Satellite remote-sensing has and people without access to education in the new technologies are be-
provided vital information on the environmental impacts, quantity and ing left behind.
SOURCE: UN (2002a, paragraph 162).
elsewhere. For example, in an issue-based approach each of The following comparison demonstrates why the com-
the major natural resource or development applications is mittee focused on assessing the major types of geographic
viewed separately. Major topics might include combating information required by many applications rather than adopt-
deforestation, conservation of biological diversity, health ing an issue-by-issue approach. Consider the problem of
management, vulnerability to natural disasters, and combat- famine. To predict famine and make plans to minimize its
ing poverty (e.g., Tables 1-1 and 2-5). However, most appli- impact on humans it is useful to have information on land
cations, especially those associated with natural resources, cover (including crop type, biomass, and leaf-area-index),
require approximately the same geographic information precipitation (recent and predicted), soil moisture (recent and
(e.g., a common coordinate system, elevation distribution, predicted), population distribution, transportation infrastruc-
hydrologic data, land use or cover, political boundaries, ture (to deliver food relief or relocate people), and political
transportation networks, population distribution), often col- boundaries (to help address politically sensitive issues).
lected multiple times to monitor change and evaluate im- These types of data are used in famine decision-support sys-
pacts. Thus, the fundamental geographic information re- tems such as the Famine Early Warning System (Chapters 3
quirements repeatedly manifest themselves when marching and 7).
through the issue applications (e.g., Table 2-5). Unfortu- Similarly, consider deforestation and biodiversity assess-
nately, many developing countries lack the fundamental in- ment (e.g., Box 2-4). Both issue applications require infor-
formation for these applications. mation including population distribution (to identify the like-
Consequently, in order for developing countries in Africa lihood for forest-cover or biodiversity changes due to
and elsewhere to use geographic information to address sus- selective harvesting of forest resources or other agricultural
tainable development issues it is critical that (a) the impor- practices), land use and cadastral information, land cover (to
tance of certain fundamental framework geographic infor- reveal the historical and current geographic distribution of
mation datasets is recognized, and (b) the current status and rangeland or forest cover, in part as a surrogate for habitat in
likely future availability of this geographic information is biodiversity applications), elevation distribution (to provide
identified. This committee is not alone in recognizing the insight into watershed runoff, soil erosion, and habitat carry-
need for fundamental (or framework) geographic informa- ing capacity), and transportation infrastructure (to indicate
tion for multiple applications. Many countries agree on the new tertiary roads that provide access to forests and enable
value of collecting and organizing certain geographic infor- deforestation and habitat fragmentation). When these types
mation within the structure of a national spatial data infra- of geographic information are modeled in conjunction with
structure (NRC, 1995, 2001; FGDC, 1997, 2002; ECA, in situ faunal information it becomes possible to assess
2001) (Chapter 4). The geographic information for a country biodiversity (Savitsky and Lacher, 1998). Subsequently,
may also be used to address global problems by adhering to biodiversity information can be used to perform “gap analy-
Global Spatial Data Infrastructure protocols (GSDI, 2002). sis” for wise use of financial resources to protect fragile,
Once these most important geographic information layers biologically diverse habitats (Edwards et al., 1995).
are available they may be used many times for many differ- It is evident from the overlap in data needs to address
ent applications, ideally within rigorous decision-support biodiversity, deforestation, and famine that the same funda-
systems. Thus, these data become an important national and mental geographic information may be used in more than
international asset (ECA, 2001) and are the baseline for fu- one issue application. Thus, this report concentrates on fun-
ture analyses and assessments. damental geographic data (Chapters 5 and 6) that provide

BOX 2-4
Biodiversity in Africa
Biodiversity is the biological diversity in an environment as indicated Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of which many
by numbers of different species of plants and animals (Merriam-Webster, African countries are signatories.
1994). People everywhere depend on functioning natural ecosystems for The Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Biodiversity Forum con-
their survival. Population growth, the clearing of wildlands, and overuse vened representatives from the public, private, and non-profit sectors in
of pesticides and fertilizers are among the principal causes of loss of Mombasa, Kenya, in 2000 to discuss using biodiversity to strengthen
biodiversity in developing countries (Wilson, 1992). Poverty, social con- livelihoods (Emerton and Maganya, 2000). Representatives from more
flict, and disease are among the results of environmental despoliation. than 20 countries identified four major conclusions:
The economic and social benefits of biodiversity range from discover-
ing new sources of pharmaceuticals to enhancing tourism. Coastal areas • Rural people are ultimately the custodians of Africa’s rich
in Kenya and Tanzania (Chapter 8) gain economically from aquaculture, biodiversity;
tourism, and disaster protection. Conservancies in Namibia also benefit • Investment from private industry offers a valuable, underused means
through tourism. Their use of geographic information for wildlife manage- of protecting biodiversity and promoting the equitable sharing of
ment (Chapter 7) promotes equitable land use and tourism potential. resources;
Geographic information can be used to support African governments’ • There is urgent need for better cooperation between the public and
efforts to monitor the state of natural resources for environmental protec- private sectors on biotechnology research in agriculture; and
tion, hazard reduction, and for international environmental reporting re- • National action plans should be created to address these concerns.
quired by treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the
Geographic information including social, economic, and environ-
mental data from the local, national, and regional levels can support
these goals.
SOURCE: Emerton and Maganya (2000)
the geographic foundation for many Agenda 21 issues and Orientation of Geoinformation Activities in Africa: A Position Paper.
on the decision-support systems and capacity-building ef- Available at <http:// www.uneca.org/eca_programmes/it_for_ develop-
ment/geoinfo/ FutureGIAfrica.PDF>. Accessed June 25, 2002.
forts needed to link these data to their applications. Edwards, T. C., C.G. Homer, S.C. Bassett, A. Falconer, R.D. Ramsey, and
D. W. Wighe. 1995. Utah Gap Analysis: An Environmental Informa-
tion System. Logan, Utah: Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research
SUMMARY Unit.
Agenda 21 is being implemented worldwide at all scales Emerton, L. and J. Maganya (eds.). 2000. Report of the First Eastern and
Southern Africa Regional Biodiversity Forum: Using Biodiversity to
and in all sectors, but progress has not been as rapid as an- Strengthen Livelihoods. Mombasa, Kenya: IUCN – The World Conser-
ticipated at the UNCED in 1992. The use of geographic data vation Union, East Africa Regional Office, Nairobi. Available at <http:/
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NRC. 1999. Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability. mental Outlook 2000. London: Earthscan.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press. UNEP. 2001. Assessment of Progress on Sustainable Development in Af-
NRC. 2001. National Spatial Data Infrastructure Partnership Programs: rica Since Rio (1992). Available at <http://www.ecs.co.sz/wssd/
Rethinking the Focus. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. roa_assessment_of_progress.htm>. Accessed June 25, 2002.
SADC (Southern African Development Community). 2001. SADC Progress WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) website.
Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21 and Sustainable Develop- 2002. Case studies. Available at <http://www.wbcsd.org/casestud/
ment: A Report Submitted to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable index.htm>. Accessed May 20, 2002.
Development. Available at <http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/ WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development). 1987. Our
web_pages/sadc_prepcom_progress_report.pdf>. Accessed May 20, Common Future. New York: Oxford University Press.
2002. Wilson, E. O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. New York: W.W. Norton and
Savitsky, B. G. and T. E. Lacher, Jr. 1998. GIS Methodologies for Develop- Company.
ing Conservation Strategies. New York: Columbia University Press.
UN (United Nations). 2002a. U.N.’s Rio Plus 10 Review from Prepcom2.
Available at <http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/
no170793sgreport.pdf>. Accessed May 29, 2002.
UN. 2002b. Second Local Agenda 21 Survey, UN Department of Social

Geographic Information Activities in Africa
INTRODUCTION Famine Early Warning System Network

Africa has a small but growing community of data pro- FEWS NET (Chapters 6 and 7) was initiated by the U.S.
viders, data processors and analysts, trainers, technicians, Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1980.
data and information users (decision-makers at many lev- This activity uses satellite imagery1 to provide an estimate
els), and advocates. The community is becoming increas- of the amount and vigor of vegetation across Africa. FEWS
ingly coordinated, and consists of Africans and international NET is the principal food security information-based ap-
partners from non-governmental organizations, universities, proach to preparedness and planning in sub-Saharan Africa,
private companies, and foreign governments including the and aims to empower Africans to find solutions to food inse-
space and aid agencies that currently are a major source of curity problems (FEWS NET, 2002).
geographic data, information, training, and support. Seventeen African countries participate in the FEWS
This chapter introduces some geographic information ac- NET.2 The network is supported by implementation part-
tivities in Africa and highlights the applications in tables. It ners3 and network partners (Centre Regional AGRHYMET4
focuses on activities in regions of Africa targeted by the U.S. [Niamey, Niger], Drought Monitoring Centre [Nairobi,
government’s public-private partnership called Geographic Kenya], and SADC Regional Early Warning Unit [Harare,
Information for Sustainable Development (GISD). These re- Zimbabwe]), which provide imagery, analyses, and reports
gions are the Upper Niger basin in West Africa, the on vegetation conditions.
Limpopo-Zambezi region of southeastern Africa, and two in
East Africa (the African Great Lakes region and the Kenya/
Economic Commission for Africa
Tanzania coastal zone) (Figure 3-1). The chapter presents
examples of ongoing activities and enumerates the range of ECA promotes the use of geographic information in Af-
applications rather than evaluating individual activities. rica. Resources developed by ECA include the Inventory of
Education and Training Facilities in African GIS, the Carto-
graphic Inventory Atlas for Africa, and the Database on the
ORGANIZATIONS WITH CONTINENT-WIDE
Status of Cartographic Coverage and Programs in Africa.
ACTIVITIES
ECA supports regional Centers (e.g., Nairobi) through its
This section describes five organizations with continent-
wide activities that utilize or promote collection and analysis 1From NOAA’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR).
of geographic data. These are Images collected from 1972 through the present show where abnormal veg-
etation conditions exist within Africa at a given time.
2 Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali,
(1) the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS
Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Somalia, (southern) Sudan, Tan-
NET), zania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
(2) U. N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), 3Chemonics International, NASA, NOAA, U.S. Department of Agricul-
(3) U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), ture.
4AGRHYMET stands for AGRiculture, HYdrology, METeorology
(4) Environmental Information Systems-Africa (EIS-Af-
rica), and
(5) the Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSP).
29

30 DOWN TO EARTH
Tu
Mediterranean Sea
n
Morocco
is
ia
Algeria P
er
ra
Libya si
ha
Egypt a
Sa
rn
Re
st e
d
We
Se
Mauritania
a
Mali Niger
Senegal Chad Eritrea
The so Sudan
Gambia Fa Djibouti
a
Guinea r kin Nigeria Som
Guinea-Bissau Bu Ethiopia alia
n
Ghana
oo
Central African
Sierra Leone
er
Republic
m
Liberia Benin Ca
Cote d'Ivoire Togo
Congo Rwanda Uganda Kenya
Equatorial Guinea Gabon
Congo, DRC
Burundi
Tanzania
Atlantic Ocean Angola

Malawi
Zambia e
qu
bi
r
sca
m
za
Zimbabwe Mo
aga
Namibia
Mad
Botswana
Swaziland
Lesotho
South Africa
Indian Ocean
0 500 1,000 2,000
Kilometers
FIGURE 3-1 Case-study regions in Africa: the Upper Niger basin in West Africa, the Limpopo-Zambezi region of southeastern Africa, and
two in East Africa (the African Great Lakes region and the Kenya/Tanzania coastal zone). SOURCE: Dan Zimble, ESRI.
geographic information activities at ECA headquarters in implementation of the core program on information for de-
Addis Ababa. Harnessing Information for Development is velopment, and these recommendations are passed on to the
one of six core programs of ECA, and geographic informa- Conference of African Ministers of Planning and Develop-
tion is a part of the Development Information Services Divi- ment.
sion (DISD). In addition to supporting the regional centers
and the five other core program areas of ECA, DISD activi-
Food and Agriculture Organization
ties include advisory services, developing inventories and
databases, and organizing conferences and meetings. Since In 1995, the FAO initiated the Africover project (Chapter
1963 the ECA has organized a number of U.N. Cartographic 6) in response to national requests for assistance in obtaining
Conferences, which in 1999 became part of the activities of reliable, geographically referenced information on natural
the Committee on Development Information (CODI). This resources for use in early warning systems, forest and range-
committee provides policy and technical guidance for the land monitoring, catchment management, and biodiversity

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA 31
or climate-change studies at national and regional levels. Ten GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES IN CASE-
countries of the eastern African sub-region5 are involved in STUDY REGIONS
the first application of this initiative. These countries are cre-
ating a digital geographically referenced land-cover data- West Africa
base, the Multipurpose Africover Database for Environmen-
The diverse populations of the Upper Niger River region
tal Resources (FAO, 2002). Funding for the project is from
(which includes the Sahelian ecological zone) (Figure 3-1)
the Italian and U.S. governments.
depend on the natural resources of the region’s arid ecosys-
tems. Declines in land productivity, owing in part to deserti-
Environment Information Systems-Africa fication and climate change, have increased the vulnerability
of people to food insecurity, especially over the last three
With goals similar to ECA, EIS-Africa (Chapter 4) is a
decades (GISD, 2001). Table 3-2 provides a sample of some
network of public- and private-sector institutions and ex-
of the organizations that are using geographic data to ad-
perts. Founded in 1999, it promotes “access to and use of
dress the region’s environmental challenges.
environmental information in the sustainable development
process.”6 EIS-Africa, currently with 24 member states, is
the outgrowth of an earlier EIS project. The organization has Featured Activities
many activities, including a bi-annual conference series
Among the prominent, internationally supported centers
called Africa GIS.7 The most recent Africa GIS conference
in the region is AGRHYMET in Niamey, Niger.
in Nairobi, Kenya, in November of 2001 attracted 450 at-
AGRHYMET uses remotely sensed data and maps to ad-
tendees, the largest number to date.8 EIS-Africa is a non-
dress natural resource management and food security issues
profit pan-African organization funded and supported by
for the nine West African member states of the Permanent
several donors and international development agencies, in-
Interstate Committee to Combat Drought in the Sahel/
cluding the World Bank, the Government of Norway,
Comité Permanent Inter-´Etats de Lutte Contre la Sécheresse
USAID, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, and
dans le Sahel (CILSS).9 AGRHYMET is a focal point for
several U.N. agencies including the U.N. Development Pro-
FEWS NET activities (Chapter 6) and is a center of training
gram (UNDP), and the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP).
and educational outreach in West Africa. Established in
1974, the center received financial assistance initially from
Collaborative Research Support Programs USAID and later from Belgium, Denmark, France, and Italy,
the Netherlands, and the World Meteorological Organiza-
CRSPs promote agricultural research within Africa and
tion.
elsewhere (Chapter 7). Created by USAID and the Board for
The Centre of Applied Research in Population and De-
International Food and Agriculture Development in 1975,
velopment (CERPOD) (Chapter 5) is part of the Institute of
CRSPs employ U.S. land grant universities to carry out the
the Sahel in Bamako, Mali. CERPOD concentrates on re-
international food and agricultural research mandate of the
search and applied issues relating to population and devel-
U.S. government. CRSPs consist of universities working
opment. In its work CERPOD integrates socioeconomic data
with developing-country national agricultural research sys-
with environmental data. Member countries from CILSS
tems, international agricultural research centers, U.S.
provide partial support for CERPOD, in addition to USAID,
agribusiness, private voluntary organizations, developing-
Canadian International Development Agency, and the U.N.
country colleges and universities, private agencies, USAID/
Population Fund.
Washington and USAID missions, and other U.S. federal
agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CRSP,
2002). Presently, there are nine CRSPs, and all of them have East Africa
activities in Africa (Table 3-1).
In East Africa (Figure 3-1) food insecurity is a long-stand-
ing chronic issue (LEWS, 2001). Factors that have led to this
situation include the region’s weather and climate variation,
increasing human population, political instability, and land-
use/cover changes. Indeed, in the late 1980s, an estimated 71
million people, or 46 per cent of the population in the Greater
Horn of Africa, were reported to be chronically food inse-
5Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, cure (LEWS, 2001).
Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to food insecurity, the Great Lakes of East
6A. Bassolé, EIS-Africa, personal communication, 2002.
7UNITAR (U.N. Institute for Training and Research), and UNEP (U.N.
9Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania,
Environment Programme) also are involved with Africa GIS.
8D. Tunstall, World Resources Institute, personal communication, 2002. Niger, Senegal.

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TABLE 3-1 A Summary of Applications of Geographic Data by Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs)
Participating
Name of CRSP, Year Established, Website African Nations Applications of Geographic Data
International Corn and Millet (INTSORMIL), Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Soil and rainfall monitoring; tracking population and crop
1979 Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal density to ensure proper food distribution, educating
<http://intsormil.unl.edu/> farmers to increase production
Bean/Cowpea, 1980 Egypt, Jordan, Malawi, Nigeria, Drought, insect, and disease monitoring to improve crop yields
<http://eastafricacrsp.wsu.edu/> Senegal, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
<http://www.isp.msu.edu/CRSP/crsphc.htm>
<http://crsps.unl.edu/virttour.html>
Peanut, 1982 Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Simulation of crop systems to improve production efficiency
<http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/pnutcrsp.html> Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Malawi and natural resource management; monitoring nitrogen
levels in soil
Global Livestock, 1978 Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Livestock monitoring; monitoring the effects of production on
<http://cnrit.tamu.edu/aflews/> Uganda, the environment; natural resource conservation and
<http://glcrsp.ucdavis.edu/txt_index.html> management
Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture (PD/A), 1982 Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda Identification and monitoring of constraints to aquaculture;
<http://pdacrsp.orst.edu/projects_people/crsp_ tracking physical, chemical, and biological processes of
intro.html> aquatic ecosystems
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), 1993 Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Research and education programs to manage plant diseases
<http://www.ag.vt.edu/ipmcrsp/> Senegal, Uganda, Zimbabwe and pests; development of Africa IPM Link for information
exchange and electronic communication
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Mali Enhancing decision-making capacity (by providing
Management (SANREM), 1992 appropriate data, information, tools and methods of
<http://www.oird.vt.edu/sanremcrsp/ analysis) to improve the sustainability of natural resources
sanremcrsp.html>
Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Kenya, Madagascar Monitoring natural resource depletion and degradation of
Systems (BASIS), 1996 soils; assessing interactions between water, land, labor and
<http://aem.cornell.edu/special_programs/ financial markets and policy
AFSNRM/Basis/index.html>
<http://www.basis.wisc.edu/history.html>
Soil Management (SM), 1981 Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Assessing outcomes of alternative soil management practices;
<http://www.tradeoffs.montana.edu> Niger, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia soil monitoring (pesticide leaching, erosion, and fertility
decline)
Africa are facing other human and environmental challenges, The coastal region of East Africa, in Kenya and Tanza-
including nia, is undergoing notable changes. These changes include
intensification of agriculture and mariculture, increasing
• invasive species, such as water hyacinth that contrib- tourism, rapid expansion of coastal cities, especially
utes to fisheries losses; Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and increasing population
• water and soil contamination; through natural increase and in-migration. Pollution and
• pressure on rare wetlands and montane forests; over-fishing threaten important coral reefs and fish-breeding
• soil erosion in the densely settled East African High- grounds from Lamu, Kenya, to Mtwara in southern Tanza-
lands; nia.
• ethnic and herder/farmer conflicts; and Geographic data illuminate most of the human and envi-
• human and animal health problems, such as schistoso- ronmental issues in East Africa. Table 3-3 lists some of the
miasis, Rift Valley fever, and malaria, which are often organizations and programs that use geographic data in this
closely linked to irrigation, land-use change, and wa- region.
ter resource use.

TABLE 3-2 West African Organizations, Programs, and Activities Using Geographic Data
Organization Applications of Geographic Data
National Geographic Institute of Benin Mapping; topography

National Centre of Remote Sensing (CENATEL) (Benin) Vegetation monitoring; environment
Geographic Institute of Burkina Faso Mapping; topography
National Program for Environment Information Management (PNGIM) (Burkina Faso) Vegetation monitoring; environment
National Institute for Agronomic Research (Burkina Faso) Agriculture; natural resources
Centre de SIG et de Télédétection Adjaratou (Burkina Faso) Training; GIS services
Ecole Inter-Etats des Ingenieurs de l’Equipement Rural (Burkina Faso) Training; GIS services
Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Famine early warning
Mauritania, Niger, Senegal)
Centre for Cartography and Remote Sensing (CCT) (Cote d’Ivoire) Mapping
Comité National de Télédétection et d’Information Géographique (CNTIG) (Cote d’Ivoire) Applying remote-sensing and GIS technology in all
economic development sectors in Côte d’Ivoire (under
the office of the Prime Minister)
Institut de Géographie Tropicale (IGT) at the University of Cocody in Abidjan Training in remote-sensing and GIS
Centre Universitaire de Recherche Appliquée en Télédétection (CURAT) at the University Training in remote-sensing and GIS
of Cocody in Abidjan
Division of Water Resources (Gambia) Water resources
National Environment Agency (NEA) (Gambia) Vegetation monitoring; environment
Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information (CERSGIS) (Ghana) Training; research; varied applications
Environment Protection Agency (Ghana) Environment
Sambus Company Limited (Ghana) Training; commerce
Upper Niger Hydro-Electrical Management Project (Guinea) Water resources
National Forestry and Waters Service) (Guinea) Forestry; environment
National Meteorological Service (Guinea Bissau) Climatology
Direction General of Natural Resources (Guinea Bissau) Water resources
Sahel Institute (INSAH) (Mali) Demography; agronomy; research
Rural Economy Institute (IER) (Mali) Agronomy; natural resources management; research
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) (Mali) Agronomy; research
Agrometeorology Service (Mauritania) Agrometeorology
Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Survey (RECTAS) (Nigeria)a Training; mapping
University of Lagos, Laboratory for Cartography and Remote Sensing (Nigeria) Training; research; mapping
Ecological Monitoring Centre (CSE) (Senegal) Natural resources; livestock monitoring
Senegal Agronomic Research Institute Agronomy; research
Interstate School for Veterinarian Sciences (Senegal) Livestock monitoring
National Center for Research Support (Chad) Research; mapping; agriculture
Farcha’s Laboratory for Veterinarian Research (Chad) Livestock monitoring
Water Resources and Meteorological Service Water resources, agrometeorology
University of Benin, Department of Geography (Togo) Training; research
AGRHYMET Regional Centre (Niger) Early warning; crop production forecasts; natural resources;
environment
National Geographic Institute (Niger) Mapping; topography
Environment Technical Agency (Niger) Forestry; environment
Geographic Information System of Niger Water resources; hydraulics
Sequestration of Carbon in Soil Organic Matter (SOCSOM) (Senegal) Climate change; agriculture; rural development
Operation Haute Vallee du Niger (OHVN) (Mali) Agriculture; natural resource management
U.N. Environment Programme/ Réseau pour l’environnement et le développement durable Environmental management
en Afrique (UNEP/REDDA)
aDiscussed in Chapter 8.
SOURCES: A. Bassolé, EIS-Africa, personal communication, 2002; J. Oliveira, Mitchell Group, personal communication, 2002; <http://www.opengis.org/
gisd>.

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TABLE 3-3 East African Organizations, Programs, and Activities Using Geographic Data
Kenya Institute of Surveying and Mapping Training; mapping products
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Agricultural and livestock research; resource management
Kenya Soil Survey Research: soil science
Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Land use; land cover; land degradation; drought; Early Warning Systems forestry and vegetation;
Sensing (Ministry of Planning and National livestock; wildlife; crop production forecasting
Development, Kenya)
Kenya Wildlife Service Research; training; education; conserve, protect, and manage biodiversity
Consultive Group on International Agricultural Research: crop productivity, forestry and agroforestry, water management, aquaculture, and livestock;
Research (CGIAR)/ International Center for training; education; information services research and training in natural resource management,
Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)/ land degradation, vegetation change
International Livestock Research Institute
(ILRI) (Kenya)
Kenya Polytechnic POLYGIS Centre Training
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute Research: fisheries; environmental and ecological studies; chemical and physical oceanography
(KEMFRI)
Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Natural resource development and environmental management; training and services
Development (RCMRD) (Kenya)a
International Union for the Conservation of Conservation and management of African elephants
Nature and Natural Resources/ Species
Survival Commission African Elephant
Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC) (Kenya)
National Environmental Management Authority Environmental management; monitoring, planning and coordination of environmental matters (Under
(Uganda) the Ministry of Water, Lands, and Environment)
Uganda Land Commission Monitoring, management and protection of lands (Under the Ministry of Water, Lands, and
Environment)
International Center for Living Aquatic Research: food and environment; collaboration of farmers, scientists, and policy-makers to help
Resources (ICLARM) (Egypt, Malawi) maintain environment and alleviate poverty
African Highlands Initiative (AHI) Natural resource management; agriculture
Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) Water resources; environmental problems and threats to transboundary water bodies
(East African Rift Valley Lakes)
GIS-Network on Snailborne Infections with Mapping for medical research (schistosomiasis)

Special Reference to Schistosomiasis
(GNOSIS-GIS) (Great Lakes/Horn of Africa)
Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership with Coastal change detection

National Environmental Management Council
(TCMP with NEMC)
UNEP-DEWA (Division of Early Warning and Environmental data for decision-making; sustainable human development
Assessment)
UNEP-GRID (Global Resource Information Environmental data and information for decision-making; supports environmental research and
Database) (Nairobi) information networks in Africa, the Mediterranean region, and West Asia; provides advisory
services to other UNEP units on data management, GIS, remote sensing and environmental
information systems
aDiscussed in Chapter 8.
SOURCE: <http://www.icraf.cgiar.org/about/about.htm>, <http://www.opengis.org/gisd>; <http://www.unep.org/unep/eia/ein/grid/web/document/grid.htm>;
comments from contributors (Appendix B).

Featured Activities standards for information access within and between coun-
tries.
Established in 1997, the Integrated Coastal Management
project in Tanzania and Kenya (Chapter 8) is part of the U.S.
GISD initiative. This project uses Landsat satellite data and The Limpopo/Zambezi Region of Southern Africa
applies GIS technologies for coastal management planning
The Limpopo and Zambezi river basins lie within parts of
and decision-making. The project measures rates of change
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Angola,
in resource and land-use patterns and identifies priority loca-
and Zambia (Figure 3-1). These river basins are prone to
tions for coastal-action planning, special-area management,
devastating floods and famine. Other challenges within the
aquaculture siting, tourism-development planning, and land-
region include natural resource management, settlement
use zoning.
changes and their impacts on agricultural and environmental
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for De-
conditions, and conflict over land and water resources. Po-
velopment in Nairobi (Chapter 8), one of ECA’s regional
tential and existing applications of geographic information
centers, was established in 1975. The original objectives of
in this region focus on natural disaster relief, community-
the center concentrated on training, technical and consulting
based and transboundary natural resource management, in-
services, and advisory services to member states.10 Changes
teractions between land uses and economic development,
in technology, capacity in the region it serves (the center has
river-basin management, flood control, and infectious dis-
trained 3,000 Africans), and social and operational needs of
ease transmission (GISD, 2001). Table 3-4 lists some of the
member countries (now totaling 25 African countries) have
organizations and programs that use geographic data in this
resulted in re-focusing of RCMRD’s programs to address
region.
natural resource development and environmental manage-
ment challenges.
Originally funded by USAID, the RCMRD now operates Featured Activities
with funds from contracting member states, and from donors
The Miombo Network (Chapter 7) examines the rates and
that include USAID, U.N. Development Programme
causes of land-cover changes (including prevalent fires), pre-
(UNDP), FAO, World Bank, International Development
dicting the consequences of land-use and land-cover
Research Center (IDRC), United Nations Educational, Sci-
changes, developing a predictive understanding of Miombo
entific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Bank for Eco-
woodland structure and function; and understanding the de-
nomic Development in Africa (BADEA), and a number of
terminants of the distribution of species and ecosystems. The
bilateral donors such as France, India, Italy, and the Nether-
Miombo Network operates under the auspices of the IGBP/
lands. The center also generates its own funds from techni-
IHDP (International Human Dimensions Programme on Glo-
cal services such as training, aerial photography, servicing
bal Environmental Change/ International Geosphere-Bio-
of survey and mapping equipment, and consulting in natural
sphere Programme) Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC)
resources surveys and mapping (RCMRD, 2002).
Project and the IHDP/IGBP/WCRP12 Global Change Sys-
The Livestock Early Warning System (LEWS) (Chapter
tem for Analysis, Research and Training (START). Miombo
7) monitors nutrition and livestock health, and the food se-
members in Africa include government, university and re-
curity of people in East Africa. It applies integrated remotely
search institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
sensed weather data, point-based biophysical modeling, and
Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
geographic data on animal and vegetation distribution to
The network also includes universities, research institutions
serve decision-makers at many levels. LEWS provides
and NGOs in Europe, Australia, and the United States.
timely information on projected trends in livestock condi-
The Community Based Natural Resource Management
tion (e.g., weight, mortality, milk, reproduction), forage sup-
(CBNRM) (Chapter 8) program in Namibia applies geo-
ply, and crop stability—an estimated six to eight weeks ear-
graphic data for mapping conservancy boundaries, land-use
lier than other monitoring systems. LEWS is funded by
planning, monitoring, and communication and training. The
USAID and is implemented by Texas A&M University.
program was initiated through a partnership among the
The Global Access Initiative11 in Uganda (Chapter 8) is
Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism and NGOs
part of a coalition of non-governmental organizations
and donors that include USAID, World Wildlife Fund, De-
(NGOs) from developed and developing countries. The pur-
partment for International Development, CIDA, Namibia
pose of the initiative is to ensure that civil society has in
Nature Foundation, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Canadian
place all the critical elements of an access system (informa-
Ambassador’s Fund, Hivos, and Ford Foundation.
tion, participation, and justice). The initiative seeks common
10Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

11Hosted by the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. 12WCRP = World Climate Research Programme

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TABLE 3-4 Southern African Organizations, Programs, and Activities Using Geographic Data
African Wildlife Foundation Wildlife conservation; habitat protection; landscape ecology;

community-based natural resource management
Miombo Network Land-use and land-cover change detection
Okavango Wildlife Society Wildlife and ecological management
Program for Regional Information Sharing and Management on Environment and Natural resource management
Sustainable Development (PRISMES), World Bank
Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Program (Namibia) Ecosystem management; wildlife
Geologic Survey (Namibia) Mineral resources; geological engineering; land-use planning
University of Namibia, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Physical and human geography; environmental planning;
regional studies
Regional Centre for Southern Africa Natural resources management; agriculture
World Wildlife Foundation’s Living in a Finite Environment Programme (Namibia) Natural resource management
World Wildlife Fund’s Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Natural resource management
Resources (CAMPFIRE Programme) (Zimbabwe)
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Development Unit (Zimbabwe) Food security; natural resource management; early warning;
vulnerability assessment
Desert Research Foundation of Namibia Desertification; ecosystem function and structure
National Forest Research Center (Namibia) Desertification; forestry; remote sensing; horticulture
SAFARI 2000 Land-atmosphere processes
Southern African Fire Network (SAFNET) Monitoring burned areas (natural and anthropogenic fires)
Flood Hazard Monitoring (Mozambique) Flood prediction models; rainfall analysis
Institute for Fisheries Management and Coastal Community Development (IFM) Fisheries management and development
SUMMARY FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2002. Available at <http://

www.fao.org/>. Accessed May 20, 2002.
Africa’s geographic information community is diverse FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning System Network). 2002. Available at
and growing. This chapter highlights some of the applica- <http://www.fews.net/>. Accessed May 20, 2002.
tions of geographic data to environmental and developmen- GISD (Geographic Information for Sustainable Development). 2001. Avail-
able at <http://www.opengis.org/gisd/> Accessed May 20, 2002.
tal challenges. The next chapter explores how these diverse LEWS (Livestock Early Warning System). 2001. Available at <http://
activities can be linked together through spatial data and tele- cnrit.tamu.edu/lews/description.html> Accessed May 20, 2002.
communications infrastructures. RCMRD (Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development).
2002. Available at <http://www.rcmrd.org/AboutUS/AboutUSIndex.
htm>. Accessed June 25, 2002.
REFERENCES
CRSP (Cooperative Research Support Programs). 2002. Historical Perspec-
tives and U.S. Government Policy. Available at <http://crsps.unl.edu/
whycrsps.htm>. Accessed May 7, 2002.

Facilitating the Use of Geographic Data:

Spatial Data and Telecommunications Infrastructures
INTRODUCTION of [a spatial data infrastructure] requires the coordinated har-

nessing of resources and expertise residing in various gov-
Two infrastructures in particular facilitate the use of geo- ernment agencies, the private sector, universities, non-gov-
graphic data: spatial data and telecommunications infrastruc- ernmental organizations, and regional and international bod-
ies (EIS-Africa, 2002).
tures. This chapter begins by describing and illustrating na-
tional and global spatial data infrastructures.1 To realize the African countries are going through a familiar phase that
full potential of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) requires a many countries have gone through in their GIS development
telecommunications infrastructure that eases access, use, and whereby different sectors engage in GIS activities without
sharing of geographic data and information. The remainder coordination. It is not uncommon to find different agencies
of the chapter reviews current status and future trends in collecting the same data at the same or different times (ECA,
2001).
telecommunications infrastructure in Africa. Within the con-
text of telecommunications lie fixed-line and wireless tele- A variety of geographic data is produced, used, main-
phone services, computer infrastructure, Internet infrastruc- tained, and shared in application areas that include transpor-
ture, and media tools for dissemination of geographic tation, environment, natural resources, agriculture, health,
information. Progress in the use of geographic information emergency services, and telecommunications (Lachman et
for decision-making will be enhanced when efficient spatial al., 2001). Data are collected and archived in varied formats.
data and telecommunications infrastructures coexist. These data are primarily paper maps or in digital form and
can be analyzed in GISs. If the data are to be used effectively
for decision-making, they must be well managed. This goal
SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES
can be accomplished by producing, organizing, storing, and
An SDI is an “umbrella of policies, standards, and proce- distributing data cooperatively using SDI concepts (NRC,
dures under which organizations and technologies interact 1993).
to foster more efficient use, management and production of An SDI promotes data access, use, and sharing to im-
[geographic] data” (FGDC, 1996). The following quotations prove the application of geographic information by decision-
emphasize the importance of SDIs in Africa: makers at all scales (FGDC, 2002). A National Spatial Data
Infrastructure (NSDI) is a framework that is consistent for
Building infrastructure for geo[graphic] information use an entire country (Table 4-1) and a Global Spatial Data In-
is becoming as important to African countries as the build- frastructure (GSDI) is a partnership of many NSDIs.
ing of roads, telecommunications networks, and the provi- For informed decision-making and effective governance
sion of other basic services.… The rationale for investing in
countries require knowledge about their physical and social
information infrastructure is analogous to that for physical
geography (Groot, 2001). SDIs provide a framework that
infrastructure: the provision of many other services is con-
tingent upon their existence. The cost-effective development facilitates these actions and make it possible to use data many
times for many applications. Thus, countries can benefit eco-
nomically from SDIs. For example, the government of Aus-
1A spatial data infrastructure consists of the technological, organiza- tralia is developing the Australian Spatial Data Infrastruc-
tional, and management requirements that constitute the framework for a ture to underpin the planning and management of land use,
functional spatial data system. infrastructure, mining, agriculture, forestry, environment,
37

38 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 4-1 Countries with National Spatial Data Infrastructures
Argentina Australia Canada Colombia Cyprus Finland

France Germany Ghana Greece Hungary India
Indonesia Japan Kiribati Macau Malaysia Mexico
Netherlands New Zealand Norway Pakistan Poland Portugal
Russian Federation South Africa Sweden United Kingdom United States
SOURCE: Longley et al. (2001); Moeller (2001).
defense, and emergency services across the country. Price Management) and South Africa (National Spatial Informa-
Waterhouse undertook a study in 1995 to evaluate the eco- tion Framework) (EIS-Africa, 2002). In addition, eight coun-
nomic benefits of Australia’s investment in an SDI. The tries (Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Swaziland,
study concluded that “for every dollar invested in producing Zambia, and Zimbabwe) currently have SDI-building initia-
spatial data, $4 of benefit was generated in the economy. In tives. Several programs also have SDI-building components,
1989-1994 these benefits were in the order of $4.5 billion including the SADC Food Security Programme (Zimbabwe),
distributed across the broad spectrum of economic activi- Regional Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control Programme
ties” (Nairn, 1999). (Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe), Biomass
Programme of Uganda, Kenya’s Wetlands Conservation and
Training Programme, the Miombo Network in southern Af-
National Spatial Data Infrastructures
rica (Chapter 7), and the Community Based Natural Re-
The concept of an NSDI is recent and acceptance by de- sources Management initiative in Namibia (Chapter 7). The
veloped countries is far from complete. Developing coun- barriers that hamper other countries from adopting a formal
tries can learn from the mistakes of those who have gone SDI include a lack of prominent SDI champions in influen-
before and potentially bypass similar problems toward an tial positions and declines in funding for SDI-related
efficient SDI (Taylor, 1997). projects.
In the United States in 1990 the Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) was created to develop a strategy for an
Components of a Spatial Data Infrastructure
NSDI. The goal is to have “current and accurate geospatial
data that is readily available (locally, nationally, and glo- An SDI comprises standards, framework foundation data,
bally) that can contribute to economic growth, environmen- framework thematic and other geographic data, metadata,
tal quality, stability, and social progress” (FGDC, 2002). The clearinghouses, and partnerships.
FGDC works to
Data Standards
(1) reduce duplication of effort by government agencies
in data collection; Spatial data infrastructures cannot function without stan-
(2) improve quality and reduce costs related to geographic dards. Standards are specifications and documented prac-
data; tices applied to spatial data formats, data compression and
(3) make geographic data more accessible to the public; decompression formats, data transmission formats, metadata
(4) increase the benefits of using available data; and formats, and computer interfaces that allow people to easily
(5) establish key partnerships with states, counties, cities, interact within the system.
tribal nations, academia, and the private sector. A lack of standards impedes spatial data collection, dis-
tribution, and processing. Consequently, countries such as
The U.S. NSDI gained prominence in 1994 following the Ghana and South Africa have begun to develop standards for
publication of U.S. presidential Executive Order 12906, their spatial data. Organizations such as EIS-Africa (Box 4-
which emphasized the need to coordinate the acquisition, 1) are working to develop generic information technology-
access, and sharing of geographic data in the federal govern- based standards (e.g., description, query language, syntax),
ment. It elevated the NSDI from a technical subject to an application-independent standards (e.g., geometry, topology,
essential component of social and economic development metadata), and national standards tailored to specific appli-
(Groot, 2001). The order indicates that all efforts described cations (e.g., base mapping, cadastral mapping, transporta-
in the NSDI are to be carried out through partnerships among tion planning, and urban planning) (EIS-Africa, 2001).
federal, state, and local government agencies and the public, Over the last 10 years several international efforts in stan-
private, and academic sectors. dards development have been initiated. For example, in 1992
Two countries in sub-Saharan Africa have formal NSDIs: the European Committee for Standardization began promot-
Ghana (National Framework of Geographic Information ing voluntary technical harmonization in Europe and

FACILITATING THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC DATA: SPATIAL DATA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURES 39
BOX 4-1
Environmental Information Systems-Africa
Focus: EIS-Africa facilitates the strategic development and use of geo- technical resources, and a knowledge base for assisting African govern-
graphic information in environmental management and sustainable devel- ments and civil society to meet their priority needs for information on the
opment in Africa. EIS-Africa develops common principles and practices environment, natural resources, and sustainable development. Numerous
for EIS development and application, and facilitates the coordination of workshops and conferences, including the Africa-GIS series (which be-
national and international EIS programs. Other parts of EIS-Africa’s frame- gan in 1993), have been held to exchange information, build partnerships,
work are documenting and sharing best practices, building on existing and develop a network of relationships throughout Africa. Additionally,
activities, and partnering with other organizations. EIS-Africa has authored or co-authored publications on GIS technology
Sponsors and partners: EIS-Africa is a non-profit, pan-African or- applications in Africa (e.g., Bassolé et al., 2001; EIS-Africa, 2001, 2002).
ganization of geo-information practitioners and institutions. Membership Lessons learned: The term “environment” in EIS-Africa has be-
is open to all sectors: There are 24 member countries, mostly in sub- come a limiting factor for the organization as it seeks to broaden its net-
Saharan Africa, and over 2,000 individual and institutional members. EIS- work to economic development, agriculture, transportation, telecommu-
Africa is a new organization that has evolved from the ten-year old EIS nications, and other areas of public policy. However, the organization is
program. The original program was funded and supported by several do- trying to address such issues (EIS-Africa, 2001).
nors and international development agencies, including the World Bank, The organization also has difficulties convincing governments of the
the government of Norway, the U.S. Agency for International Develop- value of SDI within their own borders. It is even more difficult to persuade
ment, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, and several U.N. them of the value of cross-border data sharing and cooperation on com-
agencies including the U.N. Development Program, and the U.N. Environ- mon data policy issues. Often the bureaucratic interests are defined nar-
ment Program (UNEP). rowly and provincially, and the notion of regional cooperation appears to
Key results to date: The EIS-Africa network consists of information be a low priority. To address such issues, EIS-Africa sees the future of SDI
managers, decision-makers and other professionals, as well as institu- in Africa in terms of building a network of field practitioners who under-
tions in sub-Saharan Africa that produce or use environmental informa- stand the value of cooperative activity through their own experiences.
tion for a variety of purposes. EIS-Africa serves as a pool of expertise,
throughout the world. Most European countries support this rative efforts called “pilot projects” that test and implement
effort. In 1994 the International Standards Organization OGC specifications (Box 4-3). Another initiative is a joint
(ISO) undertook a similar initiative (EIS-Africa, 2001). Both project of the European Commission’s Joint Research Cen-
the European Committee for Standardization and the ISO tre and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The purpose of
reached an agreement in 2000 to ensure a joint international this project is to remove technical obstacles to sharing earth
standard. Additionally, the Digital Geographic Information observation data. It is a direct result of the 1997 U.S. and
Exchange Standards were developed to support the efficient European Science and Technology Agreement Concerning
exchange of digital information among North Atlantic Treaty Earth Observation Technology Development and Applica-
Organization nations. In 2000 the European Joint Steering tion Research and a subsequent 1999 cooperative arrange-
Group on Spatial Standardization and Related Interoperabil- ment between the European Commission’s Joint Research
ity was created to insert spatial technology into mainstream Centre and the USGS (M. Reichardt, OGC, personal com-
information technology and to develop standards. munication, 2002).
Organizations in the United States, such as the Open GIS
Consortium (OGC), are developing geographic information
Framework Foundation Data
processing interface software and data standards that oper-
ate on almost all computer platforms (in other words, mak- Framework foundation data usually consist of three spa-
ing them “interoperable”) (Box 4-2). As a result people can tial data layers: (1) geodetic control, (2) digital elevation and
use different types of GIS software and their associated data bathymetry, and (3) digital ortho-imagery (NRC, 1995,
on a variety of devices (e.g., mainframe computer, personal 2001). Because people are central to Agenda 21 issues it is
computer, or on a hand-held personal digital assistant). Fur- appropriate for human population distribution to be a fourth
thermore, a GIS user can process data from dispersed foundation layer (Figure 4-1).
sources.
The OGC has an interoperability program composed of a Geodetic Control
series of initiatives to accelerate the development and accep- Geodetic control is the common reference system for es-
tance of OGC specifications (M. Reichardt, OGC, personal tablishing the coordinate position (i.e., latitude, longitude,
communication, 2002). Among these initiatives are collabo- elevation) of geographic data throughout an SDI. It ties all

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BOX 4-2
The Open GIS Consortium
The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) is an international industry consor- also works closely with the ISO to develop standards. The OGC is devel-
tium of more than 220 companies, government agencies, and universities oping open, common graphical user interfaces to communicate between
participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geo- software system components. OGC interfaces provide access to both in-
graphic information processing specifications (OGC, 2002). The OGC sets formation and functionality. The OGC also works to develop software ap-
standards so that the commercially available geographic information pro- proaches that address inconsistent data dictionaries and metadata
cessing software and data produced by them are interoperable. The OGC schemas (OGC, 2002).
geographic features and thematic infrastructure to a com- Earth’s surface above or below a user-specified datum (or
mon horizontal and vertical coordinate system. This system zero line). Invariably, raw elevation data are converted into
allows users to locate objects (e.g., bridges, markets, more visually understandable displays, including contour
mosques) and linear features and networks (e.g., political maps and shaded relief maps. Land-surface elevation is gen-
boundaries, roads, or rivers).2 erally measured relative to mean sea level or some other
datum. The elevation of terrain below a water body is re-
Digital Elevation and Bathymetry ferred to as bathymetric data (NSDI, 1997).3
Elevation is the height above a point of reference such as
2Each geodetic control point in a spatial data infrastructure includes
name, identification code, latitude and longitude, orthometric height, ellip- 3For land surfaces, the framework generally uses an elevation matrix.
soid height, and metadata. The metadata for each geodetic control station For depths, the framework consists of soundings and a gridded bottom
contains descriptive data, positional accuracy, and condition information. model (NSDI, 1997).
BOX 4-3
Open GIS Consortium Pilot Project in Africa
The Geospatial Information for Sustainable Development Initial Ca- • Federal Geographic Data Committee,
pability Pilot (ICP) is the first of a series of projects to make geographic • Intergraph,
information more accessible and useful to decision-makers working on • Ionic Software (Belgium), and
sustainable development challenges. The goal is not to create yet another • Laser Scan (UK)
network of data sources for Africa; rather, it is to create a framework of
and organizations in Africa including:
existing networks that leverage the work already accomplished by making
it easier and quicker to discover, combine, and exploit existing data. ICP • AGRHYMET,
offers a path to this vision. It will deliver a limited but operational frame- • EIS-Africa,
work of services to illustrate how interoperable applications can improve • ICRAF (International Center for Research in Agroforestry),
information sharing and application in Africa. This initiative emphasizes • ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Trop-
the value of public-private partnerships and international and industry ics),
standards to make geographic information and interoperable technolo- • CSE, Senegal (with SISEI)
gies more accessible to researchers and practitioners. Often the products • OSS
from different vendors meet similar requirements but fail to mesh because • Regional Remote Sensing Unit, Harare Zimbabwe, and
of vendor-proprietary formats and different processing approaches. • University of Dar Es Salaam (Kenya-Tanzania Coastal Zone Man-
The ICP is funded by the U.S. Department of State and the USAID, agement project).
with supporting sponsorship from Natural Resources Canada and the
• see OGC (2002) for additional partners
FGDC (on behalf of the GSDI). The ICP’s implementation partners include
technology companies: The intended result is a limited but operational framework of
interoperable Web-based and stand-alone applications and servers oper-
• Advanced Technology Solutions (United States),
ating as a single network. This will be facilitated by commercial and non-
• Cubewerx (Canada),
commercial software that uses OpenGIS specifications, which should
• ESRI,
greatly simplify the process of data and application sharing.
SOURCE: M. Reichardt, OGC, personal communication, 2002.


Human population distribution refers to the location of
people on Earth’s surface. People are both influenced by and
have an impact on ecosystems in which they live, and are
therefore central to Agenda 21 issues. Information on the
geographic distribution of the human population and their
attributes are equally as important as other SDI framework
foundation data. In the current worldwide development
arena, such key issues as good governance, anti-poverty
strategies, and the need to promote economic growth with
social equity all require population distribution and other
demographic data at the local scale. Geographically refer-
enced, standardized census data that can be linked to other
layers of geographic data are required to meet national de-
velopment needs. Progress toward Agenda 21 goals is im-
peded by the lack of reliable data on human population dis-
tribution.
Framework Thematic Data

There is general consensus in the geographic information
community that four of the most important framework the-
matic datasets are Hydrology, Boundaries, Transportation,
and Cadastral data (NRC, 1995, 2001; NSDI, 1997).
FIGURE 4-1 (Read from the bottom to the top.) A spatial data Hydrology
infrastructure (SDI) typically consists of framework foundation There are three categories of hydrologic features: (1) sur-
data such as geodetic control, digital elevation and bathymetry, and face water features (e.g., oceans, seas, lakes, reservoirs, and
ortho-imagery. Because of the central nature of people in sustain- ponds), (2) linear features (e.g., shorelines, rivers, canals,
able development, data on human population distribution are and perennial and intermittent streams), and (3) point fea-
equally important. Where possible, SDIs also contain essential tures (e.g., wells). A complete hydrologic dataset requires
framework thematic data layers, including hydrology, political and information about how the hydrologic network is connected
other boundaries, transportation resources, and cadastral informa- and the direction in which water flows.
tion. Other thematic information such as socioeconomic data, veg-
etation, soils, geology, and land cover may be included in the infra-
Boundaries
structure (adapted from FGDC, 2002).
Boundaries range from the political borders of countries
to administrative units to communal and individual holdings.
Without accurate boundary information it is difficult to
Digital Ortho-imagery
monitor an activity with a given legal jurisdiction or allocate
An ortho-image is a specially processed image prepared
resources fairly to people within a specific administrative
from an aerial photograph or remotely sensed image that has
district. Box 4-4 describes the importance of boundary infor-
the metric qualities of a traditional line map with the detail
mation in Ghana.
of an aerial image.4 Because ortho-images are geographi-
cally referenced, they are useful in their own right or as a
Transportation
backdrop upon which other information can be overlaid (e.g.,
Transportation networks include roads, railways, water-
drainage or road networks, utilities, or government bound-
ways, and pipelines. Even in major cities of Africa they are
aries). They also can be used as a reference base map to
inadequately mapped for such basic functions as delivery
which other maps or images can be linked to detect changes
and collection services (ECA, 2001).
in the landscape.
Cadastral Data
Cadastral data refer to the geographic extent of past, cur-
4During processing of the source data, an ortho-image is adjusted (recti- rent, and future rights and interests of private and commer-
fied) to a standard map projection and datum. Geometric errors caused by cial property (FGDC, 2002). A cadastre is a map accompa-
topography and other anomalies are removed from the dataset during pro- nied by a register showing the ownership or possession of
cessing (Thrower and Jensen, 1976). individual units of land. It facilitates efficient land adminis-

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BOX 4-4
Developing Jurisdictional Boundaries Information in Ghana
In Ghana, boundary maps (i.e., regional, district, census, electoral, The Survey of Ghana recognizes that boundaries are an integral part of
and related maps) contain inaccuracies in the location of boundaries. The the development of a national spatial data framework for the collection,
problem has confronted researchers, political and security administra- processing, and use of geographic information. Nationally accepted, ac-
tors, and development planners for many years. Participants at the Na- curate, and reliable district and sub-district boundary maps are needed as
tional Framework for Geospatial Information Management Steering com- the basis for data collection, processing, and presentation. Presently there
mittee consultations at Dodowa in June 2001 recommended developing a are as many versions of the maps as there are producers and users of
collaborative project to address the problem. information, and it is never clear which version is used in national and
private documents.
SOURCE: <http://www.epa.gov.gh/Nafgim/Ongoing_Acts.htm>.
tration and expedites land-market transactions. The spatial streaming services. Third, users may access data and process
data necessary to describe the geographic extent of property geographic information to make maps over the Internet.
rights and interests includes surveys, legal description refer- In developed countries national data clearinghouses are
ence systems, and parcel-by-parcel surveys and descriptions. now commonplace. For example, a shared data discovery
infrastructure was set up across Europe in 1998 (the Euro-
Metadata pean Spatial Metadata Infrastructure [ESMI] project). The
Metadata (defined as data about data) describe existing ESMI project involves mapping organizations of most Euro-
data holdings, making it possible for people outside an pean countries and provides a common research and devel-
agency or organization to access, search, and use geographic opment framework to permit discovery of geographic data.
data. Metadata help people know that data exist; how, when, Clearinghouse efforts are also underway in the developing
or why the data were produced; and where the data reside. world (Box 4-5).
For example, when making important land-management de-
cisions, it is helpful to know where to find the needed geo-
Partnerships
graphic data (Table 1-1).
A U.S. standardized metadata format, Content Standards Partnerships bind spatial data infrastructures together at
for Digital Geospatial Metadata, was approved by the FGDC all scales. Groups and government agencies enter into part-
in 1998. An international metadata standard became avail- nerships to freely share geographic data. These partnerships
able in 2002, and the National Spatial Information Frame- form a basis for many spatial data infrastructures (Table 4-
work of South Africa is compiling a metadata profile based 1). The partnership concept is extended worldwide through
on these standards. the GSDI.
Clearinghouses Global Spatial Data Infrastructure

Clearinghouses (or catalogs) allow government agencies, The GSDI is an emerging network of public and private
non-profit organizations, and commercial participants world- national, regional, and international organizations. It in-
wide to make their geographic data searchable and acces- volves the development and open sharing of global to local
sible through the Internet. A clearinghouse carries the poten- data through a network of clearinghouses. The GSDI advo-
tial to reduce duplication of effort in collecting and cates the adoption of appropriate standards and practices for
distributing digital spatial (and non-spatial) data. sharing data. Currently the secretariat is with the U.S. FGDC
Clearinghouses serve three principal functions. First, they (see Appendix C).
provide an Internet-based graphical user interface helping The GSDI includes such regional groupings as the Euro-
users search for (or “discover”) geographic data with stan- pean Umbrella Organization for Geographic Information,
dardized metadata. Second, they allow access to raw digital Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and
data and allow standardized access to geographic data the Pacific, Permanent Committee on Spatial Data Infra-
through file-transfer-protocol5 directories and online data structure for the Americas, and the Permanent Committee on
GIS Infrastructure for Africa. Such groupings enable partici-
pants to benefit from shared experiences and lessons learned
5A standard protocol and an application that permits files to be copied in the application of geographic data.
from one computer to another, regardless of file format or operating system. An implementation guide, Developing Spatial Data In-

BOX 4-5
Clearinghouse Activities in Africa
Under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) in ports discovery of geographic data in South Africa and in the greater south-
Nairobi, Kenya, a global directory of environmental data is being prepared ern Africa region.
using UNEP-sponsored metadata and software. Through international col- The CEOS Information Locator System, built by the International Com-
laboration, conversion of the software is underway to make it compatible mittee on Earth Observation Satellites, enables users in developing coun-
with FGDC metadata standards. The UNEP metadata holdings will be made tries to gain access to Earth observation information. Users can also enter,
available through a search service on the Internet. administer, and share their own data and information. Metadata host sites
In South Africa the National Spatial Information Framework project are maintained in China, Norway, Kenya, Japan, Italy, Germany, and Aus-
coordinates the development of metadata and an online discovery system. tralia, providing regional access to a common and synchronized interna-
This system uses FGDC metadata standards and related software and sup- tional collection of metadata. A majority of the sites are using a common
method for searching for data.
SOURCE: FGDC (2001).
frastructure: The SDI Cookbook, was released by the GSDI veloped and developing countries, between urban and rural
Secretariat during the GSDI-5 conference held in Cartagena, areas, and between the rich and the poor (InfoDev, 2001). As
Colombia, in 2001 (GSDI, 2002). The document introduces a result of this divide the potential impact of geographic in-
local, regional, national, and multinational organizations to formation and associated technology on development chal-
the common concepts and issues, policies, standards, and lenges in Africa are largely unrealized.
recommendations for implementing a globally compatible
SDI. The guide provides details on how to establish compat-
Overview
ible systems within and between organizations to facilitate
information discovery, applications support, and exchange. Telecommunications infrastructures in Africa have gen-
It also identifies, describes, and references relevant standards erally improved during the 1990s (Table 4-2). For example,
and specifications from the ISO, Open GIS Consortium, and use of satellite television, the Internet, personal computers,
the Internet to assemble a coherent vision for their integra- and fixed and cellular telephones is increasing across the
tion (GSDI, 2002). continent (Taylor, 1997; ECA, 1999a). Of the roughly 800
The GSDI is economical because it enables worldwide million people in Africa (Jensen, 2002)
cost sharing of data creation and maintenance: Those who
produce the data maintain and update it. As a result of the • 1 person in 13 has a television (62 million),
potential benefits of both the GSDI and SDI concepts, de- • 1 in 40 has a fixed telephone line (20 million),
veloping countries should consider using a standardized • 1 in 35 has a wireless telephone (24 million),
SDI that is compatible with the emerging GSDI. Data • 1 in 130 has a personal computer (6 million),
derived from international development programs (for • 1 in 160 uses the Internet (5 million), and
example, those of USAID) should conform to the stan- • 1 in 400 has pay television (2 million).
dards recommended by the GSDI. In this way data col-
lected by these programs should be rendered more useful. As elsewhere, telecommunications in African countries cor-
relate with the settlement hierarchy. For example, in Tanza-
nia the adoption of telecommunications is greatest in Dar es
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN
Salaam, the economic and social nerve center of the country.
AFRICA
In such provincial cities as Arusha, Iringa, Tanga, and
SDIs depend on efficient telecommunications infrastruc- Mwanza the adoption of these technologies is lower. In rural
tures (Figure 4-2). In particular the accumulation of data and areas of Africa where 7 out of 10 people live, levels of adop-
information without the ability to access, process, and dis- tion are lowest (Jensen, 1999) and much of rural Africa has
seminate serves little purpose. In general, telecommunica- been isolated from international networks. Africa’s diversity
tions infrastructures in the developing world are inadequate is an important characteristic that represents both a strength
to support SDIs. Telecommunications technologies that meet and a challenge to developing telecommunications infra-
the needs for geographic data transfer and information dis- structures (Box 4-6). Fortunately adoption of telecommuni-
semination are vital to close the digital divide between de- cations technologies will increase in the future because of

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS venues people can access geographic data and information

in villages and participate in technology training to address
Media
-Land lines local development needs. Available technologies include
-Wireless (cell phone, satellite) telephones, fax machines, computers, photocopiers, email,
-Radios
and the Internet. In Ghana, for example, wireless pay-phone
kiosks provide an inexpensive way to broaden rural access
to the networked world (McConnell International, 2000).
Regulatory policies that encourage increased telecommuni-
cations access and new administrative arrangements allow
Raw Data
entrepreneurs to operate profitable enterprises.
Continued improvements in telecommunications infra-
Data Analysts Decision-Makers structures could enhance the “e-readiness” of African coun-
Geographic tries to support e-government and e-business. In The Global
Information Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for
the Networked World (World Economic Forum, 2002),
Harvard University ranked countries for e-readiness6 based
FIGURE 4-2 Ways that geographic data and information may be
on their capacity to take advantage of information and com-
transferred from NSDI or GSDI clearinghouses to African deci-
sion-makers. munication technology networks. Four African countries
were among the 75 that were ranked: South Africa, 40th;
Egypt, 60th; Zimbabwe, 70th; and Nigeria, 75th. With policy
reform and regulatory change African countries could be-
TABLE 4-2 Recent Telecommunication Trends in Sub- come globally competitive in e-commerce, especially in ser-
Saharan Africa vices (ECA, 2001).
Other organizations are developing and improving tele-
1996 1999 2000 communications infrastructure in Africa. These include the
African Information Society, African Development Forum,
Fixed line and mobile 13.4 24.3 31.6 African Telecommunications Union, African Connection,
telephones (per 1,000 people) ECA, Economic Commission for West African States, and
Personal computers (per 1,000 Not available 8.2 9.2
people)
Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (Box 4-
Internet Users 648,000 2.4 million 3.7 million 7). International organizations that improve telecommunica-
tions infrastructure include the International Telecommuni-
SOURCE: Development Gateway (2002). cations Union, UNESCO, and the World Bank. In addition,
InfoDev funds pilot projects and policy, networking, and
human resource development activities that promote the dis-
declining unit costs, policy changes and liberalization of

markets (ECA, 2001; InfoDev, 2001). 6E-readiness describes the extent to which a country’s business environ-
There are growing numbers of kiosks, cyber cafés, and ment is conducive to Internet-based commercial opportunities. It is a con-
telecenters that offer information and communications tech- cept that spans a wide range of factors, from the sophistication of the tele-
communications infrastructure to the security of credit-card transactions
nology access and services to the public for a fee. At these
and the literacy of the population (<http://www.ebusinessforum.com>).
BOX 4-6
Africa’s Diversity
Many Africans identify themselves as members of an ethnic group The number of ethnic groups in Africa is difficult to know precisely
(one or more depending on parentage), name the language they speak as because estimates vary. Armstrong (1963) estimated between one thou-
a member of that group, and identify the place (village, camp, town, city) sand and two thousand different languages. For purposes of this report,
where they live as significant. Commonly the ethnic group name and the the estimate of 1,000 ethnic groups is a reasonable minimum. In addition
language they speak are the same. Importantly, most Africans speak two to these groups, such European settlers as the English in east and South
or more languages—the home language, the lingua franca, and the lan- Africa, the Boers in South Africa, and the Asians in eastern and South
guage of the nation. In addition, many speak English in Anglophone Af- Africa are significant in their national populations and influence on lin-
rica, French in Francophone Africa, or Arabic in North Africa. guistic diversity.

BOX 4-7
Regional Economic Organizations and Telecommunications
U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) munications development through improved satellite or fiber-optics links.
The goal of this program is to provide regional infrastructures to stimulate
In 1996 the ECA adopted an initiative to create an information infra-
trade and investments, in part through involvement of the private sector.
structure for Africa through access to a global infrastructure. The goal is
The program strives to connect existing networks in the areas of transpor-
to provide information for development and to build national communica-
tation, communications, and energy (ECOWAS, 2002).
tions capacity in member states. The ECA emphasizes the importance of
the involvement of government, non-government, and private-sector in-
stitutions as well as the science and technology communities. The plan Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
also stresses the need for policy and legislative reform at the national
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa is promoting the
level to promote effective decision-making (ECA, 1999b).
establishment of a regional telecommunications network to increase trade
among the member states. The network includes a mixture of fiber-optic,
Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS)
microwave, and satellite connectivity that will facilitate the transfer of data
The Economic Commission for West African States spearheaded the and television programming. Where possible, the network follows the lay-
INTELCOM I programme to connect the capital cities of West Africa by out of existing infrastructure. The network is administered by COMTEL
microwave links. Subsequently, ECOWAS recommended that priority be Communications, Ltd. and private-sector investors will have the majority
given to completing the INTELCOM II programme to facilitate telecom- equity shareholding (COMESA, 2002).
semination of information and communication technologies. Fixed-line and Wireless Telephone Service
Finally, Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA)7 and
In 2001 total telephone use (fixed-line plus wireless tele-
Wavix, Inc.,8 are launching the VITA Connect Network to
phones) per 100 people was 121.1 in developed countries
provide information and low-cost, remote-area connectivity
and 19.8 in developing countries (ITU, 2002b). In Africa the
for development and humanitarian organizations. The activ-
countries of the Sahel and central Africa, such as Niger and
ity will rely on its Low Earth Orbiting Satellite—the first
Democratic Republic of Congo, have less than two telephone
satellite operated by a non-governmental organization fo-
lines for every 1,000 people. Northern Africa and South Af-
cusing on development (VITA, 2002).
rica have a teledensity9 around 35 per 1,000 people, and West
The U.S. government also is enhancing African telecom-
and East African coastal countries have teledensities between
munications infrastructure. For example, the Leland Initia-
2.5 and 10 per 1,000 people (ECA, 1999a). When the Com-
tive, a five-year, $15 million activity, promotes Internet con-
mission for Worldwide Telecommunications Development
nectivity and its sustainability in 21 African countries.
published the Missing Link Report in 1984, there were more
Currently, regulatory reform is the focus of the initiative
telephones in Tokyo than in all of Africa. Today there are
(USAID, 2002). In another example, the Radio and Internet
twice as many telephones in Africa than in Tokyo (ITU,
for the Communication of Hydro-meteorological and Cli-
2002a).
mate Related Information Project (RANET) provides infor-
Although charges for local and international phone calls
mation access and support to rural communities on topics
are declining, they remain high in comparison with rates in
such as weather, agriculture, education, and health (RANET,
Europe and North America (ITU, 2001). For most Africans,
2002). NOAA, the University of Oklahoma, and USAID pro-
making a telephone call is an unaffordable luxury. Telephone
vide technical and financial support to RANET.
subscription costs range from one-sixth to nearly one-half of
The U.S. government (e.g., USAID and NOAA) should
per capita gross domestic product (ITU, 2001). Moreover,
continue to assist African countries in improving tele-
the quality of telephone service is variable (ITU, 2001), and
communications infrastructure so that large computer
the average waiting time for the installation of a telephone is
files containing geographic data can be readily distrib-
3.5 years in sub-Saharan Africa (ITU, 2001).
uted within national and global spatial data infrastruc-
Fortunately, wireless technology is expanding telephone
tures.
networks in Africa. In 2001 most countries in sub-Saharan
7An international development organization in the U.S. state of Virginia.

9Teledensity is the number of telephone connections per unit population
8A private firm that developed a two-way satellite communication sys- (e.g., per 1,000 people), typically measured by the number of fixed lines per
tem specifically to support remote data collection and e-mail services. unit population, number of wireless phones per unit population, or both.

46 DOWN TO EARTH
FIGURE 4-3 Countries with more wireless (mobile) than fixed telephone lines in 2001. SOURCE: ITU (2002a).
Africa had more wireless (mobile) than fixed-wire subscrib- of finance (for government payroll), large parastatals, tele-
ers (Figure 4-3). The success of this technology relates to the communications operators, banks, and insurance companies
lower costs of providing wireless coverage rather than in- (Jensen, 1999).
stalling fixed copper lines, and to liberalization of telecom- The high cost of new computers is offset to some extent
munications regulations and the resulting competition in by organizations that transfer refurbished computers to Af-
wireless services. rica without charge or for a nominal fee. For example, Com-
puter Aid International has distributed a total of 1,800 used
computers to Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zim-
Computer Infrastructure
babwe. Additionally, open-source software10 has become
Worldwide the cost of computers is decreasing and the increasingly important because development and mainte-
number of computers is increasing (Taylor, 1997). In north- nance costs are incurred by communities of volunteers rather
ern Africa and South Africa there are more computers per than by users, and the software is available either without
capita than in the rest of Africa (Table 4-3). For example, charge or for the cost of disks, manuals, and technical sup-
South Africa has roughly 6 computers per 1,000 people, port. Additionally, by using the Internet Africans can use
whereas other sub-Saharan countries combined have less computers in Europe and North America.
than 1 computer per 1,000 people. By comparison, the United A range of challenges face computer users in Africa. Poor
States had 459 computers per 1,000 people in 1998 (World computer maintenance, insufficient skills to diagnose sys-
Bank, 2001, Table 19). tem problems, and underuse of existing computers are com-
Typically, computers are imported into African countries. monplace (ECA, 1999a). These problems are the result of
Consequently, prices are high when compared to per capita insufficient financial resources, limited training in computer
gross domestic product. The high cost of computers limits maintenance and software trouble-shooting, and lack of tech-
the rate of Internet diffusion and access to geographic data nical support by computer manufacturers. In sub-Saharan
clearinghouses. Most personal and mainframe computers are Africa environmental conditions (such as dust, heat, and
in South Africa, and most of them are confined to ministries heavy rains) and irregular or nonexistent electricity supplies
also hamper computer use and disrupt Internet connections.
Power outages that last many hours are a regular occurrence,
TABLE 4-3 Personal Computers in Africa even in capital cities (ECA, 1999a), and poor transportation
networks hinder distribution of physical goods.
Personal Computers
Personal Computers (1000s) per 100 people
Internet Infrastructure
Northern Africa 2,169 1.64 In November 1991 South Africa established the first
South Africa 2,700 6.18
Other Sub-Saharan 2,455 0.47
Internet connection in Africa and continues to lead in
All Africa 7,324 1.05
SOURCE: ITU (2001). 10Software for which the original (source) code is freely available.

TABLE 4-4 Internet in Africa in 2001
Dial-Up Internet International Outgoing Number of Internet Population Cities with Dial-Up Subscribers
Region Subscribers Bandwidth Kbps Service Providers millions Points of Penetration per Million People
Central 10,100 3,072 17 71.48 12 141

East 120,600 24,894 80 216.42 28 557
North 279,000 294,096 360 139.25 36 2,004
Southa 80,350 33,044 35 69.42 38 1,157
South Africa 750,000 350,000 80 44.31 100 16,926
West 122,725 68,072 77 228.78 34 536
Africa 1,362,775 773,178 649 769.66 248 1,771
aExclusive of South Africa.

SOURCE :National Intelligence Council (2001).
Internet-related developments (Table 4-4). Eritrea, the last directly to the United States or Europe when regulations per-
country to be connected, linked up in November 2000 (ITU, mit. The adoption of VSATs is greatest in the Democratic
2001). Currently there are about 649 Internet service provid- Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tan-
ers in Africa and the number will continue to increase as zania, Uganda, and Zambia. A number of consumer-oriented
Internet markets open. VSAT services are scheduled. The target price is currently
The number of Internet users in Africa is difficult to esti- between U.S.$700-$900 for VSAT equipment providing 56
mate because there may be several users per subscription kilobytes per second outgoing capacity and 200-400 kilo-
and because of the popularity of public facilities (e.g., kiosks, bytes per second incoming capacity (Jensen, 2002).
cyber cafés, and telecenters). In 2001 Africa had an esti- Despite increasing capacity, bandwidth continues to limit
mated 4.4 million Internet users. More than half of these data transfer of large geographic data files across the Internet.
users lived in South Africa, and one-sixth of them lived in For example, a single Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper
the Maghreb countries. An estimated 1.3 million users were Plus (ETM+) satellite image contains 390 megabytes of data.
in sub-Saharan countries (excluding South Africa) (ITU, Similarly, a single Space Imaging IKONOS-2 (11 × 11 km
2001). Combined, these numbers account for 0.15 percent of area, 1 × 1m resolution) panchromatic satellite image is 121
total global Internet connectivity (ITU, 2001). megabytes.13 Using file-compression technologies and tar-
International bandwidth11 for African countries is low geting data that are most relevant to the application are two
(Figure 4-4). For example, the 400,000 people living in Lux- approaches that ameliorate this problem.
embourg share more international Internet bandwidth than Cost is another factor that limits transfer of data across
Africa’s 760 million people (ITU, 2001). Until recently few the Internet. In Africa the average cost for a local dial-up
countries outside South Africa had international Internet Internet account is about $68 a month for 20 hours (usage
links larger than 64 kilobytes per second (equal to a common fees and local-call telephone time are included but not tele-
capacity of telephone modems in North America), but in phone line rental) (Jensen, 2002). Internet service provider
2002 nearly half the countries have links of 2 megabytes per subscription charges vary from $10 to $100 a month. These
second or more, and 20 percent have outgoing links of 5 variations reflect different levels of market maturity, varia-
megabytes per second or more (Jensen, 2002). Because it tions in tariff policies among telecommunications operators,
can be measured reliably, bandwidth can be used to indicate and different regulations on private wireless data services
a country’s progress toward increased access to information. and on access to international telecommunications band-
In Africa satellite-based Internet access is increasing. For width (Jensen, 2002). According to the International Tele-
example, satellite dishes provide incoming bandwidth of 64 communications Union (2001):
kilobytes per second for about U.S.$30-$1,000 per month,
which is cheaper than services available from local opera- Internet access prices are generally exorbitant on the conti-
tors (Jensen, 2002). Two-way satellite-based Internet ser- nent especially relative to the prevailing low per capita in-
vices use very small aperture terminals (VSAT)12 to connect comes.… There is a double whammy because, in addition to
Internet access, dial-up users must also pay the cost of a
telephone connection and telephone usage charges.
11Bandwidth is a measure of the amount of data that can be reliably
transmitted through a channel per unit time, typically measured in bytes per
second. 13Seventeen respondents to the committee’s inquiries in case-study re-
12VSATs are direct links to communications satellites, typically using gions indicated that compact disks are commonly used for data transfer,
antennas less than 2 meters in diameter. whereas only 12 of these also use the Internet.

48 DOWN TO EARTH
FIGURE 4-4 Internet bandwidth in African countries in March 2002. The colored circle in each country shows the international bandwidth
in bits per capita (8 bits = 1 byte). SOURCE: <http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/divide/>.
Internet prices are high for three reasons. First, African Nonetheless, for now at least the preferred method of geo-
countries must pay the cost of international Internet band- graphic data transfer is the compact disk.
width. Second, countries do not benefit from economies of
scale and do not have bargaining power to leverage cheaper
Media
prices because demand for the Internet is low. Third, land-
locked countries are unconnected to the marine cables that Media such as radio, television, and print are important
ring the continent; therefore, Internet connectivity is limited for mass dissemination of geographic information (derived
to more expensive satellite connections. from analyses of raw data) on such topics as food security,
Internet growth will continue in Africa and will be driven human and livestock health, weather, environmental quality,
by technological innovations, the growth of the global and potential or evolving natural disasters. The audience for
Internet, and an increasingly favorable policy environment. this information includes farmers, natural resource manag-

TABLE 4-5 WorldSpace Satellite Radio Partnership Activities
Partnering Organization Activities Goals
African Center for Provides local communities with wind-up radios and Provide local populations with field weather stations to
Meteorological Forecasting small transmitters to transmit weather data. collect climate information and food security data from
(<http://www.acmad.ne/>) their villages and transmit this by laptop computers to a
satellite for re-transmission to a ground station.
Arid Lands Information Helps local communities transmit and receive Improve the local economy.
Network information on disease, rainfall, crops and livestock,
(<http://www.alin.or.ke/>) and other data.
SATELLIFE Provides a public health channel in four countries Connect health practitioners to information about the
(<http://www.healthnet.org/>) (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and, Zimbabwe). treatment and prevention of such diseases as HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and tuberculosis.
ers, and the general public. Radio, with the largest audience, creased from 4.5 per 1,000 people in 1970 to 60 per 1,000
is the primary source of information. people in 1997 (UNESCO, 1999). By comparison, in1997,
Media statistics should be interpreted with care because developed countries had 548 sets per 1,000 people.
people commonly share information sources. For example, New technologies such as digital television broadcasting
there are radio-listening clubs (Communication Initiative, systems offer a range of services, including transmission of
2002a), and newspaper readership is more than 10 people Web pages, e-mail, and graphics. News and information can
per paper (ECA, 1999a). be obtained from WorldSpace’s Channel Africa, a satellite-
based channel that was launched last year. African Journal, a
Radio weekly one-hour call-in television program broadcast live
Radio is the most accessible and cost-effective means of by stations in 27 sub-Saharan African countries, focuses on
mass communication. It overcomes barriers of distance and Agenda 21 issues.
isolation, illiteracy, and language diversity, and is a source
of information on such topics as weather, agriculture, health, Print Media
local development, and education. The number of radios in- Although less widespread than radio and television, print
creased from 33 million in 1970 (93 per 1,000 people) to 158 also is a valuable medium for information dissemination.
million in 1997 (216 per 1,000 people) (UNESCO, 1999). Print is especially useful for distributing maps, tables, and
By 1999 radio transmitter networks reached over 60 percent figures. Because rural populations have limited access to this
of sub-Saharan Africa’s population (Jensen, 1999). medium, most readers are from urban areas. It is estimated
Radio stations fill an important role in broadcasting to that newspapers have a circulation of 12 million (16 papers
rural populations. For example, Radio Douentza in lightly per 1,000 people) (UNESCO, 1999).
settled northern Mali serves an area of 15,000 square kilo-
meters using one 250-watt transmitter (Communication Ini-
Convergence of Telecommunications Technologies
tiative, 2002b). In addition, satellite-based broadcasting is
available, though expensive. With a receiver costing The convergence of telecommunications technologies is
U.S.$225-$375, over 100 audio and visual digital channels important because it increases the options for transferring
are accessible from WorldSpace Corporation’s AfriStar sat- and disseminating geographic data and information. For ex-
ellite. WorldSpace receivers provide digital audio channels ample, e-mail can be delivered by wireless phone, and voice
and can serve as a modem for the Internet (Slifer-Mbacke et mail can be combined with public-access telephones to dis-
al., 2000). WorldSpace Foundation is partnering with sev- seminate information to rural areas.14 These technologies
eral organizations, such as the African Center for Meteoro- play a similar role to radio wherein information generated
logical Forecasting, Arid Lands Information Network, and from data analysis is communicated in a non-spatial format.
SATELLIFE to increase information dissemination in Af- The Internet and other media also are linked. Radio sta-
rica (Table 4-5). tions, newspapers, and journals have Web sites and obtain
information from the Internet. Radio stations also download
Television audio and broadcast over the Internet. In Mozambique, the
Television provides a convenient and effective means of Internet is accessible over cable. In other words, there are
conveying geographic information. The coverage of televi-
sion in Africa is similar to radio but more restricted to major 14For example, see Voxiva’s pilot project in Latin America (<http://
urban centers. The number of television sets in Africa in- www.voxiva.net/>).

50 DOWN TO EARTH
multiple ways of conveying geographic information to the ECOWAS (Economic Commission for West African States). 2002.
public, and their reach is expanding. Achievements of ECOWAS: Development of Physical Infrastructure
for Roads, Telecommunications, and Energy. Available at <http://
www.ecowas.int/sitecedeao/english/achievements-2.htm>. Accessed
SUMMARY July 9, 2002.
EIS-Africa. (Environmental Information System-Africa). 2001. Environ-
Spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) are a popular frame- mental Information Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ap-
work for managing geographic data and information. They proaches, Lessons, and Challenges. E. Gavin and J. Gyamfi-Aidoo, eds.
EIS-Africa.
exist on the national and global levels (NSDI and GSDI, EIS-Africa. 2002. Geo-information Supports Decision-making in Africa:
respectively). African countries are at various points in de- An EIS-Africa Position Paper (draft). Available at <http://www.eis-
velopment of their SDIs. SDIs and telecommunications in- africa.org/DOCS/EIS-AFRICAwssd_statement-draft8.doc>. Accessed
frastructures are intimately linked. To realize the full poten- June 27, 2002.
tial of an SDI requires a telecommunications infrastructure FDGC (Federal Geographic Data Committee). 1996. The National Spatial
Data Infrastructure. Available at <http://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/nsdi.html>.
that facilitates access, use, and sharing of geographic data Accessed May 31, 2002.
and information. Although telecommunications infrastruc- FGDC. 2001. Clearinghouses in Europe and Africa. Available at <http://
tures are improving in Africa, they currently limit transmis- www.fgdc.gov/clearinghouse/ participation/eurafrica.html>. Accessed
sion of vital data and information for Agenda 21 issues. April 10, 2001.
However, Africa’s telecommunication links to the rest of the FGDC. 2002. Overview: What the Framework Approach Involves. Avail-
able at <http://www.fgdc.gov/framework/overview.html>. Accessed
world likely will improve with a large number of interna- April 24, 2002.
tional telecommunication infrastructure building initiatives Groot, R. 2001. Reform of Government and the Future Performance of
that have been announced in the last few years (Jensen, National Surveys. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 25(4-
2002). 5):367-387.
The next two chapters examine the rich array of geo- GSDI (Global Spatial Data Infrastructure). 2002. Developing Spatial Data
Infrastructure: The SDI Cookbook, D. Nebert, ed. Available at <http://
graphic data sources that could be incorporated into African www.gsdi.org/pubs/cookbook/cookbook0515.pdf >. Accessed June 28,
SDIs for effective application to environmental and devel- 2002.
opmental challenges as long as the necessary infrastructure InfoDev (Information for Development Program). 2001. Annual Report
is in place. 2001. Washington, DC: World Bank.
ITU (International Telecommunication Union). 2001. African Telecommu-
nication Indicators 2001. Geneva: ITU.
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Geographic Data for Sustainable Development I:

Framework Data
INTRODUCTION 1). In many instances legacy data may be digitized, placed in

a GIS, and analyzed in conjunction with more recent geo-
This chapter examines sources of framework geographic graphic data, such as satellite remotely-sensed data. The time
data, their characteristics, and their adequacy for existing scales over which change can be detected are extended
and potential Agenda 21 applications. Their availability and through use of legacy data. A better understanding of envi-
cost to users in developing countries, and the ease with which ronmental changes1 and what could be done to ameliorate
they can be updated (including the likely continuity of the problems is gained through comparison of these data with
data source) are considerations for the adequacy of these modern records. Maps created in the 1960s and 1970s may
data. be less accurate and offer less complete coverage than those
The chapter begins by recognizing the benefits of pre- made today, but they can provide the baseline for geodetic
serving Africa’s historical legacy data (e.g., maps, aerial control, elevation, and feature recognition. Legacy maps
photographs, and reports), which can serve as baseline infor- contain place names and provide valuable insights on
mation for measuring environmental change. The remainder ethnicity and population growth. In addition, information on
of the chapter describes sources of the four framework foun- natural resources and socioeconomic history come from
dation data layers (Figure 4-1). legacy data in the form of oral traditions.
In Africa legacy data come from three periods: pre-colo-
1. Geodetic control (including geographic location and nial, colonial, and post-colonial. Information from the pre-
elevation); colonial period is mostly derived from oral traditions, and
2. Digital ortho-imagery; this is still disseminated by traditional chiefs, elders, and
3. Digital elevation and bathymetry; and other leaders.2 Additionally, pre-colonial information on the
4. Human population distribution, state of the environment through time is contained in docu-
ments held by nomadic families (Box 5-1).
and the four framework thematic data layers: During the colonial period, from the mid-eighteenth cen-
tury until independence in the twentieth century, numerous
1. Hydrology; maps, diaries, travelogs, and descriptive texts were prepared
2. Government units; by explorers such as Mungo Park, Stanley, Livingstone,
3. Transportation networks; and Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Teleki and Du Chaillu
4. Cadastral information. (Murray, 1993). After about 1900 the physical and social
geography of Africa, as well as its cultural, ethnic, and lin-
Much of the technical information on data sources in Chap-
ter 5 is found in Annex 5.
1For example, comparisons of 1960s maps and 1998 satellite images of
HISTORICAL LEGACY DATA AS A BASELINE FOR Lake Chad show that the lake has decreased in area by approximately 83
DOCUMENTING CHANGE percent (USGS, 1998).
2Ali Hamma was 110 when he died in 1971. He was a major source of
The earliest baseline against which future change can be historic information and history for the Zarma people in the region of Loga,
compared often comes from historical legacy data (Box 5- Niger.
52

GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT I: FRAMEWORK DATA 53
BOX 5-1
West Africa Legacy Data Examples
• In 1975 the Institut Nigerien de Recherches en Science Humaines pub- Mohamed Lemine ibn Bouh, 2001). Most of the documents are in the
lished “les Cadres Géographiques à Travers les Langues du Niger— libraries of these families. These documents, which were often up-
Contribution à la Pedagogie de l’Étude du Millieu.” It discusses the dated daily, describe such aspects as weather; availability and location
views and habits of all the major ethnic groups in Niger and their of water; size, type, and location of dunes and other landforms; soils
treatment of factors including space, distance, soil, and rain. The pub- types; towns and villages; and the herding routes taken by the family.
lication demonstrates that each of the main population groups in Niger Such documents yield valuable information on the resource base, cli-
know and understand landforms, land use and mapping, and that each mate change, and the evolution of landscape.
produces maps of their “terroires” and the common lands surrounding • Most of Africa was mapped by colonial governments beginning in the
their villages. eighteenth century. During the twentieth century the Belgians, Portu-
• Studies and reports from the colonial period (mid-eighteenth to twen- guese, French, and English mapped the continent at various scales.
tieth century) can be found in such places as the Musée de Tervuren in For example, between approximately 1955 and 1965 the IGN mapped
Belgium, the Musee de l’Homme and the Institut Géographique Na- French West Africa at a scale of 1:200,000 using aerial photographs.
tional (IGN, 2002) in Paris, and the British Museum in London (British In some cases these maps have been updated as recently as 2001
Museum, 2002). For example, the IGN has pre-World War I topo- (e.g., Institut Géographique du Niger/Projet Gestion Resources
graphic maps of Senegal coastal areas that also depict vegetation and Naturelles). Britain mapped her colonies at a scale of 1:250,000 using
faunal assemblages and historical land-use and land-cover informa- similar techniques. Additionally, there are detailed maps at 1:50,000
tion. (or even 1:10,000) for nearly all of the major cities and most of the
• An archive of historical geographic data is held in trust by a number of river valleys in West Africa (e.g., the Senegal, the Gambia, and parts of
nomadic families and clans of Mauritania, including notebooks, parch- the Niger rivers).
ments, and notes dating to before the tenth century (Ahmed Saleck ben
guistic context, was described by European3 and African4 tries.6 Unfortunately, legacy data were lost during this pe-
authors in a more formal, scientific manner to support Euro- riod, and work conducted in Africa did build incompletely
pean competition for economic hegemony. Often forgotten on the legacy of previous studies and the knowledge of Afri-
or lost in African countries, these monographs and reports can societies.
reside in Europe and elsewhere.5 Traditionally, African populations, who know a great deal
During the post-colonial period from about 1960 remote- about their environments, have improved their lifestyles,
sensing techniques including aerial photography were used managed their land, and coped with adversity such as
to produce maps at 1:200,000-scale for the Francophone and drought. Bridges between local knowledge and modern tech-
Lusophone countries and 1:250,000 for Anglophone coun- nology are built through the use of legacy data. For example,
modern geographic information technologies are of little use
3 Theodore Monod, who worked in most of West Africa; G. H. in development unless local participants use them to support
Gouldsbury, who described the Great Plateau of northern Rhodesia; J. T. local activities. If farmers, herders, scientists, and other de-
Last, who described the iron workings of the Wa-Itumba in east-central cision-makers see how the latest technology can benefit their
Africa in 1883; C. P. Lucas, who described the historical geography of the culture, their willingness to learn about and accept such tech-
British Empire; and Major F. G. Guggisberg who produced 70 maps of the nology can likely be increased through integration of legacy
Gold Coast at a scale of 1:125,000 in 1909.
4For example, Sekou Toure in Guinea, Leopold Senghor in Senegal, Sir data.
Offori Atta in Ghana, Ibn Fartua in Nigeria.
5For example, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has many 6The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency prepared a series of African maps
African holdings. The U.S. Geological Survey Cartographic Library holds at a scale of 1:250,000 that were declassified in the mid-1960s. They were
the following types of maps: topography, soils, hydrology, geology, removed from circulation in the mid-1980s when terrorism became a prob-
ethnicity, minerals, and land use. Additionally, the International African lem. In the 1960s and 1970s image maps and orthophotos of former Portu-
Institute in London and its French counterpart, Institut International guese colonies were produced by the Portuguese Army Map Service.
Africain, in Paris, have published many African monographs (e.g., the Eth- Angola and Mozambique were mapped at 1:200,000, Cape Verde Archi-
nographic Survey of Africa and the Monographies Ethnologiques pelago at 1:25,000, and the Republic of Guinea Bissau at 1:50,000 (ASPRS,
Africaines). 2002).

54 DOWN TO EARTH
Unfortunately, knowledge is being discarded as new Framework Foundation Layer No.1: Geodetic Control
technologies and methods are introduced in Africa. This loss
Geodetic control provides the common coordinate sys-
compromises efforts to address Agenda 21 issues. For ex-
tem to which all geographic data are linked. It is used to
ample, unaware of the existence of indigenous (Hawsa)
locate objects and features in terms of their geographic posi-
maps (Donaint, 1975), donors have not integrated them into
tion.7 Geodetic control can be measured with traditional in
their new maps. Consequently, villagers, who are convinced
situ surveying instruments but this is time-consuming, ex-
that donors must know best, consider the traditional maps
pensive, and often difficult. One solution is to use a constel-
irrelevant. Similarly, children who attend European-style
lation of global positioning satellites. Few nations have the
schools in Niger are not taught traditional information on
financial and technical resources to launch and maintain such
climate and weather. In Mauritania the younger generation
a constellation, much less disseminate the geographic posi-
of the Maraboutic clans is unaware of the existence of docu-
tioning information freely. However, the U.S. Navigation
ments describing hundreds of years of their family histories
Satellite Timing And Ranging (NAVSTAR)8 Global Posi-
hidden in trunks and libraries. Scientists and NGOs also ne-
tioning System (GPS) fulfills these goals. Relatively inex-
glect legacy data. The committee found that the majority of
pensive,9 GPS can be used worldwide in a range of applica-
references in recent reports from the World Bank, USAID,
tions (Box 5-2). Accurate positioning information,
and CGIAR group on environment, sustainability, develop-
previously impossible for some countries to obtain and diffi-
ment, and even agriculture, botany, and ethnology postdated
cult to obtain from paper maps that are commonly at
1990.
1:50,000 scale or smaller (e.g., Taylor, 1997) can now be
Efforts are underway to preserve legacy data and ensure
collected with a simple hand-held device. Thus, practitio-
that they are used. For example, the Institut Français de la
ners, scientists, and the general public now have unprec-
Recherche Scientifique et Technique pour le Development
edented access to location information.
en Cooperation maintains a high profile in protecting and
using legacy data through its offices and scientists in French
West Africa. Its maps, reports, aerial photographs, and sta- The Global Positioning System
tistical data provide coverage for over 35 percent of Africa.
The NAVSTAR GPS (Table 5-1; Annex Box 5-1) con-
Regional institutes such as Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique
sists of 24 GPS satellites operated by the U.S. Department of
Noire in Dakar, Senegal, and the University of Ibadan in
Defense (Parkinson, 1994) (Figure 5-1). At least four satel-
Nigeria also have a wealth of environmental and sociologi-
lites are visible at any unobstructed location10 on the surface
cal information. Lastly, the DEVECOL database
of Earth at any time of day. A person with a hand-held GPS
(DEVECOL, 2002) contains results from development ini-
receiver may obtain geographic information for any location
tiatives from the past 15 to 20 years in sub-Saharan Africa.
to within a few centimeters or meters if several conditions
In addition to information about soils and climate, the com-
are met (Annex Box 5-1).
pact-disk-based database documents development experi-
Because NAVSTAR was initially developed for military
ences in agriculture, soil and water conservation, forestry,
use, it is possible for the U.S. government to selectively re-
biodiversity conservation, drought response, and other rural
strict access to the system, or to adjust the precision of the
initiatives.
measurements by introducing a bias, often referred to as “se-
To complement these efforts to preserve and enhance the
lective availability.” Fortunately, selective availability was
use of valuable legacy data, U.S. government agencies (e.g.,
turned off on May 1, 2000, allowing users worldwide to ob-
USAID and USGS) should assist African countries and
tain GPS positioning information without intentional degra-
organizations to identify, integrate, and maintain exist-
dation of the information. This situation could change in re-
ing sources of information (legacy data). They should also
sponse to unforeseen events (e.g., war or terrorist activities).
provide African countries with copies of such legacy data
The horizontal accuracy of absolute GPS positioning (see
as reports, maps, statistics, aerial and satellite photo-
Annex Box 5-1) was about 100 m when selective availabil-
graphs, and other relevant data and materials currently
ity was on. Without selective availability the accuracy im-
held outside those countries. The first task would be sub-
proved to 5-15 m.
stantial, whereas the second would be more routine once the
first is addressed.
7Geographic position includes the horizontal coordinates, as well as el-
evation.
FRAMEWORK FOUNDATION GEOGRAPHIC DATA 8NAVSTAR is an orbital satellite radio-positioning and time-transfer
FROM MODERN SOURCES system (USGS, 1999).
9Modest, yet powerful GPS for way-finding cost under U.S.$200. So-
Four framework foundation layers of geographic data are
phisticated GPS instruments used for professional surveying cost several
fundamental to at least 20 Agenda 21 issues (Table 2-5): thousand dollars.
geodetic control, digital elevation, digital ortho-imagery, and 10Obstructions might include mountains, tall buildings, or dense mul-
human population distribution. tiple-story vegetation.

TABLE 5-1 Characteristics of the NAVSTAR Global

Positioning System of Particular Significance for
Developing Countries
• Geographic positioning accuracy from meters down to centimeters.

• Geographic information is provided in 3 dimensions (latitude,
longitude, and elevation).
• Signals are available to people anywhere on Earth (air, land, or sea)
without discrimination.
• Signals are available free of charge to anyone. However, the user must
possess a GPS receiver. GPS receiver costs continue to decline.
• Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• It is an all-weather system not affected by clouds (however, intense
rain or thick vegetation canopy can reduce its effectiveness).
• Geographic coordinates are tied to a single global geodetic datum.
• No inter-station visibility is required for precise positioning. This
means that it is not necessary for a surveyor to use a theodolite to view
a distant stadia rod.
• Geographic position can be determined rapidly (in seconds to minutes).
SOURCE: Adapted from Rizos (2002).
FIGURE 5-1 The NAVSTAR GPS consists of a constellation of

GPS information is broadcast worldwide to virtually 24 GPS satellites located at approximately 20,200 km above Earth’s
anyone in any country and is of great importance to the surface. SOURCE: Courtesy of Rizos (2002).
practical collection and use of fundamental geographic
data for Agenda 21-related initiatives. Its utility should (Barnes, 2002). Users in Europe, North America, and around
not be reduced by reintroducing selective availability, the world will benefit if Galileo is designed and built so that
and its continuity should be guaranteed. The U.S. De- it is interoperable with GPS.
partment of Defense should continue to allow free access
to Global Positioning System data.
In March 2002 European leaders announced that they Framework Foundation Layer No.2: Ortho-imagery
were pushing ahead with the ambitious and sometimes con- An ortho-image is prepared from an aerial photograph or
troversial Galileo satellite positioning system. As proposed, remotely sensed image. It has the metric qualities of a tradi-
the system will comprise 30 satellites in orbit by 2007 and tional line map with the rich detail of an aerial image.11 Com-
will provide a position and time service that both comple-
ments and competes with the U.S.’s GPS constellation. 11During processing an ortho-image is adjusted (rectified) to a standard
Galileo will be the third global navigation satellite system, map projection and datum. Geometric errors caused by topography and
joining Russia’s GLONASS (Global Orbiting Navigation other anomalies are removed from the data set during processing (Thrower
Satellite System) and the U.S. Global Positioning System and Jensen, 1976; Jensen, 1995).
BOX 5-2
Applications of GPS
GPS has a number of applications, including poaching, educating people globally about elephants, and learning
more about elephant behavior. An elephant’s position is tracked using
• locating villages and dwellings in censuses (e.g., in the 2000
a collar with a GPS receiver. Its location is recorded every one to three
Niger census);
hours and collected every few months by flying over the elephant and
• mapping boundaries such as national borders (e.g., to resolve
downloading the data onto a laptop computer. The travel patterns of
border disputes) or the extent of private land holdings (e.g., to
the elephant are subsequently mapped using a GIS. The fine detail
build a cadastral database); and
afforded by the GPS data allows researchers to learn about decisions
• tracking the movements of wildlife (e.g., elephants).
made by elephants on their needs for food, water, and safety. Safe
The Save the Elephants project operates in many African countries corridors for elephant travel are determined with this information, and
and relies on GPS to track the movements of elephants (ESRI, 2002). human and ecological factors are weighed by wildlife managers to
The project goals are to assist wildlife departments in combating reduce conflicts between humans and elephants.

56 DOWN TO EARTH
monly in developed countries, ortho-images are obtained mean square error), they are more accurate than most of the
from high spatial resolution (Annex Box 5-2) aerial photog- world’s 1:200,000-scale maps. Furthermore, owing to the
raphy.12 Ortho-images can also be produced from high spa- nature of the original contract set up by NASA, this imagery
tial resolution satellite imagery such as DigitalGlobe pan- is more economically accessible for developing countries. It
chromatic13 data (61 × 61 cm). High spatial resolution aerial is a comprehensive global data set with image dates ranging
photography or satellite imagery is expensive, however, and from 1987 to 1993 (Annex Box 5-4), and is uniquely suited
therefore often impractical for users in developing countries. to establishing a worldwide environmental baseline. Addi-
The Landsat Thematic Mapper Global GeoCover-Ortho da- tional Landsat TM images (and many other types of remotely
tabase is a valuable alternative for users in developing coun- sensed data) can be overlaid on the GeoCover-Ortho imag-
tries. ery for purposes of change detection.
Three types of GeoCover-Ortho products are available
from EarthSat (<http://www.earthsat.com>) individual im-
Landsat Global Database
ages (e.g., Figure 5-2), mosaics, and regional mosaics (e.g.,
The Global GeoCover-Ortho database is a color ortho- Figure 5-3) (Annex Table 5-1).
image database with a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m cover- Earth Satellite, Inc., is using imagery collected during the
ing the majority of Earth’s landmass. In addition to being a GeoCover-Ortho project to map and classify global land-
data source for assessing global land cover and modeling cover change over a decade using the 1990 dataset in com-
global climate change, it can be a base map for natural re- parison with a 2000 data set (Chapter 6).
source managers and development planners in the develop-
ing world.
Framework Foundation Layer No.3: Digital Elevation and
The database originated from a 1998 contract between
Bathymetry
NASA and Earth Satellite Corporation (EarthSat) as part of
the NASA Scientific Data Buy program (Box 5-3). The ma- Elevation data (often referred to generically as topo-
jority of the data was acquired by the Landsat Thematic graphic data) provide information about terrain. These data
Mapper (TM) remote-sensing system (Annex Box 5-3). Con- are used in many different applications (Table 5-2). Unfortu-
sequently, the GeoCover-Ortho images are the most accu- nately, owing to the inaccessibility of many of Earth’s moun-
rate commercially available satellite-derived base maps of tain chains, deserts, and forests, elevation information about
the world. With a positional accuracy of less than 50 m (root such areas can be inaccurate, of limited extent, or nonexist-
ent. Even where access is practical, traditional surveying
12This aerial photography may be black and white panchromatic, color, methods are expensive. Furthermore, neighboring countries
or color-infrared. For example, the Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quad pro- may use differing data-collection methods that cause data
gram of the U. S. Geological Survey is based on 1:40,000-scale National discontinuities at borders, whereas natural resources (e.g.,
Aerial Photography Program color-infrared aerial photography processed to
rivers) often cross these borders. To address these challenges
1 × 1 m spatial resolution.
13Panchromatic images are created by recording reflected energy over a the United States has partnered with a number of countries
relatively broad portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., 0.5 – 9.0 and organizations to produce two digital elevation datasets:
µm). the GTOPO30 (Global Topography at 30 arc seconds)
BOX 5-3
NASA’s Scientific Data Buy Program
In 1997 the U.S. Congress allocated $50 million to NASA for the Sci- are made available to NASA-funded scientists through a competitive se-
entific Data Buy, a demonstration program encouraging NASA to pur- lection process.
chase remotely-sensed data from the private sector. NASA’s John C. The Scientific Data Buy program exemplifies the changes under way in
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi administered the program. the existing relationship among U.S. federal science agencies, the private
NASA established partnerships with six companies (AstroVision; sector in the form of the commercial remote-sensing industry, and both
DigitalGlobe; EarthSat; EarthWatch, Inc. [now DigitalGlobe]; Positive Sys- scientific and applied users of remotely-sensed data (NRC, 2001). A forth-
tems, Inc.; and Space Imaging) to participate in the Scientific Data Buy. coming NRC report (Toward New Remote Sensing Partnerships:
Four research themes addressed with data from these companies include Government, the Private Sector, and Earth Science Research [in
land-cover and land-use change; seasonal-to-interannual climate vari- editing]) examines the issues of institutional relationships between the
ability; natural hazards; and long-term climate change (NASA, 2002). Data government, industry, and the research community for remote-sensing.
SOURCE: NRC (2001), NASA (2002).

FIGURE 5-2 A GeoCover-Ortho image of Mount Kilimanjaro originally obtained at 30 × 30 m spatial resolution. It has a positional accuracy
of better than 50 m (root mean square error). Landsat TM bands 7,4,2 (mid-infrared, near-infrared, and green) are displayed (courtesy of
Earth Satellite Corporation). The width of the depicted area is 110 km. Each color or shade is unique and depends on the vegetation type,
health, and growth stage. The bright greens are dense vegetation. The hot reds in the bottom left section are crops. The purples and pinks are
sparse to no vegetation. The bottom third center of the image along Mount Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes contains areas of clear cuts (in pinks)
surrounded by uncut verdant forest (bright greens). The top of the mountain is snow-covered and the white areas are clouds.
dataset, and the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission graphic information were used to produce the GTOPO30
(SRTM) dataset. The GTOPO30 dataset is a global digital data set (Figure 5-5). GTOPO30 data for Africa were de-
elevation dataset, and the SRTM dataset covers 80 percent rived manually by converting topographic information from
of the global land mass. the Digital Chart of the World (USGS, 2002a) into digital
format and supplementing this with digital elevation data.
A version of the GTOPO30 data set for Africa was re-
Global Topography at 1 × 1 km Spatial Resolution
leased as part of the Global GIS Database: Digital Atlas of
The GTOPO30 global digital elevation data set (Figure 5- Africa in 2001 by the U.S. Geological Survey. It is available
4) has a spatial resolution of approximately 1 × 1 km (Gesch on a single compact disk at a cost of about U.S.$10 (USGS,
et al., 1999; GTOPO30, 2002). Completed in 1996, it was 2002b). The database is viewed using ESRI’s ArcView Data
developed through a collaboration led by the U.S. Geologi- Publisher software, also on the same compact disk (Hearn et
cal Survey’s EROS Data Center.14 Diverse sources of topo- al., 2001).
Although the GTOPO30 dataset offers global coverage, it
14 The following organizations participated by contributing funding or
is of limited value in Africa and most other developing coun-
source data: NASA, the U.N. Environment Programme/Global Resource
tries for monitoring ecosystems, urban and rural infrastruc-
Information Database (UNEP/GRID), USAID, the Instituto Nacional de
Estadistica Geografica y Informatica of Mexico, the Geographical Survey ture, and hydrology because of its coarse resolution.
Institute of Japan, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research of New Zealand,
and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

58 DOWN TO EARTH
Global Topography at 90 × 90 m Spatial Resolution (or

Better)
The SRTM data set is superior to GTOPO30 because of
its higher spatial resolution15 and in its uniform origin.16
Because the dataset is from a homogeneous source refer-
enced to a uniform global geodetic datum, users will be
working from a common reference frame.
The SRTM data-gathering mission (Box 5-4) was an in-
ternational project involving the U.S. National Imagery and
Mapping Agency (NIMA), NASA, the German Aerospace
Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfart), and the
Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), and is
managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cali-
fornia Institute of Technology. The objective of the mission
was to obtain elevation data at 30 × 30 m spatial resolution
with a near global coverage and generate the most complete
high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth.17 The
mission collected data from over 80 percent of Earth’s land-
mass, home to nearly 95 percent of the world’s population
(Figure 5-7). The increased topographic detail of SRTM data
over GTOPO30 data is apparent in Figures 5-8 and 5-9,
which show data for the Mount Kilimanjaro area in Tanza-
FIGURE 5-3 A GeoCover-Ortho regional mosaic of hundreds of
nia and Kenya.
Landsat Thematic Mapper images of Africa obtained between 1987
and 1993 at the height of the growing seasons and with very little The raw SRTM data are being processed into a digital
cloud cover. TM bands 7,4,2 are displayed. Individual images used elevation model by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (An-
to produce this mosaic represent the most accurate satellite imag-
ery available for the entire continent of Africa (courtesy of Earth 15This dataset is at a minimum a factor of ten more detailed than
Satellite Corporation.). The distance (parallel to the Equator) from GTOPO30 and matches the resolution of Landsat GeoCover-Ortho data-
the tip of Horn of Africa to the west coast off Guinea-Bissau is base discussed above.
7,350 km. 16It was produced using a standardized, accurate technology during a
single 11-day collection period beginning February 11, 2000.

17Other details of the mission objectives included better than 16-m abso-
lute vertical accuracy, better than 10-m relative vertical accuracy, and better
TABLE 5-2 Examples of Users and Applications of than 20-m absolute horizontal accuracy. All accuracies are quoted at the 90
Elevation Data percent level, consistent with U.S. National Map Accuracy Standards.
Occupation Uses of Elevation Data
Natural resource Monitoring and management of soil erosion

managers and biodiversity; deduction of soil type, or
likely occurrence of floral and faunal BOX 5-4
habitats (from slope and aspect The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
information).
Urban/rural planners Determining suitable locations for structures,
transportation networks, wetland
During its 11-day mission the SRTM acquired enough data to
protection, and other land-use planning. produce the most accurate, homogeneous, detailed, and complete
Pilots Flight planning and navigation. digital elevation model of Earth’s land surface ever constructed. Sur-
Engineers / hydrologists Designing safe and efficient hydrologic face elevation is calculated using radar interferometry, wherein differ-
projects such as dams and levees and to ences are compared between two radar images taken from slightly
mitigate problems due to flooding.
Geologists Mitigating landslide and earthquake hazards;
different locations (see Figure 5-6) (SRTM, 2002b).
volcano monitoring. Radar is an excellent sensor for measuring topography because it
Communications Optimizing location of transmitters through can operate both day and night and it is unaffected by clouds. Radar
knowledge of height and location of interferometry yields accurate topographic data unless the vegetation
natural and human-made obstacles. canopy is extremely dense, in which case the elevation values may be
Military Planning and simulations during training and
real-time operations.
biased toward the canopy height rather than the actual terrain eleva-
Tourism Navigation. tion.

FIGURE 5-4 Global elevation data contained in the GTOPO30 digital elevation dataset. The spatial resolution is 1 × 1 km (U.S. Geological
Survey EROS Data Center). The dataset covers the entire globe.
FIGURE 5-5 Sources of topographic information used in the production of the global GTOPO30 digital elevation dataset. A tremendous
variety of sources, both traditional maps and digital elevation data, were used. Much of the data for Africa was derived by digitizing
information from the Digital Chart of the World (1:1,000,000-scale), which does not contain very detailed topographic information (U.S.
Geological Survey EROS Data Center).

60 DOWN TO EARTH
nex Box 5-5) (SRTM, 2002a), and the products can be tai-
lored to meet the needs of civil, scientific, and military users.
In the current plan, which is not finalized, SRTM data will
be released at 30 × 30 m spatial resolution for the United
States and at 90 × 90 m spatial resolution for the rest of the
world. NASA should produce digital elevation data from
the SRTM at the highest possible spatial resolution (e.g.,
30 × 30 m) for all areas. The data should be made avail-
able without restriction and at affordable cost. NASA
should also provide the synthetic aperture radar ortho-
image mosaics at 30 × 30 m spatial resolution that are
being produced as part of the processing. These mosaics
would provide additional information about land-cover con-
ditions and surface roughness characteristics especially in
tropical regions perennially shrouded by cloud cover.
FIGURE 5-6 Artist’s rendition of the SRTM 60-m (200-ft) mast Framework Foundation Layer No.4: Human Population
being deployed from the space shuttle Endeavor (courtesy NASA
Distribution Information
Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Radar images are collected from the
end of the mast and from the shuttle payload bay. National census data provide the foundation for measur-
ing population distribution and change at the national to lo-
FIGURE 5-7 Global coverage map of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data collection. Most of the covered area is between latitudes of 60
degrees north and 56 degrees south. Data were mostly acquired over land (indicated in shades of green), with small amounts of data collected
over the water for calibration purposes (shades of blue). Of the mapped area, 99.97 percent was covered once (green), 94.59 percent was
covered twice (yellow-green), 49.25 percent was covered three times, and 24.10 percent was covered four times. Areas in red could not be
mapped because of time constraints (50,000 km2 was not covered, all within the United States) (courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

A B
FIGURE 5-8 (a) SRTM 30 × 30 m digital elevation model of the area centered on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Kenya. (b) GTOPO30
1 × 1 km data of the same region. GTOPO30 data fail to identify major lakes in the region (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and U.S.
Geological Survey EROS Data Center). The distance between the two peaks is 70 km.
A
B
FIGURE 5-9 (a) SRTM 30 × 30 m digital elevation model of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Kenya observed from an oblique vantage
point looking W-NW. Note the detail associated with the small cinder cones on the flank of the mountain. (b) GTOPO30 1 × 1 km data of the
same region (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center). The distance between the two peaks is 70
km.
cal levels (Liverman et al., 1998). The strengths of human detailed local scale that only a population census can pro-
population censuses arise from their completeness of cover- vide. Moreover, there exists an increasing demand for disag-
age; continuity of statistics from census to census; and the gregated data at the sub-national level. Data gaps are inevi-
detail that each census provides about population sub-groups table without a recent census. Without a recent census,
in local areas. In the current worldwide development arena surveys must use outdated sampling frames, administrative
such key issues as good governance, anti-poverty strategies, boundaries could be incorrectly drawn, and national and
and the need to promote economic growth with social equity sectoral planning and decision-making will be based on out-
all require population and other demographic18 data at the dated and unreliable statistics. Even basic data on popula-
tion size and age composition will be unavailable or unreli-
18For example, data on fertility, mortality, migration, age structure, and able.
household composition. This section reviews the current status of human popula-

62 DOWN TO EARTH
tion censuses in Africa and discusses how these can be inte- 1

grated with other geographic data types. It also reviews tools
for rapid access to estimates of population distribution dur- 0.9
ing humanitarian crises: the LandScan 2000 global popula-
tion estimate and the Gridded Population of the World. The 0.8
section ends by reviewing how remotely sensed data can be
Population (in billions)

used to estimate population distribution. 0.7
0.6
African Demographic Censuses
Human population data for Africa are unreliable because 0.5
of the dearth of good demographic censuses. Seventeen Af-
rican countries did not conduct their first modern population 0.4
census until the 1980 census round (i.e., between 1975 and
1984). In recent years civil unrest has taken its toll on cen- 0.3
sus-taking in a number of African countries, as has economic
stagnation and higher priority issues (e.g., HIV/AIDS). 0.2
Ideally, countries should conduct population censuses at 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005
10-year intervals (UN, 1998).19 The 2000 round of censuses Year
(1995 to 2004) has encountered a number of challenges,
FIGURE 5-10 Population growth in Africa, 1955-2005 (UNDP,
some new and others longstanding (including funding, poli- 2001).
tics, civil unrest, nomadic populations). Funding constraints
have affected the 2000 census round. Censuses today cost
much more than in the past, partly because of increasing As of mid-2002 roughly two-thirds of African countries
population size20 (Figure 5-10), and partly because of a have yet to conduct a population census in the 2000 census
growing demand for more specialized and detailed informa- round (Annex Table 5-2). Currently, out of 44 countries in
tion. In addition, despite the rising costs of censuses, there sub-Saharan Africa, 35 countries have moderate to severe
appears to be “donor fatigue” in meeting gaps in census fund- funding gaps for their 2000 round of census operations
ing. For example, the United Nations Population Fund’s cur- (UNFPA, unpublished). Limited funding also restricts the
rent policy is to limit support to countries conducting their dissemination of censuses. In Burkina Faso, for example, the
first or second population census (Leete, 2001). government had funding to publish no more than about 50
Recently, a number of bilateral and multilateral agencies copies of the 1996 census. Unless satisfactory solutions are
(e.g., USAID, U.K. Department for International Develop- found, some sub-Saharan countries may find it difficult to
ment [DfID], CIDA, the World Bank, the European Union, organize further population censuses (Diop, 2001).
UNDP, UNICEF, and the African Development Bank), as Even when sufficient funds exist to conduct censuses in
well as governments (e.g., Belgium, Finland, France, Japan, Africa, there are additional challenges to their completion,
Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Taiwan), have provided lim- including
ited assistance to conduct censuses. Donor statistical agen-
cies such as Statistics Canada and the U.S. Bureau of the • their politicized nature, with the collection and dis-
Census often do not have direct funding from their govern- semination of census results delayed (or even sup-
ments to support international assistance and are reliant on pressed);
funding from other government agencies, usually the inter- • difficulties enumerating nomadic and dispersed popu-
national development agency. lations;21
• village names changing from one census to another;
• maps on which the villages were noted are commonly
19UN (1998) also states that “censuses must be carried out as nearly as
out of print (the problem of loss of legacy data);
possible in respect of the same well defined point of time and at regular
• census “maps” may be sketches with indeterminate
intervals so that comparable information is made available in a fixed se-
quence.” boundaries;
20Since the early 1960s, when many African countries began to achieve
independence, the population of the African continent has nearly tripled,

increasing from some 277 million in 1960 to nearly 800 million in the year 21For example, Eritrea was scheduled to have a census in March 1997
2000. Despite the impact of the AIDS pandemic, Africa is expected to expe- but, for a variety of reasons, it was postponed until 2002. Because of the
rience significant population growth over the next half century. According delay, over 50 percent of the Enumeration Areas had to be re-demarcated
to (medium variant) projections prepared by the U.N. Population Division, due to population growth, the re-settlement of displaced persons, and the
the population of the African continent will increase to nearly 1 billion formation of new villages. In doing this, villages, roads and tracks were
inhabitants by 2010 and to over 2 billion by 2050. plotted with GPS receivers (UNFPA, unpublished).

• many years may pass before data at the sub-national for which the Bureau of the Census tabulates data both from
level are processed and disseminated to local users, its population censuses and its sample surveys. The database
even though data at the local level are important for provides a convenient way to link to a geographic location
place-based development planning; and the statistical data being reported for these entities.
• although data at the village level are highly useful, data No developing country has the equivalent of the TIGER
often are aggregated to the district or even to the re- database. However, in recent censuses as well as in some
gional level, masking the critical local interrelation- surveys African countries have begun to use GPS receivers
ships between population and the environment, health, to record the coordinates of villages (Box 5-5). These GPS-
land use, infrastructure, education, and poverty. based efforts provide a means of integrating census data with
other data sets (e.g., agricultural statistics; location of roads,
The Value of Geographically Referenced Population Data facilities, villages). GPS is not a “magic bullet,” however. In
Governments need national population data and the inter- Niger’s recent census, for example, it was estimated that GPS
national community needs global population data to under- data were correct in 85 percent of cases, marginally incor-
stand the impacts of population on the environment (and, rect in another 5 percent of cases, and completely incorrect
conversely, to better understand the impact of the natural in 10 percent of cases, owing to such factors as reversal of
environment on the well-being, vulnerability, and livelihoods latitude and longitude coordinates or insufficient training to
of populations). The challenge lies in linking population and operate the GPS receiver.
other socio-economic data with information on the environ-
ment in a common, geographically referenced framework.
Estimating Human Populations at Risk
Over the past decade the U.S. Bureau of the Census has
conducted advanced work on the collection and presentation Natural and human-induced disasters place human popu-
of geographically referenced data. Their TIGER (Topologi- lations at risk, often with little or no advance warning. Esti-
cally Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) files mates of evolving population distribution are required at
contain a digital database of geographic features covering short notice for emergency response by national and interna-
the United States. The TIGER database defines the location tional organizations. One approach used to estimate popula-
and relationship of roads, rivers, railroads, and other fea- tions at risk is to analyze existing population information (as
tures to each other and to the numerous geographic entities
BOX 5-5
The Value of Geographically Referenced Data: Lessons Learned in Niger
In 1994 USAID financed a pilot study called “Population, Health and differential between the base map and the census data, and incomplete
Environment in Niger.” This study was executed by the government of coverage by the legacy maps from IGN, only 87 percent of the population
Niger, CERPOD, and AGRHYMET (Chapter 3). The goal was to develop a of Niger was covered in the GIS database.
GIS-based presentation showing relationships between population, health Using the population data along with the location of existing health
care, and the environment, using data from the 1988 Niger Census, the facilities, the project demonstrated a GIS that could guide government
National Health Information System, and the environmental sources. decision-makers in the optimal location of new health facilities (facilities
The pilot was to develop and demonstrate a decision-support system that were accessible to the greatest number of people with the minimum
for locating health centers in Niger. The system would support the number of new centers). The GIS was never adopted, however. Upon
government’s planning as it attempted to increase the national health cov- completion of the pilot project the team disbanded and the data and the
erage rate from 32 percent to 45 percent of the population. The first step software were separated. There currently exists no copy of the GIS at
was to integrate existing population and health center data sets into a GIS CERPOD, for example (H. Wane, CERPOD, personal communication,
database. When originally collected, these data had no accompanying 2002). Insufficient local capacity was built to support further application,
geographic coordinates, and could not, therefore, be readily plotted on a owing to the short duration of the pilot.
map. Project members found that the best source of geographic informa- There were positive impacts of the pilot project, however. CERPOD
tion for the location of population at the village level was old paper maps convened a workshop in 1996 that demonstrated to Sahelians and others
(legacy data) produced in the 1950s and 1960s by IGN in Paris (Box 5-1). the potential of integrating population data into spatial decision-support
Information from these maps was entered into the computer database, tools such as GIS. Organizations, including UNICEF, supported the meet-
yielding coordinates of each village on which the population statistics ing. Subsequent population censuses by UNICEF, Demographic Health
could be plotted. The population data for each village were then manually Surveys, and others at the national and local level have routinely collected
linked to the IGN base map to show population distribution across Niger. geographic coordinates in addition to population statistics.
Owing to recurring problems with multiple names for villages, the age

64 DOWN TO EARTH
FIGURE 5-11 A flood hazard map showing populations at risk in Mozambique following the cyclone Eline in March 2000 (courtesy of the
Geographic Information Unit, U.S. Department of State). It was used to estimate the areas of Mozambique in greatest need of humanitarian
assistance following the flooding.
good as can be obtained in a region) in conjunction with land cover (from AVHRR satellite imagery), and nighttime
cartographic and remote-sensing information. light sources (as detected from the Defense Meteorological
Satellite Program [Box 5-6 and Annex Box 5-6]). LandScan
LandScan 2000 allocates a certain number of people to each 1 × 1 km cell
LandScan 2000 is a worldwide population database for based on the relative likelihood of population occurrence
estimating ambient populations at risk (e.g., Figure 5-11). associated with the aforementioned variables. The LandScan
Unlike traditional censuses that tie the location of people to files are available free of charge by continent (LandScan,
their homes, LandScan 2000 attempts to account for people’s 2000).
mobility. It aims to map the presence of people in fields,
schools, or on roads, rather than solely in their dwellings. Gridded Population of the World
The database was developed as part of the Oak Ridge Na- The Gridded Population of the World (GPW) is an esti-
tional Laboratory Global Population Project (Dobson et al., mate of world population for 1990 and 1995. The estimates
2000). The types of geographic and other information that are based on the nearest population censuses to 1990 and
enter into the calculation22 include census data (usually at 1995, and are adjusted to agree with UN population esti-
the provincial level), road networks, elevation distribution, mates for those years for each country. The data are freely
available at global, continental, and country levels (CIESIN,
22A statistical estimate of the likely population in each grid cell is ob-
2002). GPW takes the best resolution data available to gen-
tained by considering each of the following variables: proximity to roads, erate a 5 × 5 km population grid.23
slope steepness, land-cover type, and frequency of nighttime lights. The
resultant probability field is then linked to the census data to yield an esti- 23See <ftp://ftp.ciesin.org/pub/gpw/ancillary/GPW2.xls>.
mate of likely location of the population.

TABLE 5-3 A Comparison of Features of the LandScan

BOX 5-6 2000 and Gridded Population of the World Global
Defense Meteorological Satellite Population Estimates
Program
Global Nighttime Lights: An Gridded
Population of
Indication of Human Settlement Patterns
Features LandScan 2000 the World
Global meteorological and oceanographic conditions, among Number of administrative units 69,350a 127,093a
other parameters, are monitored by the U.S. Air Force’s Defense Me- Resolution (grid-cell size) 1 × 1 km 5 × 5 km
teorological Satellite Program (DMSP). One sensor system on DMSP Minimum downloadable unit Continent Country
satellites (the Operational Linescan System [OLS]) was developed Model input variables Census data Census data
(population) (population)
originally to monitor the global distribution of clouds and cloud-top
Land cover
temperatures. In addition to these applications, however, the OLS de- Roads
tects faint sources of light at night on Earth’s surface, including settle- Elevation
ments and fires (Welch, 1980; Elvidge et al., 1996, 1997, 2002) (Fig- Nighttime lights
ure 5-12).
Population data source U.S. Bureau of Varied data
By defining a reference set of stable lights—those present in the
Census sources
same location on a consistent basis—it is possible to identify new
settlements or expansion or contraction of existing settlements by
comparison with images collected at a later time. aRoughly 61,000 of these administrative units are within the United
States.
SOURCE: CIESIN, 2002
FIGURE 5-12 (a) The distribution of settlement lights derived from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System
for Africa (courtesy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program). The distance (parallel to the Equator) from the tip of the Horn of Africa to
the west coast off Guinea-Bissau is 7,350 km. (b) Distribution of fires in sub-Saharan Africa (courtesy Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program).

66 DOWN TO EARTH
By using census data from many more administrative port to national census offices and bureaus in Africa to
units outside the United States, GPW provides a more de- help them complete censuses, geographically reference
tailed estimate of global baseline population distribution than the data, and make the data available in disaggregated
LandScan (Table 5-3). Users can select the most reliable form to decision-makers.
among varied data sources (e.g., from national statistical of-
fices or the United Nations). Unlike LandScan, however,
FRAMEWORK THEMATIC GEOGRAPHIC DATA
data in GPW have not been adjusted to account for people’s
mobility. Upon the framework foundation data layers are placed
framework thematic databases. This section reviews exist-
Obtaining Human Population Distribution Directly From ing or potential sources of the four critical framework the-
Remotely Sensed Imagery matic databases: hydrology, government boundaries, trans-
There is no substitute for a ground-based, geographically portation, and cadastre.
referenced population census, but they are expensive and
time-consuming to conduct. In the search for alternative ap-
Hydrology
proaches there is interest in estimating population distribu-
tion using remote sensing-based models (Liverman et al., Hydrologic framework thematic data underlie most natu-
1998). If sufficiently accurate in situ data are available to ral resource, urban infrastructure, and utility planning appli-
calibrate these models, their accuracy may approach that of cations. They can be obtained using a variety of geographic
traditional censuses. Such population estimation can be per- data technologies and sources. First, they can be recorded in
formed on (1) counts of individual dwelling units at the local situ by people with GPS. Second, they can be extracted from
level, (2) measurement of total urbanized land areas (often maps or remotely sensed data (e.g., in Burkina Faso–see
referred to as settlement size) at the sub-national level, or (3) Chapter 8). Third, stream network information can be ex-
estimates derived from land-use/land-cover classification at tracted from digital elevation models.
the national level (Lo, 1995; Sutton et al., 1997) (Box 5-7). One product is HYDRO1K, with a spatial resolution of 1
Progress toward Agenda 21 goals is impeded by a lack of × 1 km derived from the GTOPO30 digital elevation dataset.
complete, reliable data on human population distribution. HYDRO1K was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey
Currently, many African countries are challenged to com- in cooperation with UNEP/GRID (HYDRO1K, 2002), with
plete the present round of censuses, in part because of fund- additional funding from the Brazilian Water Resources Sec-
ing constraints. These data will be of greatest value to deci- retariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization/Inland
sion-makers (including those using remote-sensing Water Resources and Aquaculture Service. It provides users
techniques) if they are geographically referenced and are as on a continent by continent basis with a low-resolution digi-
disaggregated as possible. USAID and the U.S. Bureau of tal elevation model, along with ancillary datasets for use in
the Census should provide financial and technical sup- continental and regional applications. The following prod-
BOX 5-7
Three Possible Methods for Estimating Population Using Remotely Sensed Data
Dwelling Unit Approach: The most accurate remote sensing-as- Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime 1
sisted method of estimating the population is to count individual dwelling × 1 km imagery to inventory urban extent for the entire United States, with
units (see Lo, 1995; Haack et al., 1997; Jensen, 2000). If remotely sensed promising results at the state and county level. Unfortunately, this method
imagery with a spatial resolution of 0.25 to 5 m is available, this method- “may underestimate the population density of urban centers and overesti-
ology works reasonably well for local censuses. Unfortunately, it is not mate the population density of suburban areas.”
suitable for a regional or national census of population because it is too Land Use Approach: This approach assumes that land use in an
time-consuming and costly (Sutton et al., 1997). In fact, Broome (U.S. urban area is closely correlated with population density. First, a value is
Bureau of the Census, personal communication, 1998) has suggested that established for the population density for each land use by field survey or
this method requires so much in situ data to calibrate the remote sensor census data (e.g., multiple-family residential land use may contain 10
data that it can become operationally impractical. Furthermore, the costs persons per pixel when using 30 × 30 m Landsat TM data, whereas rural
of acquiring the needed data are prohibitive. Therefore, other methods forested areas might have only 0.20 persons per pixel). Next, by measur-
have been developed. ing the total area for each land-use category, the total population for that
Total Urbanized Area Approach: Urban population correlates category is estimated. Finally, adding together the estimated totals for
fairly consistently with total urbanized area at sub-national scales each land-use category provides the total population projection (Lo,
(Olorunfemi, 1984). Sutton et al. (1997) used Defense Meteorological 1995).

the USGS through an agreement with ESRI, the database is

BOX 5-8 of sufficient spatial resolution (1 × 1 km: or a scale of
GPS Helps Resolve a Border Dispute 1:1,000,000) for use as a regional reference and analytical
tool but has limited value at the local level. NIMA’s Opera-
In 2000 the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments used GPS to tional Navigation Chart series is the primary data source for
resolve their border dispute that began in 1978. The Ugandan govern- the “political boundaries” data set in the database. This se-
ment gave up its territorial claim to a strip of land on the common ries is the largest-scale (highest spatial resolution) unclassi-
border with Tanzania after GPS measurements proved that the pillars fied map series that provides global coverage of features such
demarcating the two countries were 300 m inside Tanzania. As a result as political boundaries. The “gazetteer” in the Global GIS
of the survey Uganda has moved the pillars of the border, a 100- Database, which grows by roughly 20,000 features monthly,
kilometer straight line, to new positions inside Uganda. currently contains 3.5 million geographic names from
NIMA’s database of foreign geographic feature names. The
SOURCE: People’s Daily (2000). database is read through free ArcView Data Publisher soft-
ware, and is available by region for U.S.$10 on CD-ROMs
or on a single DVD.
ucts are available for Africa: streams,24 drainage basins,25 Transportation Networks
flow direction, flow accumulation, elevation, compound to-
pographic index, slope, and aspect (HYDRO1K, 2002). Transportation networks include roads, railways, and
A valuable hydrologic product for application to Agenda pipelines. In addition to improving basic services (e.g., de-
21 issues could be derived from the Shuttle Radar Topogra- livery and collection) there are many benefits to mapping
phy Mission with almost global 90 × 90 m (perhaps 30 × 30 transportation networks (Table 5-4). Geographic informa-
m) spatial resolution. This derivative product would have tion from GPS and remote-sensing technology is useful for
applications at the sub-regional level where HYDROlK cur- managing transportation networks (DOT, 2001) (Table 5-4).
rently is inapplicable. Serious consideration should be As developing countries move toward adopting these kinds
given by the USGS to modeling the Shuttle Radar To- of technologies, they can use other sources of information,
pography Mission-derived 30 × 30 m digital elevation such as the Global GIS Database (for regional applications)
data to produce the most accurate, affordable hydrologic and legacy maps. However, these sources have limited value
network database with global coverage. for the applications in Table 5-4 because of their coarse spa-
tial resolution. Additionally, transportation networks can
rapidly evolve, particularly in urban areas, and up-to-date,
Government Units accurate information for effective transportation network
Boundaries of government units, such as national bor- management is needed (e.g., Table 5-4).
ders, can be contentious, yet they are not always well docu-
mented (e.g., Box 5-8). One method for determining a Cadastral Information for Land Administration
boundary is to collect in situ GPS measurements. Alterna-
tively, remotely sensed ortho-images (e.g., the global A cadastre is a map accompanied by a register showing
GeoCover-ortho dataset) can be used if the political bound- the ownership or possession of individual units of land that
ary lies along a feature such as a river centerline, mountain is used to facilitate efficient land administration and expe-
ridge, or shoreline. For greater precision, boundaries can be dite land market transactions. Among its many applications
delineated from very high spatial resolution imagery (e.g., to sustainable development (Table 2-5), a cadastre is critical
less than 1 × 1 m) obtained in stereo.26 However, remotely for combating poverty, integrated environment and develop-
sensed imagery is inappropriate when the boundary is not ment decision-making, and sound management of solid, haz-
visible in the imagery. Consequently, boundary-mapping ardous, and other waste.
endeavors often rely on both in situ surveying and remote- In Africa, land often is owned communally. Ownership
sensing. rights tend to be based on communal units of lineages and
The “Global GIS Database” (Hearn et al., 2001) contains extended families. However, individual members have use
boundary information with global coverage. Developed by rights or “usufruct” to the land they currently farm. The con-
cept of individual land ownership, especially in urban areas,
was one of the consequences of the colonial integration of
24The larger perennial rivers and smaller rivers and streams were de-
African countries into the global free-market system. Own-
rived from the Digital Chart of the World (USGS, 2002a). ership not only promotes individual care and concern about
25Derived using vector stream networks along with a data set on flow
direction (see Verdin and Jenson, 1996, for more information).

land but also enhances its value. Owning land provides indi-
26A pair of overlapping images is obtained that allows the analyst to viduals with economic assets that can be traded in land mar-
view the pair of images stereoscopically in three dimensions. kets, used as collateral to raise credit or as security for vari-

68 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 5-4 Data Requirements for Application of Geographic Data to Transportation Network Management Challenges
Application Explanation Benefits Data Requirements
Environmental The growth of transportation networks Mitigation of the impacts of Medium to coarse spatial resolution remote
assessment, associated with urban growth and sprawl growing transportation sensor data (e.g., 5 to 20 m resolution such as
integration, and generates such environmental impacts as networks. SPOT or Landsat Thematic Mapper) with
streamlining deforestation, impact on local and regional moderate 16-day temporal resolution
hydrology, and accentuation of such land- requirements.
atmosphere factors as the urban heat island
effect.
Hazards, safety, Monitoring transportation infrastructure to Minimize failures of Medium resolution remote sensor data (e.g.,
and disaster maximize public safety during emergencies. transportation networks, and Landsat Thematic Mapper or SPOT imagery)
management carefully and rapidly move with very high temporal resolution
people away from an area in requirements, often less than a day.
an emergency.
Traffic Managing the flow of people and goods Improved estimates in Airborne and satellite-based sensors are most
surveillance, between geographically separated forecasting traffic flows applicable. Extremely high temporal (e.g.,
monitoring, and locations. Relevant information includes (reduced congestion, better minutes to hours) and high spatial resolution
management vehicle traffic volumes, classifications, network design). data (usually ≤ 1 m) are needed.
speeds, and truck weights.
Transportation Maintenance, operation, and renewal of such Information on the location and Extremely high spatial resolution remote sensor
infrastructure assets as pavement, bridges, pipelines, rail condition of these assets is data (≤ 1 m) and in certain instances
management lines, harbors, and airports. Historically, critical to effective hyperspectral data (hundreds of bands).
infrastructure management was conducted management.
in situ on an asset-by-asset basis.
SOURCE: DOT (2001).
ous forms of economic improvements. Because individual to be stressed that cadastration in any country remains a com-
land ownership is nonexistent in large parts of rural Africa, plex, demanding, if essential exercise. It should be under-
except in eastern and southern Africa, challenges remain for taken community by community so as to expedite the adju-
rural Africans to obtain credit from lending institutions in dication of disputed claims of ownership.
their bid to improve quality of life. Continued development of cadastres could facilitate land
Several capacities have facilitated privatization and own- management and administration, promote greater efficiency
ership of land. These include the capacity to survey indi- in the operation of land markets both in urban and rural ar-
vidual plots, identify their boundaries, determine their own- eas, strengthen the operations of free-market economies, and
ership or possession, formally register or informally reinforce the ability of governments to initiate and sustain
recognize their status, and, where the system has developed land and agrarian reforms (e.g., de Soto, 2000). Over time,
in eastern and southern Africa, accord them formal titles. As cadastres could play an indirect role in poverty reduction,
a result of these capacities it is possible to register and moni- especially through enhancing access to credit facilities for
tor subsequent transactions in the plots of land over time, many people beyond the limits usually provided by the now
enabling effective cadastration of land or the development popular microcredit schemes. Additionally, by inducing a
of a land information system of ownership and possession. strong proprietary interest in land, the process of cadastration
Typically, a cadastre is produced at a scale of 1:10,000 or can help to deepen environmentally sensitive attitudes to
larger. In certain instances high spatial resolution aerial pho- development. Last, the provision of cadastres facilitates the
tography or other remotely sensed data reveals boundaries supply of socio-economic information for effective settle-
associated with long-held communal property boundaries. ment management. Many cities and towns have no maps
However, these data are expensive. Consequently, the pro- showing the network of streets and roads. Many streets and
duction of cadastres has low priority for most African coun- roads have no names and many houses on the roads have no
tries and donor agencies, even when there are clear benefits. numbers (ECA, 2001). In short, many Africans have no eas-
Although the production of cadastres has been stymied by ily located residential addresses to facilitate their effective
their cost, GPS in concert with GIS is cheaper than tradi- participation in social and economic transactions. These in-
tional surveying techniques and should facilitate production adequacies have been one reason why the systematic deliv-
of cadastres. ery, management, expansion, and improvement of services
Notwithstanding these technological innovations, it needs to all segments of the population, the effective collection of

taxes and rates, and the cost recovery for utilities and ser- Dobson, J. E., E. A. Bright, P. R. Coleman, R. C. Durfee, and B. A. Worley.
vices have been difficult to implement in urban areas (ECA, 2000. A Global Population Database for Estimating Population at Risk,
Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 66(7): 849-858.
2001). Because of the potential of cadastres to address Donaint, P. 1975 Les Cadres Géographiques à Travers les Langues du
Agenda 21 issues, including poverty reduction and land Niger—Contribution à la Pedagogie de l’Étude du Milieu. Etudes
resource management, the U.S. government (USAID and Nigeriennes No 37. Niamey: Institut Nigerien de Recherches en Sci-
USGS) should assist African countries in developing ence Humaines.
cadastres. DOT (Department of Transportation). 2001. Commercial Remote Sensing
Technologies Application to Transportation. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Transportation and National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
SUMMARY ministration.
Earth Satellite. 2002. GeoCover-Ortho Database, Rockville, MD: Earth
Framework geographic data that underlie many Agenda Satellite, Inc. Available at <http://www.earthsat.com>. Accessed June
21 issues are accessible at varying degrees to users in devel- 3, 2002.
ECA (U. N. Economic Commission for Africa). 2001. The Future Orienta-
oping countries. Cost and availability are two factors that tion of Geoinformation Activities in Africa: Synthesis. Available at
influence access, in addition to telecommunications infra- <http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Conference_Reports_
structures (Chapter 4). Some framework foundation data are and_Other_Documents/disd/codi/docs/doc3EN.pdf>. Accessed May
affordable and available. These are geodetic control (which 15, 2002.
can be obtained using a GPS receiver) and ortho-imagery. Elvidge, C. D., H. W. Kroehl, E. A. Kihn, K. E. Baugh, E. R. Davis, W. M.
Hao. 1996 Algorithm for the Retrieval of Fire Pixels from DMSP Op-
Topographic framework foundation data will be affordable erational Linescan System. Pp. 73-85 in Global Biomass Burning, J. S.
and available in the near future with better than 90 × 90 m Levine, ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
spatial resolution, and there is potential for an equally high Elvidge, C. D., K. E. Baugh, E. A. Kihn, H. W. Kroehl, and E. R. Davis.
spatial resolution hydrologic network database. Currently, 1997. Mapping City Lights with Nighttime Data from the DMSP Op-
affordable global datasets on transportation and hydrologic erational Linescan System. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote
Sensing 63(6):727-734.
networks are available but are of insufficient resolution for Elvidge, C. D., K. E. Baugh, V. R. Hobson, E. A. Kihn, and H. W. Kroehl.
most applications. Conversely, essential framework data, 2002. Detection of Fires and Power Outages at Night Using DMSP-
such as human population distribution, government units, OLS Data. Available at <[email protected]>. Accessed Jne 3, 2002.
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arcnews/summer00articles/ savingelephants.html>. Accessed May 7,
nical assistance is provided. Meanwhile, African countries 2002.
have no other choice but to use legacy datasets that are out of Gesch, D. B., K. L. Verdin, and S. K. Greenlee. 1999. New Land Surface
date for such applications as managing transportation net- Digital Elevation Model Covers the Earth. Eos Transactions, American
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GTOPO30. Sioux Falls: U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center.
Available at <http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/gtopo30/gtopo30.html>. Ac-
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gov/srtm/ factsheet_pub.html>. terns from Satellite Data. Remote Sensing of Environment 9:1-9.

ANNEX 5
ANNEX BOX 5-1

Components of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System
NAVSTAR consists of three components: the space segment (con- tions communicate with the satellites, adjust their orbits, and maintain the
sisting of the satellites and the transmitted signals); the control segment constellation of satellites and their functions.
(which tracks the satellites and gives them instructions); and the user
segment (where GPS data are turned into spatial information for use in The User Segment
many applications). The user segment results in the conversion of range information mea-
sured by the GPS unit into useable positioning information. The accuracy
Space Segment of these coordinates is a function of several parameters. For example, the
This segment consists of 24 satellites and the signals that are broad- observer may select absolute (single-point) positioning or relative posi-
cast from them. This information allows users to determine their position, tioning. Generally, the relative positioning system achieves more accurate
velocity, and time. Only a certain number of satellites above the observer’s results. Absolute positioning refers to use of a single GPS system in
horizon are “visible” to a GPS unit at any moment in time. This has a communication with the constellation of satellites. Conversely, relative
significant impact on the precision of the positioning measurement. The positioning measurements are normally obtained using two GPS units
greater the number of satellites above the observer’s horizon, the higher on the ground. For relative positioning, one of the GPS units functions as
the quality of the measurement. Each GPS satellite transmits unique navi- the base station while the other GPS unit is carried by the user to locations
gational signals centered on two L-band frequencies (carrier waves) plus of interest. The relative position is the difference between the two positions
ranging codes modulated on the carrier waves, and a navigation message. (in the global system), expressed in a local reference system with the
The ranging codes are used to compute the signal transit time from the origin at the base station (Rizos, 2002). The accuracy of relative position-
satellite transmitter to the receiver. Multiplying this value by the speed of ing measurements is a function of the length of the baseline between GPS
light yields the range from the receiver to the satellite. When enough of receivers, the length of time and the number of observations obtained at a
these measurements are obtained from the various satellites above the specific location by the GPS unit, the number and position of available
observer’s horizon, it is possible to triangulate on the position of the ob- satellites, and the amount and quality of the post-processing of raw data
server. (Stewart and Rizos, 2002). Accuracies in the centimeter range are attain-
able for geodetic and general way-finding under certain conditions. The
The Control Segment accuracy of the elevation measurement at each location is about two to
The U.S. Department of Defense operates five ground stations: in Ha- three times poorer than the horizontal positioning accuracy. Therefore, it
waii, Colorado, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, and Kwajalein. These sta- is important to achieve as accurate a horizontal positioning as possible.

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FIGURE 5-A1 Global Positioning System accuracy and positioning modes (adapted from Rizos [2002]). The top half of the illustration
refers to single point positioning measurements made with a single GPS unit communicating with a number of satellites. The lower half refers
to the relative positioning mode where the position of the receiver of interest (i.e., the location of the user) is derived relative to a base station
receiver with known absolute coordinates.
ANNEX BOX 5-2

Remote-Sensing Resolution Considerations
Spatial resolution is a measure of the smallest angular or linear located in an orbit a certain distance above a particular point on the
separation between two objects that can be resolved by the remote-sensing ground. Such remote-sensing systems often have very high temporal reso-
system. The spatial resolution of aerial photography may be measured by lution (e.g., they obtain imagery every one-half hour) that facilitates the
(1) placing carefully calibrated, parallel black-and-white lines on tarps that tracking of tornadoes, frontal systems, and hurricanes.
are placed in the field, (2) obtaining aerial photography of the study area, Spectral resolution is the number and dimension of specific wave-
and (3) analyzing the photography and computing the number of resolvable length intervals in the electromagnetic spectrum to which a remote-sens-
line pairs per millimeter in the photography. For electronic remote-sensing ing instrument is sensitive. Remote-sensing systems may be configured
systems, the nominal spatial resolution is the dimension in meters (or feet) to collect data in just a single band of the electromagnetic spectrum. For
of the ground-projected instantaneous-field-of-view (Jensen, 2000). For example, a digital frame camera band 4 near-infrared image is displayed
example, the IKONOS panchromatic band has a nominal spatial resolution in Figure 5-A3a. Multispectral remote-sensing takes place when energy
of 1 × 1 m and the Landsat Thematic Mapper 5 has a nominal spatial is recorded in multiple bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. For ex-
resolution of 30 × 30 m for six of its bands. Generally, the smaller the ample, the ADAR 5500 usually acquires four multispectral bands of imag-
spatial resolution, the greater the resolving power of the sensor system. ery during a mission as shown in Figure 5-A3b. The bandwidths are shown
Simulated examples of different spatial resolution remote sensor data are in Figure 5-A3c: band 1 = 450-515 nm; band 2 = 525-605 nm; band 3 =
shown in Figure 5-A2. 640-690 nm; band 4 = 750-900 nm. A hyperspectral remote-sensing
Temporal resolution refers to how often remotely sensed data are instrument acquires data in hundreds of spectral bands. For example, the
acquired over a particular geographic area. For example, the temporal reso- Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) has 224
lution of the polar-orbiting Landsat 4 and 5 Thematic Mapper remote-sens- bands in the region from 0.4-2.5 µm spaced just 10 nm apart.
ing systems has been 16 days. If a remote-sensing system can be pointed Ultraspectral remote-sensing involves data collection in many hundreds
off-nadir (i.e., it does not have to look straight down), then it is possible to of bands. Careful selection of the spectral bands improves the probability
obtain much higher temporal resolution (e.g., the pointable Space Imaging, that a feature or biophysical parameter (e.g., biomass, turbidity) will be
Inc., IKONOS and DigitalGlobe Quickbird can obtain imagery every few detected, identified, and measured accurately.
days, depending upon the latitude of the area of interest). Some satellites
such as the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) are

× × ×
Spatial resolution
enlarged view
Instantaneous
field of view
× ×
FIGURE 5-A2 Remote sensor data of Mechanicsville, N.Y. on June 1, 1998, at a nominal spatial resolution of 0.3 × 0.3 m (approximately
1 × 1 ft.) using a digital camera (courtesy of E-ConAgra.com). The original data were re-sampled to derive the imagery with the simulated
spatial resolutions shown.

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FIGURE 5-A3 An example of single band and multispectral remote-sensing using a digital frame camera. The data were obtained at a
spatial resolution of 1 × 1 ft. (courtesy of Positive Systems, Inc.).

ANNEX BOX 5-3

Landsat 4 and 5 Thematic Mapper
Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
Landsat Data Continuity Mission
NASA launched its first Landsat satellite in July 1972, (originally called obtained control of the Landsat 4 and 5 satellites in September 1985.
ERTS, Earth Resources Technology Satellite). This satellite collected data Thematic Mapper 4 and 5 satellites were placed in Sun-synchronous po-
at 79 × 79 m spatial resolution in four bands. Since 1972, five Landsat lar orbits at an altitude of 705 km. The TM sensors are based on optical-
satellites have been placed into orbit, two of which were thematic mappers mechanical scanning technology. They collect data in a swath 185 km
that obtained data at a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m in seven bands. wide but cannot view off-nadir. The revisit cycle (temporal resolution) is
every 16 days. The TM bands were selected to make maximum use of the
NASA’s Landsat Thematic Mapper 4 and 5 were launched on dominant factors controlling leaf reflectance, such as leaf pigmentation,
July 16, 1982, and March 1, 1984, respectively. Landsat 5 is still func- leaf and canopy structure, and moisture content. The spectral and spatial
tioning. The Earth Observation Satellite Company (now Space Imaging) resolution characteristics are shown below.
Wavelength (µm) Spatial Resolution (m) Sensor System
Band 1 0.45-0.52 [0.450–0.515] 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, [ETM+ 7]

Band 2 0.52-0.60 [0.525–0.605] 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, [ETM+ 7]
Band 3 0.63-0.69 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, ETM+ 7
Band 4 0.76-0.90 [0.750–0.900] 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, [ETM+ 7]
Band 5 1.55-1.75 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, ETM+ 7
Band 6 10.40-12.50 120 × 120 [60 × 60] TM 4, 5, [ETM+ 7]
Band 7 2.08-2.35 30 × 30 TM 4, 5, ETM+ 7
Band 8 0.52-0.90 15 × 15 ETM+ 7
Much of the Landsat TM 4 and 5 data are available at reasonable rates its predecessors. ETM+ bands 1-5 and 7 are almost identical to those
from the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., and from Space Imag- found on Landsat 4 and 5 and have the same 30 × 30 m spatial resolution
ing, Inc. Landsat 6 failed to achieve orbit in 1993. with two exceptions. The thermal infrared band 6 (10.4–12.5 µm) has 60
NASA’s Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) × 60 m spatial resolution. There is a new 15 × 15 m panchromatic band
was launched on April 15, 1999. The ETM+ was developed to be in har- (0.52–0.90 µm). Landsat 7 data are controlled by the U.S. Geological
mony with the relatively coarse spatial resolution sensors onboard NASA’s Survey. The products cost $475 (level 0R) or $600 (level 1R and 1G).
Earth Observing System Terra satellite as it provides a unique suite of There are no restrictions on the use, reprocessing, or redistribution of
relatively high spatial resolution observations. In addition, Landsat 7 was Landsat 7 data purchased from the U. S. government.
designed to (a) maintain data continuity by providing data that are consis- Landsat Data Continuity Mission. The Land Remote Sensing
tent in terms of geometry, spatial resolution, coverage, and spectral char- Policy Act of 1992 directs Landsat program management (NASA and the
acteristics with previous Landsat data, (b) periodically refresh a global USGS) to assess options for a data system to succeed the orbiting Landsat
archive of cloud-free, sun-lit landmass imagery, and (c) continue to make 7. This is called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. Currently, two ven-
Landsat-type data available to international users at the cost of fulfilling dors (Resource-21 and DigitalGlobe) have been funded to provide formu-
user requests. lation contracts. NASA expects to finalize the award for the Landsat Data
Landsat 7 is based on the same scanner technology as Landsat 4 and Continuity Mission in mid-2003, with data delivery to the government in
5. However, the ETM+ has significantly better radiometric calibration than 2005 (USGS, 2002c)

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ANNEX BOX 5-4

Processing NASA’s Global GeoCover-Ortho Imagery
The Global GeoCover-Ortho database consists of Landsat Thematic time-consuming and expensive process that can result in inconsistencies
Mapper images obtained circa 1990 that have the following characteris- at the edges of the image when adjacent TM images are processed inde-
tics: pendently. Consequently, it is difficult to process a large number of im-
ages using this approach (Jensen, 1995). EarthSat had the task of
• Collected within 3 years of 1990 target date;
orthorectifying thousands of Landsat TM (circa 1990) and Multispectral
• < 20 percent cloud cover;
Scanner (from the mid 1970s) images for the entire land surface of Earth in
• Within the uppermost 10 percent in terms of quality rating; and
conjunction with its NASA contract (Earth Satellite, 2002). To do this ac-
• Phenology (plant development cycle) at or just past peak “green-
curately and efficiently a photogrammetric approach to the problem was
ness.”
used.
The images were obtained from the Landsat foreign ground receiv- A proprietary photogrammetric methodology was used to process
ing stations,1 as well as from the U.S. Geological Survey’s EROS Data groups of up to 400 Landsat images of which <10 percent contained
Center. The complete GeoCover-Ortho database includes 7,100 Landsat ground control points against which they could be corrected. To create an
TM images. The positional accuracy of the Global GeoCover ortho-recti- accurate spatial relationship between the raw Landsat imagery and Earth’s
fied imagery is better than 50 m.2 This positional accuracy is superior to surface the approach combined the world’s best horizontal and vertical
the vast majority of the world’s 1:200,000 scale maps. The following de- ground control points with precisely measured tie points between adjacent
scription explains how this was achieved. images. Wherever possible, Earthsat used U.S. government digital eleva-
To transform a Landsat TM image to a standard map projection tion data with a spacing of 90 m for the vertical control. These were backed
scientists typically manipulate (rectify) it by selecting many ground con- up by 900-m spaced data from the GTOPO30 data set when the 90-m data
trol points and then applying mathematical techniques. This is a very were not available.
1These ground stations receive data from passing Landsat satellites.
2Root mean square accuracy in a Universal Transverse Mercator projection based on the WGS 84 datum (Earth Satellite, 2002).
ANNEX BOX 5-5

Processing Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission Data for Public Release
SRTM processing is occurring in two parallel tracks:
• Track 1: Continent-scale datasets are being processed by NASA

on a continent-by-continent basis (Kobrick, 2002). North America
was processed first and delivered in July 2002. As Africa and other
continents are completed, the data will be refined by NIMA and
then distributed to the public through the USGS EROS Data Cen-
ter. Africa is projected for completion in late 2003 to mid-2004.
Access to SRTM-derived data by developing countries is through
bilateral agreements (McCanna, 2002).
• Track 2: Smaller datasets (covering a number of 1 × 1 degree

latitude and longitude blocks) are being processed for sites of
scientific interest to NASA-sponsored researchers. Each dataset
consists of unedited digital elevation maps, images, and ancillary
data. Upon completion they will be made available to the scientific
community and the public. Several of these datasets have already
been prepared for various parts of Africa (e.g., Figures 5-8 and 5-
9).

ANNEX TABLE 5-1 Characteristics of Global

ANNEX BOX 5-6 GeoCover-Ortho Image Products (Earth Satellite
Characteristics of the Defense Corporation)
Meteorological Satellite Program
Image Type Characteristics
Each DMSP satellite crosses any point on Earth up to twice each
Individual images Images cover an area of approximately 170 × 170
day (equatorial crossing times are 0536 and 1052 local time). Be- km, with a spatial resolution of 28.5 m. The
cause there are multiple satellites, nearly complete global coverage of complete GeoCover-Ortho database includes 7,100
clouds and features on Earth’s surface is achieved every six hours. orthorectified Landsat TM images. Images consist
The current generation of Operational Linescan System sensors of all seven Landsat spectral bands in a Universal
began flying in 1976 and is expected to continue flying until approxi- Transverse Mercator map projection with a
geodetic accuracy of better than 50 m (root mean
mately 2008, when it will be officially merged with the National Polar- square accuracy). Images can be obtained with
orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). Since unique projections, datums, and band
March 1992, data have been sent daily to the U.S. National Geophysical combinations.
Data Center for archiving. DMSP data are processed within five days
of receipt. The data are available worldwide for the cost of materials Mosaics Each mosaic is a group of juxtaposed Landsat
images in a single, seamless digital image. Mosaics
and mailing. The archived data set consists of low spatial resolution are three-band color composite products based on
(2.7 × 2.7 km) imagery with global coverage and high spatial Landsat TM spectral bands 7,4,2. Mosaics may
resolution (0.55 × 0.55 km) imagery with regional coverage (along a contain up to 15 Landsat images covering a 5-
3,000 km scan). degree (north-south) by 6-degree (east-west)
DMSP satellites are in a near-polar, Sun-synchronous orbit at segment of a Universal Transverse Mercator grid.
The mosaics have the same spatial resolution,
an altitude of 830 km above Earth. Each orbit lasts approximately 101 geodetic accuracy, and map projection as the
minutes. The Operational Linescan System consists of two telescopes individual images.
and a photo multiplier tube. Each sensor sweeps back and forth on a
line on the Earth’s surface in a whiskbroom motion. The photo multi- Regional mosaics These are large-area mosaics of 1,200+ Landsat
plier tube is used to detect nighttime lights in the range from 0.47 to images. Typically they comprise Landsat TM bands
7,4,2. The imagery has a spatial resolution
0.95 µm. One of the telescopes detects emissions from the Sun or the commensurate with the scale of the final digital
Moon that are reflected off clouds and features on the surface of mosaic, but usually between 90 and 150 m. The
Earth (in the range from 0.40 to 1.10 µm). The other telescope records map projections of regional mosaics vary and are
thermal emissions by Earth’s surface and atmosphere (in the range determined by the conventions for the areas being
from 10.0-13.4 µm). covered. The following GeoCover-Ortho mosaics
are available: Africa; northern Africa; Alaska;
Australia; Central America; Middle East; northeast
Asia; United States.

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ANNEX TABLE 5-2 Census Dates for Countries in Africa from 1965 to 2004
1970 Round 1980 Round 1990 Round 2000 Round

1965-1974 1975-1984 1985-1994 1995-2004
Algeria 1966 1977 1987 1998

Angola 1970 — — 2002 P
Benin — 1979 F 1992 2002 S
Botswana 1971 1981 1991 2001 S
Burkina Faso — 1975 F 1985 1996
Burundi — 1979 F 1990 —
Cameroon — 1976 F 1987 2002 S
Cape Verde 1970 1980 1990 2000
Central African Republic — 1975 F 1988 2002 S
Chad — — 1993 F 2004-2005
Comoros 1966 1980 1991 2002 S
Congo 1974 F 1984 — 1996: 2000A
Cote d’Ivoire — 1975 F 1988 1998
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1970 A;1974 A 1984 — —
Djibouti 1967; 1970-71 A 1983 F — 2001 S
Egypt 1966 SC 1976 1986 1996
Equatorial Guinea 1971 A 1983 1994 2002 S
Eritrea — 1984 by Ethiopia — —
Ethiopia — 1984 F 1994 2004 S
Gabon 1970 1980 1993 2003 P
Gambia 1973 1983 1993 2003 P
Ghana 1970 1984 — 2000
Guinea 1967 A; 1972 A 1977 A; 1983 F — 1996
Guinea Bissau 1970 1979 1991 2001 S
Kenya 1969 1979 1989 1999
Lesotho 1966 1976 1986 2001
Liberia 1974 1984 — 2003 S
Libya 1973 1984 — 1995
Madagascar — 1975 F 1993 2003 S
Malawi 1966 F 1977 1987 1998
Mali — 1976 F 1987 1998
Mauritania — 1976-77 F 1988 2000-01 S
Mauritius 1972 1983 1990 2000
Morocco 1971 1982 1994 —
Mozambique 1970 1980 — 1997
Namibia 1970 1981 1991 2001
Niger — 1977 F 1988 2001
Nigeria — — 1991 2004 S
Reunion 1974 1982 1990 1999
Rwanda — 1978 F 1991 2002 S
Sao Tome and Principe 1970 1981 1991 2001 S
Senegal — 1976 F 1988 2003 S
Seychelles 1971 1977 1987;1994 2004 P
Sierra Leone 1974 — 1985 2003 S
Somalia — 1975 F 1987 —
South Africa 1970 1980 1985; 1991 1996; 2001
Sudan 1973 1983 1993 2003 P
Swaziland 1966 1976 1986 1997
Tanzania 1967 1978 1988 2002 S
Togo 1970 F 1981 — 2002 S
Tunisia 1966 1975 1994 2004 P
Uganda 1969; 1974 1980 1991 2002 S
Western Sahara 1970; 1974 1982 by Morocco 1994 by Morocco —
Zambia 1969; 1974 SC 1980 1990 2000
Zimbabwe 1969 1982 1992 2002 S
— No census listed in this round. F First full modern census taken.

A Administrative census. P Projected based on pattern of census dates.
S Scheduled; not yet taken or known if taken. SC Sample census.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau; UNFPA (unpublished).

Geographic Data for Sustainable Development II:

Other Thematic Data
INTRODUCTION [o]ver the coming decades, the global effects of land use and
cover change may be as significant, or more so, than those
Drawing on examples of remotely sensed satellite data associated with potential climate change. Unlike climate
that are mostly low in cost, this chapter describes the sources, change per se, land use and cover change are known and
undisputed aspects of global environmental change. These
adequacy, and current applications of important thematic
changes and their impacts are with us now, ranging from
data types for monitoring and managing natural and human-
potential climate warming to land degradation and
made resources in Africa. These data types form the organi- biodiversity loss and from food production to spread of in-
zational framework for the chapter. First, the chapter ad- fectious diseases (IGBP-IHDP, 2002).
dresses land-cover and land-use data (e.g., depicting
agriculture, savannah, forest, settlements). Second, it exam- In addition to understanding changes that have already oc-
ines biophysical data (e.g., rainfall, and data relating to the curred, land-cover data are needed to generate scenarios of
physical condition of vegetation). Finally, it describes data future modification of the Earth system (Lambin and Geist,
for managing human health (e.g., environmental data per- 2001; Geist and Lambin, 2002).
taining to vector habitats). These thematic data types supple- Land-use and land-cover data can be obtained using in
ment the framework foundation data (Chapter 5) that form situ field measurements or remote-sensing technology. How-
the core of a country’s geographic data needs for addressing ever, access to raw remotely sensed data alone is insufficient
Agenda 21 issues. Much of the technical information on data to feed decision-support systems. To extract useful thematic
sources in Chapter 6 is found in Annex 6. information such as land-cover maps from the raw imagery
decision-makers must rely on intermediate steps involving
scientific expertise, use of calibration data, and image-pro-
LAND COVER AND LAND USE
cessing resources.
The pace, magnitude, and scale of human alterations of Different applications of land-use and land-cover infor-
Earth’s land surface are unprecedented in human history. mation normally require that remotely sensed data be ob-
Consequently, land-cover and land-use data are central to tained at different spatial resolutions. For convenience the
such Agenda 21 issues as combating deforestation, manag- land-cover information is often grouped into four levels that
ing sustainable settlement growth, and protecting the quality can be associated with remotely sensed data acquired at dif-
and supply of water resources (Table 2-5). In light of the ferent spatial resolutions (Anderson et al., 1976) (Figure 6-
human impacts on the landscape, there is a need to establish 1). Level I nominal-scale land-cover information might iden-
baseline datasets against which changes in land cover and tify an area as forested. Level II might make a further
land use can be assessed. “Land cover” refers to the type of distinction between deciduous and coniferous forest. Level
material present on the landscape (e.g., water, sand, crops, III might include information on particular species (e.g., aca-
forest, wetland, human structures). “Land use” refers to what cia). Level IV might include sub-species information. The
people do on the land surface (e.g., agriculture, commerce, extremely high level of detail needed for land cover Levels
settlement). III and IV is usually derived from high spatial resolution
The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme remote-sensor data such as that provided by large-scale aerial
(IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions of Global photography or certain commercial satellite remote-sensing
Environmental Change Programme (IHDP) suggest that systems. Information may be extracted using classical photo-
79

80 DOWN TO EARTH
Urban and Suburban Land Cover and Land Use
Many Agenda 21 issues concentrate on urban and subur-

ban areas (Table 2-5). The detailed land-use and land-cover
information needed in these settings is derived from high
spatial resolution aerial photography or satellite imagery
(Table 6-1, Figure 6-2). Since 1994, such companies as
Space Imaging and DigitalGlobe have marketed high spatial
resolution satellite data (approximately 1 × 1 m to 4 × 4 m)
(Annex Box 6-1). Examples of Space Imaging’s IKONOS
imagery are shown in Figure 6-3.
Ways need to be found to make high spatial resolution
imagery accessible to users in Africa. Currently, these data
are expensive (Table 6-2), and more affordable, lower spa-
tial resolution imagery is an inadequate substitute in urban
environments.
Regional and Global Land Cover

The land cover of much of Africa can be inventoried us-
ing medium to coarse spatial resolution satellite imagery
(e.g., 20 to 1000 m). Normally this imagery must be multi-
spectral. This section discusses five sources of these data, all
of which can be obtained inexpensively. Additional re-
sources can be found at the World Data Center for Remotely
Sensed Land Data.1
Land-Cover Data Source A: Advanced Very High Resolution

Radiometer (AVHRR) Imagery
NOAA’s AVHRR is a widely used source of satellite data
for natural resource management and early warning systems
FIGURE 6-1 The relationship between U.S. Geological Survey
in Africa. This class of sensor flies onboard NOAA’s opera-
land-cover and land-use classes and the required spatial resolution
tional satellites (Annex Box 6-2), and will likely continue
of the imagery. SOURCE: Pearson Education, Inc., adapted from
Jensen (2000). operating until 2018 (Annex Box 6-3). AVHRR is a sus-
tained source of low-cost data with a spatial resolution of ~1
× 1 km.
interpretation techniques applied to analog (hard-copy) im- The Global Land Cover Dataset
agery or digital image processing techniques applied to digi- AVHRR images from 1992 and 1993 are the source for
tal remote-sensor data (including digitized aerial photogra- the Global Land Cover dataset. The dataset was compiled
phy) (Jensen, 1996). for broad use in environmental research and modeling
The following discussion begins with a brief overview of (Loveland et al., 2000). It was developed by IGBP Data and
the importance of high spatial resolution aerial photography Information Systems Focus 1 activity (Townshend and
and satellite imagery to obtain detailed Level III and IV land- Skole, 1995)2 and implemented by the USGS EROS Data
cover and land-use information for urban applications and Center, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre,
progresses to lower spatial resolution imagery for regional
and global applications (mainly associated with Levels I and
II). Several sources of remotely sensed data may be avail- 1<http://edc.usgs.gov/doc/edchome/world/wdcguide.html>.
able for a given spatial resolution. This discussion deals pri- 2 Funding for the project is provided by the NASA, NOAA, the U.N.
marily with publicly available and commercial sources from Environment Programme, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
the United States. Forest Service, USGS, and European Space Agency.

GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT II: OTHER THEMATIC DATA 81
TABLE 6-1 Urban and Suburban Applications and the Minimum Remote-Sensing Resolutions Required to Obtain Such
Information
Minimum Resolution Requirements
Attributes Temporal Spatial Spectrala
Land Use/Land Cover

L1—USGS Level I 5-10 years 20-100 m V-NIR-MIR-Radar
L2—USGS Level II 5-10 years 5-20 m V-NIR-MIR-Radar
L3—USGS Level III 3-5 years 1-5 m Pan-V-NIR-MIR
L4—USGS Level IV 1-3 years 0.25-1 m Panchromatic
Building and Property Infrastructure

B1—Building perimeter, area, height, and cadastral information (property lines) 1-5 years 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
Transportation Infrastructure
T1—General road centerline 1-5 years 1-30 m Pan-V-NIR
T2—Precise road width 1-2 years 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
T3—Traffic count studies (e.g., cars, airplanes) 5-10 min 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
T4—Parking studies 10-60 min 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
Utility Infrastructure
U1—General utility line mapping and routing 1-5 years 1-30 m Pan-V-NIR
U2—Precise utility line width, right-of-way 1-2 years 0.25-0.6 m Pan-Visible
U3—Location of poles, manholes, substations 1-2 years 0.25-0.6 m Panchromatic
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Creation

D1—Large scale DEM 5-10 years 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
D2—Large scale slope map 5-10 years 0.25-0.5 m Pan-Visible
Socioeconomic Characteristics
S1—Local population estimation 5-7 years 0.25-5 m Pan-V-NIR
S2—Regional and national population estimation 5-15 years 5-20 m Pan-V-NIR
S3—Quality of life indicators 5-10 years 0.25-30 m Pan-V-NIR
Energy Demand and Conservation

E1—Energy demand and production potential 1-5 years 0.25-1 m Pan-V-NIR
E2—Building insulation surveys 1-5 years 1-5 m TIR
Critical Environmental Area Assessment

C1—Stable sensitive environments 1-2 years 1-10 m V-NIR-MIR
C2—Dynamic sensitive environments 1-6 months 0.25-2 m V-NIR-MIR-TIR
Disaster Emergency Response

DE1—Pre-emergency imagery 1-5 years 1-5 m Pan-V-NIR
DE2—Post-emergency imagery 12 hr-2 days 0.25-2 m Pan-V-NIR-Radar
DE3—Damaged housing stock 1-2 days 0.25-1 m Pan-V-NIR
DE4—Damaged transportation 1-2 days 0.25-1 m Pan-V-NIR
DE5—Damaged utilities, services 1-2 days 0.25-1 m Pan-V-NIR
Meteorological Data
M1—Weather prediction 3-25 min 1-8 km V-NIR-TIR
M2—Current temperature 3-25 min 1-8 km TIR
M3—Clear air and precipitation mode 6-10 min 1 km WSR-88D Radar
M4—Severe weather mode 5 min 1 km WSR-88D Radar
M5—Monitoring urban heat island effect 12-24 hr 5-30 m TIR
aSpectral resolution is the extent to which an application requires detection of light within narrow bands of the electromagnetic spectrum such as visible
blue, green, and red light (V), a single broad band of visible light (e.g., encompassing both green and red light; Pan), near-infrared (NIR) energy, middle-
infrared (MIR), and thermal-infrared (TIR). SOURCE: Jensen and Cowen, 1999.

82 DOWN TO EARTH
FIGURE 6-2 The relationship between the spatial and temporal resolution of urban and suburban attributes and the spatial and temporal
resolution of various aerial and sub-orbital remote-sensing systems. The clear polygons represent the spatial and temporal requirements for
selected urban attributes listed in Table 6-1. Gray boxes depict the spatial and temporal characteristics of selected major remote-sensing
systems that may be used to extract the required urban information (updated from Jensen and Cowen, 1999).

A B
FIGURE 6-3 IKONOS 1 × 1 m panchromatic imagery of (a) the Grand Pyramid in Giza obtained on November 17, 1999, and (b) 1 × 1 m
pan-sharpened image of a mosque in Abuja, Nigeria, obtained on November 7, 2001 (courtesy of Space Imaging, Inc.).
and the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Pathfinder Land Cover dataset (source, interpretations, attributes, and
program. derived data) are distributed at cost of filing a user request
The Global Land Cover dataset is available by continent, through the USGS EROS Data Center Distributed Active
including Africa (Figures 6-4 and 6-5). Additionally, there Archive Center for land processes data (USGS, 2002a).
are seven global datasets, each using a different landscape
classification: Tropical Forest Extent
AVHRR data were used by the Tropical Ecosystem Envi-
• Global Ecosystems (Olson, 1994a,b); ronment Observations by Satellite (TREES) project, a Euro-
• IGBP Land Cover Classification (Belward, 1996); pean Commission initiative, to map tropical forest extent.5
• U.S. Geological Survey Land Use/Land Cover System TREES activities were coordinated with those of the Global
(Anderson et al., 1976); Land Cover project through the IGBP Data and Information
• Simple Biosphere Model (Sellers et al., 1996); Systems program.
• Simple Biosphere 2 Model (Sellers et al., 1996); The first phase of TREES produced a baseline assessment
• Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (Dickinson of humid tropical forest cover for 1992. Three regional veg-
et al., 1986); and etation maps (each at a scale of 1:5,000,000) have been pub-
• Vegetation Lifeform (Running et al., 1995). lished or are under development: (1) Central Africa (Mayaux
et al., 1997), (2) South America (Eva et al., 1998), and (3)
The first version of the dataset was released in 19973 and was continental Southeast Asia (in preparation) (TREES, 2002).
subjected to a formal accuracy assessment.4 A revised version The second phase of the project assessed forested area change
is now available, although the accuracy of this version has yet in the humid tropics. The resulting “Hot Spot Report” (Achard
to be formally assessed. Unless protected by copyrights or et al., 1998) highlights areas with rapid forest-cover changes.
trade secret agreements, all data generated for the Global Hot spot maps are available for central Africa (Figure 6-6),
West Africa, and Madagascar (TREES, 2002).
3As an International Geosphere Biosphere Program, Data and Informa-
tion System, initiative led by the Land Cover Working Group.

4This included validation of the land-cover maps by organizations in-
cluding the Miombo Network (Chapter 7). The product is known to contain 5TREES, part of a project called World Forest Watch involving space
some inaccuracies, particularly for cropland which is difficult to map in agencies worldwide, was initiated during the International Space Year in
Africa. Loveland et al. (2000) discuss the accuracy of the dataset. 1992.

84 DOWN TO EARTH
TABLE 6-2 Costs of Remotely Sensed Satellite Imagery
Scene Cost per Spatial Revisit

Width Scene Resolution Frequency
Satellite (km) (U.S. $)a (m)b (days) Advantages Disadvantages
IKONOS 11 3,500 Pan 1 Pan 1-4 Very detailed imagery; in-orbit Expensive (per km2); copyright
3,500 MSS 4 MSS programming possible. restrictions for sharing data;
sensitive to cloud cover.
KVR-1000 40 3,500 1 Pan Irregular Detailed imagery; historic data Expensive (per km2); original
available. data not in digital form;
relatively long delivery time;
sensitive to cloud cover.
IRS-1C/D 71 2,500 Pan 6 Pan 24 (12 for Proven: relatively detailed Expensive (per km2); copyright
140 2,500 MSS +SWIR 25 MSS C/D imagery. restrictions; sensitive to cloud
70 SWIR couple) cover.
SPOT HRV 60 2,500 Pan 10 Pan 26, but Proven; multiple applications; Expensive (per km2); copyright
2,000 MSS +SWIR 20 MSS shorter programmable; historic data restrictions; sensitive to cloud
20 SWIR frequency record available. cover.
possible
Landsat 4-5 TM 185 2,500 for all channels 30 MSS 16 Proven; multiple applications; Expensive (per km2); copyright
120 IR historic data record available; restrictions; long revisit
compatible with previous interval; sensitive to cloud
Landsat data for change cover.
detection.
Landsat 7 ETM+ 185 600 for all channels 15 Pan 16 Proven; multiple applications; Long revisit interval; sensitive to
30 MSS compatible with previous cloud cover.
60 IR Landsat data for change
detection; inexpensive (per
km2); no copyright restrictions
for sharing data.
SPOT Vegetation 2,250 170 for all channels 1,160 MSS 1 Global daily coverage; provides Only available since 1998;
aggregated 10-day average of copyright restrictions for
global vegetation cover. sharing data; sensitive to cloud
cover.
NOAA AVHRR 2,400 Not applicable 1,100 MSS 0.5 (two Data available since 1978; near Coarse resolution; sensitive to
satellites) real-time delivery; NDVI cloud cover.
vegetation index data available
at low or no cost.
DMSP OLS 3,000 Not applicable 550 VIS 1 Data available since 1978 at low Coarse resolution.
2,700 IR or no cost.
aThe cost per scene is computed using a rectangle based on the scene width listed in column 2 (unless otherwise indicated).
bIR = Infrared, MS = Multispectral, Pan = Panchromatic, SWIR = Short Wave Infrared, VIS = Visible
SOURCE: Adapted from U.S. Institute for Peace (2002)
Land-Cover Data Source B: The Moderate Resolution monitor and document global climate change, land use, land
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Sensor cover, and other factors affecting human habitability (Figure
6-7). Launched in December 1999, the Terra satellite is one
The MODIS sensor onboard NASA’s Terra satellite (An-
of NASA’s Earth Observing System satellites. The system-
nex Box 6-4) measures a wide array of parameters, includ-
ing land cover.6 The aim of the Terra research mission is to
6A
MODIS also has a wider array of potential applications to Earth resource
comparison of Annex Boxes 6-2 and 6-4 reveals the higher spatial issues (see Annex Box 6-4).
resolution of MODIS over AVHRR in a number of wavelength ranges.

FIGURE 6-4 A much reduced map of the land cover of Africa

derived from NOAA AVHRR 1 × 1 km data in 1992-1993 (cour-
tesy U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center). The distance (par-
allel to the Equator) from the tip of Horn of Africa to the west coast FIGURE 6-5 Full resolution land-cover map of the area centered
off Guinea-Bissau is 7,350 km. Land cover types: pale yellow = on Mount Kilimanjaro derived from NOAA AVHRR 1 × 1 km data
barren; light brown = savanna; olive = shrubland; pink = grassland; in 1992-1993 (courtesy U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Cen-
bright green = deciduous forest; dark green = evergreen forest. ter). The width of the depicted area is 190 km. Land-cover types:
pale yellow = barren; light brown = savanna; olive = shrubland;
pink = grassland; bright green = deciduous forest; dark green =
evergreen forest; red = developed; dark brown = cropland or pas-
atic observations begun with Terra and maintained on other ture; pale green = cropland or woodland; blue = water.
satellites are planned to continue for at least 15 years.
A major mission of the MODIS sensor is to characterize
land cover and global primary productivity (Justice et al.,
1998). A year (a complete seasonal cycle) is needed to ac- Land-Cover Data Source C: Landsat Data
quire the raw data for each land-cover dataset. The MODIS
Landsat data have spatial resolutions ranging from 15 ×
land-cover product will identify 17 classes of land cover in
15 m (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus–ETM+) to 79 × 79
the IGBP global vegetation classification scheme7 with a
m (Multi-Spectral Scanner) (Chapter 5; Annex Box 5-3). As
spatial resolution of 1 × 1 km. A global vegetation cover
such, Landsat data contain much more spatial information
change product is also being developed at a spatial resolu-
than either AVHRR or MODIS data. The visible, near-infra-
tion of 250 × 250 m. MODIS data products are being re-
red, and middle-infrared Landsat Thematic Mapper bands
leased sequentially, with products for Africa available
are particularly useful for many vegetation-mapping appli-
shortly.
cations. Landsat data, however, are costly and therefore in-
NASA’s MODIS science team is engaging African scien-
accessible to many potential users unless the data have been
tists through networks including the Miombo Network
purchased, and appropriate sharing arrangements negotiated
(Chapter 7). Additionally, NASA science campaigns such as
by a government agency (e.g., NASA [Chapter 5] and NIMA
Safari2000 are working to put MODIS data in the hands of
[see below]) or other organizations (e.g., U.N. Food and
scientists.
Agriculture Organization [FAO] [see below]). The tradeoffs
between AVHRR or MODIS and Landsat data are primarily
between spatial resolution and cost of repeated data collec-
tion for change detection.
7This
EarthSat GeoCover Land-Cover Data
scheme includes 11 natural vegetation classes, 3 developed land
classes, 1 of which is a mosaic with natural vegetation, permanent snow or
In 1999 Earth Satellite Corporation began preparing a
ice, barren or sparsely vegetated, and water. Landsat-based land-cover database called “GeoCover-Land

86 DOWN TO EARTH
FIGURE 6-6 Forest cover for central Africa and deforestation hot spots (areas circled in red) between 1992 and 1994 derived from NOAA
AVHRR data (courtesy of the Tropical Ecosystem Environment Observation by Satellite group). The width of the depicted area is 2,500 km.
Cover” for NIMA (Earth Satellite, 2002). The database for Multi-Spectral Scanner satellite images. The project aims to
Africa has been completed.8 For example, a land-cover map create two databases for Africa: one a digital land-cover da-
of the area centered on Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa is tabase, the other a geographic database (including roads and
shown in Figure 6-8. This product was produced from hydrography), at a scale of 1:200,000 (1:100,000 for small
EarthSat’s GeoCover-Ortho product (Figure 5-2). The data- countries and specific areas) (FAO, 2002a). The land-cover
base has a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m, and contains 13 database can be used for forest and rangeland monitoring,
land-cover classes of Earth’s land areas. EarthSat is also pro- watershed management, biodiversity or climate change stud-
cessing global frames of Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner ies, and in famine early warning systems.
data obtained during the 1970s and global frames of Landsat The first operational module of the Africover initiative
TM data obtained in the late 1990s and early 2000s. covers eastern Africa (including Burundi, Democratic Re-
public of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia,
Africover Land-Cover Mapping Project Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda). Representing roughly one third
Initiated in 1996, FAO’s Africover project responded to of Africa (by area),9 this module began in 1997 with funding
national requests for assistance in obtaining reliable geo- from the Italian and U.S. governments.
graphically referenced information on natural resources at The Africover initiative differs from other examples of
national and regional scales. The principal sources of data land-cover monitoring described in this report because it in-
for the project are Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat volves Africans in many aspects of data processing. The re-
sultant network of scientists and technicians is linking with
related initiatives such as the UN program on Global Terres-
8The data, from as close as possible to peak growing season between
1987 and 1993, are available from Earth Satellite Corporation in raster or
vector format with a 1.4 ha minimum mapping unit, or in Landsat TM raster
9And covered by 400 Landsat images.
format at 0.08 ha.

tion for many areas in the world (USGS, 1998; Clarke, 1999),
including Africa. The satellite photographs may be browsed
at no cost using the USGS Global Land Information System
and purchased for U.S.$16 to $75 (depending on the size of
the photograph) from the USGS EROS Data Center (USGS,
2002b).10 The photographs date from the late 1950s to early
1970s (Peebles, 1997) and often are the earliest satellite pho-
tographic record of an area. They are baseline data with
which to compare later images for change detection. In an
application of some of the hundreds of photographs collected
over Africa, Tappan et al. (2000) used Argon and Corona
data from 1963 to map historical agricultural practices in
Senegal.
Corona, Argon, and Lanyard Images

In 1959 the United States launched Corona, its first re-
connaissance satellite (Day et al., 1998). In it’s ninth and
first successful mission Corona provided more photographic
coverage of the Soviet Union than all previous U-2 spy plane
missions combined. Between 1960 and 1972 the spatial reso-
lution of a sequence of Corona satellites improved from 25-
40 ft to 4.5-6 ft (Ruffner, 1995; McDonald, 1997) (Table 6-
3).11 By 1972 Corona missions, which were followed by the
Argon and Lanyard missions, acquired over 800,000 images
of Earth (Clarke, 1999) (e.g., Figure 6-9).
FIGURE 6-7 A land-cover image of the middle and lower Nile Land Cover Data Source E: Space Photography
from Terra MODIS imagery (courtesy NASA).
Since 1961, NASA astronauts have used hand-held cam-
eras to capture approximately 340,000 photographs of Earth
trial Observing Strategy (Box 6-1). Land-cover data are de- (Lulla et al., 1994). Many of these photographs have spatial
rived primarily from on-screen image interpretation in host resolutions similar to Landsat Thematic Mapper and Terra
countries. The land-cover classification is performed manu- MODIS data.12 They indicate land cover and, in areas with
ally (as opposed to automatically by a computer) using the repeat coverage, any change in this parameter since 1961.
“Africover Interpretation and Mapping System,” and the Space photography was formalized in the Space Shuttle
“FAO Land Cover Classification System” (Degregorio and Earth Observation Photography program and is continued
Jansen, 2000). In addition to Landsat data, aerial photogra- on the International Space Station using digital imaging sys-
phy and other geographically referenced data are used dur- tems in addition to cameras. Images with a spatial resolution
ing the classification process, and subsequently the accuracy
of classifications is verified in the field. The land-cover da-
tabase is accessible through the Africover Database Gate-
way (FAO, 2002b). 10The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration holds the
original negatives as well as technical mission-related documents that in-

clude the orbit parameters for each mission.
Land-Cover Data Source D: Declassified Remote Sensor 11The code word “keyhole,” abbreviated to “KH,” referred to the camera
Data systems on these reconnaissance programs. KH-1, KH-2, KH-3, and KH-4
were Corona sensors; Argon’s camera was KH-5, and Lanyard’s camera
Executive Order Number 12951, issued by President Wil-
was KH-6. All KH-4 satellites (1962–1972) contained twin panoramic cam-
liam Clinton on February 22, 1995, directed that eras that could obtain stereoscopic photographs, useful for viewing the land
surface in three dimensions.
[i]magery acquired by the space-based national intelligence 12Metadata for the space photography consists of latitude and longitude
reconnaissance systems known as the Corona, Argon, and of the center of the photograph, position of spacecraft, degree of cloud
Lanyard Missions shall, within 18 months of the date of this cover, description of observable features within the picture, and geographi-
order be declassified. cal information about the political location. Coverage is primarily between
28 degrees N and S latitudes but up to 57 degrees N and S latitudes. Stereo-
These declassified photographs from U.S. spy satellites are a scopic coverage is available for a number of areas, enabling construction of
rich source of historical land-cover and land-use informa- digital elevation models in certain instances.

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BOX 6-1
The Global Observations of Forest-Global Observations of Land Cover Dynamics Program
The Global Observations of Forest–Global Observations of Land The program is partnered with the FAO and its Africover project, and
Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) program is an international activity pro- operates in Africa through two major networks of local participants. One
viding space-based and in situ observations of forest and other vegeta- network coordinates scientists from central Africa in the application of
tion cover for (1) sustainable management of terrestrial resources and remote-sensing data for forest-cover change analysis and methods for
(2) obtaining an accurate understanding of the terrestrial carbon budget. measuring and inventorying forest resources. In southern Africa the pro-
It operates under the auspices of the U.N. program on Global Terrestrial gram is implemented through collaborative links with the Miombo Net-
Observing Strategy. work (Chapter 7), a network of scientists in the region focused on fire
The GOFC-GOLD program works to accomplish its objectives by (1) detection and land-use and ad cover change.
providing a forum for users of satellite data to discuss their needs and for The GOFC-GOLD implementation strategy is to demonstrate opera-
producers to respond through improvements to their programs; (2) pro- tional forest monitoring at regional and global scales by conducting pilot
viding regional and global datasets containing information on location of projects and developing prototype products within three themes: (1) for-
different forest types, major changes in forest cover, and the biological est cover characteristics and changes, (2) forest fire monitoring and map-
functioning of forests (to help quantify the contribution forests make as ping, and (3) forest biophysical processes.
absorbers and emitters of greenhouse gases); (3) promoting international
networks for data access, data sharing, and collaboration; and (4) stimu-
lating the production of improved datasets.
FIGURE 6-8 A land-cover map of Mount Kilimanjaro from the EarthSat GeoCover land-cover mapping project. The map contains 13
classes and was derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery obtained in the early 1990s. Compare this map with the original imagery
found in Figure 5-2 (courtesy of Earth Satellite Corporation). The width of the depicted area is 110 km. Dark greens represent the most dense
vegetation, pale greens are sparse vegetation, yellows are no vegetation, and browns are croplands.

TABLE 6-3 Summary of Declassified Satellite Missions
Orbital Satellite System Dates of Operation Ground Resolution Frames
KH-1 (Single camera) June 1959-September 1960 25-40 ft. 1,432

KH-2 (Single camera) October 1960-October 1961 25-40 ft. 7,246
KH-3 (Single camera) August 1961-January 1962 25-40 ft. 9,918
KH-4 (2 cameras) February 1962-December 1963 25-40 ft 101,743
KH-4A (2 cameras) August 1963-August 1969 9 ft 517,688
KH-4B (2 cameras) September 1967-May 1972 4.5-6 ft 188,526
KH-5 (Global coverage mapping camera) February 1961-August 1964 460 ft 38,578
KH-6 (Panoramic camera) July 1963 6 ft < 910
SOURCE: Ruffner (1995); McDonald (1997); USGS (1998).
of 6 × 6 m are being obtained from the International Space nasa.gov>. Slides, prints, or high-resolution uncompressed
Station (Robinson and Evans, 2002). Approximately 14 per- digital files are available for the cost of processing.
cent of NASA’s space shuttle photographs cover parts of
Africa (Figures 6-10 and 6-11). The photographs are rou-
The Future of Land-Cover Data Sources for Africa
tinely digitized and are in the public domain. NASA’s
Johnson Space Center maintains all cataloged space shuttle There are low-cost sources of coarse and medium spatial
Earth photography, and digital files (in compressed format) resolution land-cover information for Africa. These come
of all the photographs may be accessed through the follow- from sensors that include AVHRR (1 × 1 km), MODIS (1 ×
ing web sites: <http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov> or <http://eol.jsc. 1 km to 250 × 250 m), and Landsat satellite sensors (79 × 79
m to 15 × 15 m). The resultant datasets include Global Land
Cover (AVHRR), TREES (AVHRR), GeoCover Land Cover
(Landsat), and Africover (Landsat). Such datasets are valu-
able resources for natural resource management and devel-
opment planning in rural areas. Similar datasets can be con-
structed in the future for change detection as long as there is
continued flow of data from AVHRR, MODIS, and Landsat
(or their equivalents).
Without some way to assure data continuity (NRC, 1995),
investments by development organizations in training and
capacity building will be less useful than they could be. And
without assurances that these investments will be useful in
the future, it will be more difficult for African governments
to invest in their own capacity and infrastructure. Changes in
data access policy, data cost, or the elimination of an obser-
vation program create uncertainties about long-term benefits
of international programs to Africans.
There are two areas in particular in which U.S. govern-
ment agencies should contribute to data continuity.
1. Until at least 2018 NASA, NOAA, and DOD should

carry out their plan for the National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System to en-
sure that it supplies relatively coarse spatial and
high temporal frequency observations (such as the
AVHRR follow-on) that are necessary for a multi-
tude of applications in Africa and elsewhere.
FIGURE 6-9 A much reduced photomosaic of Africa produced
from Argon (KH-5) photography obtained from 1961 to 1964 (cour- 2. NASA and USGS should take measures to ensure
tesy U.S. Geological Survey and Keith Clarke, Project Corona at that the Landsat data continuity mission(s) pro-
the University of California at Santa Barbara). The distance (paral- vides long-term continuous data, perhaps through
lel to the Equator) from the tip of the Horn of Africa to the west making the Landsat program an operational sys-
coast off Guinea-Bissau is 7,350 km. tem for land observations, to support sustainable

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development and natural resource management in sider purchasing very high spatial resolution images (i.e.,
Africa and elsewhere. NASA should also ensure < 1 × 1 m) on a regular basis (at 5 to 10 year intervals) for
that sensors on its Terra and Aqua satellites (e.g., urban areas in Africa and donating them to African or-
MODIS, ASTER, AMSR-E) continue to provide ganizations to ensure continuity of the data source and
data for meteorological and land observation ap- change detection. The imagery might include airborne ana-
plications. log or digital photography or satellite-derived high-resolu-
tion imagery. The areas surveyed could be requested by Af-
Declassified spy satellite images (e.g., Corona, Argon, rican organizations on the basis of importance of problem
Lanyard) and space photography are sources of early (1960s and technical and organizational capacity to use the data.
onward) land-cover information against which later sources One model for this concept is the U.S. Science Data Buy
can be compared for change detection. What is lacking is a (Box 5-3).
low-cost source of very high spatial resolution, up-to-date
imagery for urban areas in Africa. A number of Agenda 21
THE CONDITION OF VEGETATION AND HYDROLOGIC
issues center on urban areas, and “image grants” would help
RESOURCES
to inventory and map the continually changing characteris-
tics of urban infrastructures. Therefore, USAID should con- Measurements of the condition of vegetation, soil, and
water resources (biophysical measurements) are needed to
FIGURE 6-10 The geographic distribution of 54,866 space shuttle photographs obtained over Africa prior to 2002 (courtesy Kamlesh Lulla,
NASA Johnson Space Center). The distance (parallel to the Equator) from the tip of Horn of Africa to the west coast off Guinea-Bissau is
7,350 km.

ADDS, 2002), pointing to potential food security problems

and drought. NDVI is derived (Annex Box 6-5) using data
from NOAA’s AVHRR sensor (Annex Boxes 6-2 and 6-3)
and the European METEOSAT remote-sensing system.
The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS
NET) uses NDVI to determine the distribution of vegetation
condition across Africa every 10 days (Figure 6-12). NDVI
images are used to contrast the current condition of vegeta-
tion with that of previous times to detect anomalies that could
guide famine relief efforts.
FEWS NET has built a valuable archive of NDVI in Af-
rica over the period from 1982 to present. The archived data
are not without flaws, however (Box 6-2). The planned Na-
tional Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite
System (NPOESS) (Annex Box 6-3) will carry an improved
version of the AVHRR sensor that should solve some of the
problems working with NOAA AVHRR imagery. FEWS
NET NDVI data are distributed to the public through the
U.S. Geological Survey’s Africa Data Dissemination Ser-
vice (ADDS, 2002).
FIGURE 6-11 Natural color space shuttle photography of Mount Enhanced Vegetation Index
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (courtesy Kamlesh Lulla, NASA Johnson The Enhanced Vegetation Index is derived from atmo-
Space Center). The width of the depicted area is 280 km. spherically corrected MODIS hyperspectral data from
NASA’s Terra satellite (Figure 6-13) (Annex Box 6-4).
MODIS data have higher spatial resolution (up to 250 × 250
address many environmental and human-induced challenges. m) than AVHRR data and greater spectral sensitivity.
For example, these data are pertinent to Agenda 21 issues,
including integrated planning and management of land re- Leaf-Area Index and Fraction of Photosynthetically Ac-
sources, combating deforestation, combating desertification tive Radiation
and drought, and promoting sustainable agriculture and rural The interaction of sunlight with a forest canopy or other
development (Table 2-5). This section examines the capabil- vegetation influences climate. Knowing how much light is
ity of remote-sensing technology to measure (1) vegetation absorbed and distributed among the canopy, understory, and
condition, including fire, and (2) rainfall. ground reveals the functional health and productivity of for-
ests, rangelands, and croplands, and improves predictions of
Vegetation Condition energy flow between the land surface and the atmosphere.
Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically
The health and productivity of African ecosystems (e.g., Active Radiation (FPAR) measurements indicate the green
forests, rangeland, and cropland) can be measured using veg- leaf area and how much sunlight the leaves are absorbing.
etation indexes such as the Normalized Difference Vegeta- Therefore, they aid in understanding interactions of sunlight
tion Index, the Enhanced Vegetation Index, the Leaf Area with vegetation. For example, LAI and FPAR can be used to
Index, and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation. assess the grazing potential of rangelands. Both indexes can
Additionally, the occurrence of vegetation on fire can be be derived from MODIS satellite imagery (Annex Box 6-4)
detected remotely. (Knyazikhin, 2002) (Figure 6-14). Daily measurements are
combined at weekly intervals into maps that show leaf area
Vegetation Indexes and absorbed sunlight for every square kilometer of Earth’s
land surface during the period. These data products are avail-
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index able less than one month after collection (NASA, 2002a).
The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)13
is used routinely to assess vegetation condition (e.g., Tappan
et al., 1992). The NDVI indicates the amount and vigor of Remote Detection of Fire
vegetation (Prince and Justice, 1991; Tucker et al., 1991; Naturally induced (e.g., by lightening) and human-in-
duced fires can be remotely detected. Two sources of data
for fire detection are the Defense Meteorological Satellite
13Annex Box 6-5 contains more details on the NDVI calculation.

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FIGURE 6-12 Ten-day composite Normalized Difference Vegeta-

tion Index (NDVI) map of Africa derived from NOAA AVHRR
imagery in February 2002 (dekad 2). The image is composed of 8 ×
8 km pixels. The darker colors indicate denser vegetation (courtesy FIGURE 6-13 Enhanced Vegetation Index map of Africa derived
U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center International Program, from MODIS hyper-spectral imagery collected between February
FEWS NET, USAID, NOAA, and Global Inventory Monitoring 21 and April 21, 2001 (courtesy of NASA). The darker colors rep-
and Modeling Studies at NASA). The distance (parallel to the Equa- resent denser vegetation. The distance (parallel to the Equator) from
tor) from the tip of the Horn of Africa to the west coast off Guinea- the tip of the Horn of Africa to the west coast off Guinea-Bissau is
Bissau is 7,350 km. 7,350 km.
BOX 6-2
Correcting AGRHYMET’s NDVI Archive
Program’s (DMSP) Operational Linescan System products
(Annex Box 5-6) (Cahoon et al., 1992), and NASA’s MO-
FEWS NET is one of the most successful demonstrations of the
DIS sensor (Annex Box 6-4).
value of remotely sensed imagery in Africa. However, AGRHYMET in
The DMSP fire products are generated by overlaying the
Niger found the quality of the NDVI data to be inconsistent, rendering
lights detected from a single orbit on a reference database of
them unreliable for desertification monitoring and drought early warn-
stable lights (e.g., city lights) to reveal new sources of light,
ing. Problems included imprecise geographic registration (up to 5 km
such as fires (Elvidge et al., 2002) (Figure 5-12). The MO-
off) temporal gaps (with only the growing season covered in most
DIS products include (1) surface temperature (fires are hot!)
years), and anomalously low NDVI values. Consequently, AGRHYMET
and (2) fire occurrence and burn scars (e.g. Figure 6-15)
requested technical assistance from the U.S. government (USGS and
(NASA, 2002b). Fire occurrence data are produced daily (or,
NASA) to correct its NDVI archive and improve its operational NDVI
for rapid-response products, more frequently).
capability.
A long-term, reliable NDVI archive will permit AGRHYMET to
conduct detailed analyses of desertification, one of its obligations Rainfall
under the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, in addition to
The livelihoods of the majority of Africans are intimately
improving early warning information routinely distributed by
related to rainfall, which varies greatly from year to year and
AGRHYMET. AGRHYMET staff conduct the computer processing with
from place to place. Research over the last three decades has
onsite assistance from USGS and NASA staff. Subsequently, USGS
made it possible to obtain rainfall rates using remote passive
and AGRHYMET are posting the data on their Web sites for public
microwave sensors (Annex Box 6-6). Two sources of rain-
access (<http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/adds/index.php> and <http://
fall data are the DMSP Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
www.agrhymet.ne>, respectively).
(SSM/I) and NASA and the National Space Development

FIGURE 6-14 (a) Leaf Area Index and (b) Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation maps of Africa derived from MODIS
hyperspectral imagery (courtesy of NASA). The distance (parallel to the Equator) from the tip of the Horn of Africa to the west coast off
Guinea-Bissau is 7,350 km.
Agency of Japan’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ellite (METEOSAT), passive microwave data from the Ad-
(TRMM) (Hou et al., 2001).14 vanced Microwave Sounding Unit on NOAA’s Polar-
orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES),
DMSP SSM/I data, and rain gauge data retrieved with the
Rainfall Detection by the Defense Meteorological Satellite
World Meteorological Organization Global Telecommuni-
Program
cation System. All of this information is processed and made
NOAA developed methods for estimating rainfall rates available daily and in 10-day, monthly, and seasonal sum-
from the SSM/I onboard DMSP satellites through calibra- maries (Climate Prediction Center, 2002)
tion with surface rainfall measurements. Since July 1987,
global monthly rainfall data have been produced in 100 ×
Rainfall Detection by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring
100 km and 250 × 250 km grids (Ferraro, 1997; Li et al.,
Mission
1998). These data are available from the National Climatic
Data Center Satellite Data Services Division at a cost per The TRMM was launched in 1997 and continues today
orbit of $8 plus cost of media (from <dmsp@ngdc. (Annex Box 6-6). The mission’s passive microwave sensor
noaa.gov>). (the TRMM Microwave Imager, TMI) supplies quantitative
As a contribution to the USAID-funded FEWS NET, rainfall information at a spatial resolution of 5 to 45 km.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center also developed a pro- Figure 6-16 depicts a one-month average of rainfall mea-
gram for rainfall estimation for Africa. The program uses surements acquired during January of 1998
data from numerous sources, including thermal infrared im- A new series of experimental near-real-time precipitation
agery from the European geostationary meteorological sat- estimates is available for latitudes between 50 degrees north
and 50 degrees south within about six hours of observation.
The data products include a TRMM-calibrated merger of all
available TMI and SSM/I precipitation estimates, available
in three-hour accumulations (NASA, 2002c).
14A third potential source that uses this technology is NASA’s Aqua
satellite, which was launched on May 4, 2002.

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FIGURE 6-15 Results of querying the MODIS Land Science Team Fire Web site (NASA, 2002b). The image shows fires (in red) during
October 2001 overlaid on a vegetation surface reflectance image (courtesy NASA).
DATA FOR MANAGING HUMAN HEALTH ning for distribution of medical supplies, assistance, and
food. GIS also is a tool for addressing the spread of diseases.
Human health is a major challenge for African societies Many of the factors that influence the spread of disease
and economies. Disease disrupts families, education, and the can be mapped using remotely sensed data. NASA’s Center
workforce. Of the 40 million people worldwide who are infor Health Applications of Aerospace Related Technologies
fected with AIDS or HIV, about 25 million are in Africa, and (CHAART) generates data that illustrate links between disease
the number of Africans infected each year from AIDS-re- and such factors as vegetation that can be remotely sensed
lated tuberculosis is about 10 million (WHO, 2001). Addi- (Table 6-4). CHAART evaluates existing and planned remote
tionally, there are approximately 110 million clinical cases sensor systems enabling human health scientists to determine
of malaria worldwide per year, and over 80 percent of these relevant data for epidemiological, entomological, and eco-
occur in sub-Saharan Africa. logical research. It also develops remote-sensing-based models
Although raw numbers on disease incidence are valuable of disease transmission risk (Beck et al., 2000). CHAART
to decision-makers, the distribution and rate of diffusion of conducts several research projects in Africa that apply re-
disease relates to complex interactions among multiple fac- motely sensed data (mainly from Landsat Thematic Mapper
tors, many of which are geographic (e.g., climate, vegeta- images) to monitor and predict disease (e.g., Table 6-5).
tion, topography, elevation, demography, poverty). A geo- People are using remotely sensed images and data in GISs
graphic information system facilitates the integration and for monitoring and evaluating factors associated with dis-
analysis of these diverse data layers (e.g., Box 6-3) and plan- ease. They are using satellite instruments for mapping, sur-

BOX 6-3
Controlling Schistosomiasis in Africa
Schistosomiasis is a snail-borne disease. The ability to identify this effort in Egypt in which a schistosomiasis risk model was developed
health threat and monitor the disease enables public health officials to for the Ministry of Health (Abdel-Rahman et al., 2001). The model
take preventive measures (e.g., vector control). Often the identification of enables the ministry to make more accurate decisions in its program
infected human hosts and vector snails depends on labor-intensive of controlling the spread of schistosomiasis. This GIS-based model,
ground survey methods for data collection. This method introduces in- along with the data, constitutes the decision-support system. Two
consistencies that lead to inaccuracies. By contrast, satellite remote-sens- sources of remotely sensed data were used. First, diurnal temperature
ing methods make it possible to obtain standardized data over large geo- range and a vegetation index (NDVI) were estimated from NOAA
graphic areas (Abdel-Rahman et al., 2001). As a result there is increasing AVHRR data. Second, Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery was used to
interest in these methods for health-related applications. generate a base map. These data were integrated in a GIS with a data-
Remotely sensed data (from NOAA’s AVHRR sensor) are being used base of schistosomiasis prevalence, ground survey results on soil
in spatial decision-support systems to manage control programs for type and salinity, and thematic information from 1:250,000 and
schistosomiasis in Africa. These efforts include a program in the Lake 1:10,000 paper maps. From this study it became clear that remote-
Victoria region building on Malone et al.’s (2001) work in East Africa. The sensing could extend the capability of the ministry to manage schisto-
Lake Victoria program also benefits from experiences during a four-year somiasis in Egypt.
veillance, prediction, and control of disease transmission.

Moreover, they draw links between environmental variables
and disease. As the availability of and access to data and
decision-support tools increases, geographic information
will become more prominent in efforts to control disease and
protect human health in Africa.
COORDINATION AMONG DATA PRODUCERS AND

USERS
Moving beyond the current state of the art in the applica-
tion of geographic data in Africa will require greater atten-
tion to coordination among data providers, development assis-
tance agencies, and the science community and end-users in
Africa. Already the requirements for the next generation of
remote-sensing systems are being defined or developed in
many parts of the world, yet there appears to be little dialog
between the space agencies and the development assistance
agencies, and even less input from potential end users of the
data in Africa. Few of the geographic data generation pro-
grams now in place have a formal process by which lessons
learned in the application of existing data for decision-mak-
ing are fed back into the definition of future observation and
data system requirements, particularly in government sci-
ence agencies. Consequently, data providers, U.S. govern-
ment agencies, and partners should work closely with
FIGURE 6-16 Average rainfall during January 1998 from the African organizations to define and integrate the data
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission passive microwave sensor. needs of African users into future data-gathering mis-
Low rainfall is indicated by light blue and heavy rainfall by orange sions, and to maximize efficiency of new programs
and red (courtesy of NASA and the National Space Development through a coordinated approach. As an added benefit, this
Agency of Japan). dialog will allow users to express their data processing needs.

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TABLE 6-4 Links Between Disease and Factors That Can Be Remotely Sensed
Factor Disease Mapping Opportunity
Vegetation/crop type Malaria Breeding/resting/feeding habitats; crop pesticide vector resistance

Schistosomiasis Agricultural association with snails; use of human fertilizers
Trypanosomiasis Glossina habitat (forests, around villages, depending on species)
Yellow fever Reservoir (monkey) habitat
Vegetation green-up Malaria Timing of habitat creation
Rift Valley fever Rainfall
Trypanosomiasis Glossina survival
Deforestation Malaria Habitat creation (for vectors requiring sunlit pools); habitat destruction (for vectors requiring
shaded pools)
Yellow fever Migration of infected human workers into forests where vectors exist; migration of disease
reservoirs (monkeys) in search of new habitat
Forest patches Yellow fever Reservoir (monkey) habitat; migration routes
Flooding Malaria Mosquito habitat
Rift Valley fever Breeding habitat for mosquito vector
Schistosomiasis Habitat creation for snails
Permanent water and wetlands Filariasis Breeding habitat for Mansonia mosquitoes
Malaria Breeding habitat for mosquitoes
Schistosomiasis Snail habitat
Canals Malaria Dry season mosquito-breeding habitat; ponding; leaking water
Schistosomiasis Snail habitat
SOURCE: Adapted from Beck et al. (2000).
TABLE 6-5 Research Using Remotely-Sensed Data to Map Disease Vectors
Disease Vector Location Sensora Reference
Dracunculiasis Cyclops spp. Benin Landsat TM Clarke et al, 1990

Cyclops spp. Nigeria Landsat TM Ahearn and De Rooy, 1996
Filariasis Culex pipiens Egypt AVHRR Hassan et al., 1998a
Culex pipiens Egypt Landsat TM Hassan et al., 1998b; Cross et al., 1996
Malaria Anoepheles spp. Gambia AVHRR, Meteosat Thomson et al., 1997; Beck et al., 1994
Kenya RADARSAT-1 Kaya et al., 2002
Rift Valley fever Aedes & Culex. spp Kenya AVHRR Linthicum et al., 1990; Pope et al., 1992
Culex. spp. Kenya Landsat TM, Synthetic Aperture Radar Linthicum et al., 1994
Culex. spp. Senegal SPOT, AVHRR Malone et al., 1994
Schistosomiasis Biomphalaria spp. Egypt AVHRR Rogers, 1991
Trypanosomiasis Glossina spp Kenya, Uganda AVHRR Kitron et al., 1996
Glossina spp Kenya Landsat TM Rogers and Randolph, 1991
Glossina spp West Africa AVHRR Rogers and Williams, 1993
Glossina spp Africa AVHRR Robinson et al., 1997
Glossina spp Southern Africa AVHRR CEOS, 1995
aTM = Thematic Mapper; AVHRR = (NOAA’s) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer; SPOT = Système Pour l’Observation de la Terre.
SOURCE: Adapted from Beck et al. (2000)
For example, the option for users in developing countries to urban land-cover data, available at low cost for addressing
obtain geographic data in processed or raw form from gov- Agenda 21 issues in Africa. There are many existing appli-
ernment and private data sources will allow flexibility in the cations of these data. Continuity of the data sources or their
required level of geospatial capacity to use the data. equivalents, options for raw and processed data, and coordi-
nation among data providers and users are crucial for contin-
ued and expanded use of geographic data for sustainable
SUMMARY
development in Africa.
Many types of thematic geographic data such as land The next chapter explores how people manage, analyze,
cover, biophysical data, and some data for managing human and subsequently integrate geographic data into the decision-
health are, with the exception of very high spatial resolution making process.

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napolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. cessed May 31, 2002.

ANNEX 6
ANNEX BOX 6-1

High Spatial Resolution Satellite Systems: IKONOS and Quickbird
The IKONOS satellite was launched by Space Imaging, Inc., on Sep- www.rsi.ca/products/quickbird/news/hir_qbi_news
tember 24, 1999 (<http://www.spaceimaging.com>). The satellite has a 2_041802.htm>).
linear array remote-sensing system that collects 1 × 1 m (0.45-0.90 µm) There are several innovative characteristics associated with these re-
panchromatic data and four multispectral visible and near-infrared bands mote-sensing systems.
(0.45-0.52 µm; 0.52-0.60 µm; 0.63-0.69 µm; and 0.76-0.90 µm) at 4 × 4 m.
- Data are obtained using linear arrays to achieve a higher degree of
IKONOS is in a Sun-synchronous orbit 681 km above Earth. It has cross-
geometric stability in the imagery.
track and along-track pointing capability and a nominal swath width of
- The orbital platform is not buffeted by atmospheric turbulence, which
11 km.
decreases roll, pitch, and yaw error.
The Quickbird satellite, launched by DigitalGlobe has a linear array
- Data are collected as a continuous swath (e.g., 11 km), reducing the
remote-sensing system that acquires 61 × 61 cm spatial resolution pan-
amount of data to be mosaicked.
chromatic data (0.45-0.90 µm) and four multispectral visible and near-
- Eleven-bit data are superior to previous 8-bit data or film silver ha-
infrared bands (0.45-0.52 µm; 0.52-0.60 µm; 0.63-0.69 µm; 0.76-0.89
lide sensitivity.
µm) at 4 × 4 m. It has a swath width of 20-40 km. Prices for standard
- They can obtain overlapping, stereoscopic views of the terrain.
panchromatic images are $22.50/km and $25/km for multispectral with a
- The sensor is pointable, which increases the probability of obtaining
minimum order of 64 km2 (<http://www.digitalglobe.com>; <http://
imagery of the area of interest.

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ANNEX BOX 6-2

Polar Operational Environmental Satellite Program (POES) and
the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
The POES program is a cooperative effort between NASA, NOAA, the Each satellite orbits Earth 14 times daily and has a swath width for
United Kingdom, and France. The most valuable POES instrument for each pass of 2,399 km (1,491 mi). NOAA/NESDIS (National Environmen-
Agenda 21 issues is the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer tal Satellite, Data, and Information Service) in Suitland, Maryland, re-
(AVHRR). AVHRR data are used to study and monitor vegetation condi- ceives both worldwide recorded and direct readout AVHRR data from the
tions in ecosystems, including forests, tundra, and grasslands. Applica- Wallops Island, Virginia, and Gilmore Creek, Alaska, stations. NOAA/
tions include agricultural assessment and land-cover mapping. NESDIS processes, archives, and reproduces the data.
AVHRR has a spatial resolution of approximately 1.1 × 1.1 km at the POES and its continuation, NPOESS (Annex Box 6-3), have the fol-
satellite nadir from the nominal orbit altitude of 833 km (517 mi). The lowing launch dates:
AVHRR measures reflected or emitted radiant energy in five spectral bands
that vary according to which of nine NOAA AVHRR instruments (numbered Sensor Systems Date
by the satellite on which it flies) is being used.
Planned
METOP–2 Spring 2008
NOAA-6,8,10 NOAA-7,9,11,12,14,15
METOP–1 June 2003
Band 1 0.58-0.68 µm 0.58-0.68 NOAA–NPOESS N January 2008
Band 2 0.725-1.10 0.725-1.10 NOAA–N December 2003
Band 3 3.55-3.93 3.55-3.93 NOAA – M June 24 2002
Band 4 10.50-11.50 10.30-11.3 Operational
Band 5 10.50-11.50 11.50-12.5 NOAA–L (16) September 21 2000
NOAA–K (15) May 13 1998
NOAA–J (14) December 1994
SOURCE: NOAA (2001a).
ANNEX BOX 6-3

National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)
In 1994 a decision was made to eventually merge the U.S. Department include atmospheric; clouds; Earth radiation budget; land, wa-
of Defense’s (DOD’s) Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) ter, and sea surface temperature; ocean color; and low light im-
and the NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) agery. The VIIRS will combine the radiometric accuracy of the
system into a single system: the National Polar-orbiting Operational Envi- POES AVHRR with the high (0.65 × 0.65 km) spatial resolution
ronmental Satellite System (NPOESS). The system is jointly managed by of the Operational Linescan System (OLS) flown on DMSP to
NOAA, DOD, and NASA to: collect 26 types of environmental data (called environmental data
records).
• provide a national operational polar-orbiting, environmental re-
• CMIS (Conical Microwave Imager/Sounder) collects global mi-
mote-sensing capability;
crowave radiometry and sounding data to obtain information on
• achieve savings by converging DOD and NOAA satellite pro-
clouds, sea winds, hurricanes, and rainfall.
grams;
• CrIS (Crosstrack Infrared Sounder) measures Earth’s radiation
• incorporate new technologies from NASA; and
to determine the vertical distribution of temperature, moisture,
• encourage international cooperation.
and pressure in the atmosphere.
NPOESS will provide an operational remote-sensing capability from • GPSOS (Global Positioning System Occultation Sensor) mea-
2008 to 2018. It consists of two satellites in two orbital planes that will sures the refraction of radiowave signals from the U.S. GPS and
replace the DMSP and POES constellations. NPOESS will also include a Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System to characterize the
European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites ionosphere.
(EUMETSAT) instrument called the Meteorological Operational Satellite • OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite) collects data to per-
(METOP). mit the calculation of the vertical and horizontal distribution of
Six NPOESS sensor systems are currently under development (NOAA, atmospheric ozone.
2001b). • SESS (Space Environment Sensor Suite) collects data on neu-
• VIIRS (Visible/Infrared Image/Radiometer) collects visible and tral and charged particles, electron and magnetic fields, and
infrared radiometric data between 0.3 and 14 µm. Data types optical signatures of aurora.
SOURCE: NOAA (2001a,b).

ANNEX BOX 6-4

The Earth Observing System Terra Satellite:
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
NASA’s Terra satellite is the flagship of the Earth Observing System Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation
(EOS). This research satellite was launched on December 18, 1999, into a (FPAR), and surface temperature. There are approximately 40 MODIS data
705-km Sun-synchronous orbit. It contains five remote-sensing systems: products. These products arise from MODIS Scientific Algorithm Theo-
the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer retical Basis Documents (ATBD’s) that convert the radiances received by
(ASTER), the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), the the instrument into geophysical quantities. The following list summarizes
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), the Moderate Resolu- some of the major ATBDs associated with MODIS land applications.
tion Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Measurements of Pol-
lution in the Troposphere (MOPITT). MODIS Land Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents (ATBDs)
MODIS began collecting science data on February 24, 2000. It views
Document Name
the entire surface of Earth every one to two days. It has a field of view of ±
55˚ off-nadir, which yields a large swath width of 2,330 km. MODIS ob- ATBD-MOD-08 Atmospheric Correction Algorithm
tains high radiometric resolution images (12 bit) of daylight-reflected so- ATBD-MOD-09 Surface Reflectance: Reflectances BRDF/Albedo
lar radiation and day/night thermal emission over all regions of the globe. ATBD-MOD-10 Snow and Sea Ice Mapping Algorithm
MODIS’s scanning, imaging radiometer collects data in 36 co-registered ATBD-MOD-11 Land Temperature and Emissivity
spectral bands: 20 bands from 0.4-3 µm and 16 bands from 3-15 µm. ATBD-MOD-12 Land Cover
MODIS has one of the most comprehensive calibration systems ever flown ATBD-MOD-13 Vegetation Indexes
on a remote-sensing instrument. ATBD-MOD-14 Thermal Anomalies, Fires and Biomass Burning
MODIS’s relatively coarse spatial resolution ranges from 250 × 250 m ATBD-MOD-15 LAI (Leaf Area Index) and FPAR (Fraction of Pho-
(bands 1-2) to 500 × 500 m (bands 3-7) and 1 × 1 km (bands 8-36). tosynthetically Active Radiation)
Consequently MODIS is valuable for regional Earth-resource analyses, ATBD-MOD-16 PSN (daily photosynthesis) and ANPP (Annual
especially those dealing with vegetation characteristics and water quality. Net Primary Production)
MODIS data can be used to compute an Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), ATBD-MOD-29 Enhanced Land Cover and Land Cover Change
ANNEX BOX 6-5

Calculation of Vegetation Indexes from AVHRR data
Vegetation indexes from AVHRR data are based on mathematical relationship (Kimes, et al., 1984):
modeling of spectral reflectance measurement in various parts of the elec-
tromagnetic spectrum. Most indexes make maximum use of the fact that NDVI = (NIR – VIS)/(NIR + VIS).
vegetation absorbs much of the incident blue and red radiant energy and
reflects much of the incident near-infrared radiant energy (Jensen, 2000). The magnitude of the NDVI is related to the level of photosynthetic
This inverse relationship is based on the physiological structure of healthy activity in the vegetation. NDVI is a non-linear function that varies between
living vegetation and how light interacts with the vegetative matter. For –1 and +1 (undefined when NIR and VIS are zero). Values of NDVI for
example, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is calculated vegetated land generally range from about 0.1 to 0.7, with values greater
using the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) bands and the following than 0.5 indicating dense vegetation.

102 DOWN TO EARTH
ANNEX BOX 6-6

Measuring Hydrologic Variables by Remote-Sensing
Hydrologic variables such as precipitation and soil moisture can be tering-based global land rainfall algorithm has been developed. Monthly
detected using passive microwave sensors mounted on satellites or air- rainfall at 100 × 100-km and 250 × 250-km grids have been produced for
craft. Earth materials do not emit a tremendous amount of passive micro- the period from July 1987 to the present (Ferraro, 1997; Li et al., 1998).
wave energy, however a suite of radiometers have been developed that
record subtle levels of passive microwave energy (Engman and Gurney, Rainfall Detection from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement
1991). Mission
A scanning passive microwave radiometer collects data across-track The TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) is a passive microwave sensor
as the aircraft or satellite moves forward. The result is a matrix of bright- designed to provide quantitative rainfall information over a 487-mile (780-
ness temperature values that form a passive microwave image. Passive km) swath. It is based on the design of the SSM/I and measures the
microwave radiometers generally record energy at frequencies between 1 intensity of radiation at five frequencies: 10.7 (45-km spatial resolution),
and 200 GHz (at wavelengths of 0.15 to 30 cm). The most commonly used 19.4, 21.3, 37, and 85.5 GHz (5-km spatial resolution). Dual polarization
frequencies (channels) are centered at 1, 4, 6, 10, 18, 21, 37, 50, 85, 157, at four frequencies provides nine channels. The new 10.7-GHz frequency
and 183 GHz. The recorded bandwidths (range of frequencies) are usually provides a more linear response for the high rainfall rates common in
fairly broad so that enough passive microwave energy is available to be tropical rainfall (Jensen, 2000).
recorded by the antenna. For the same reason the spatial resolution of Calculating the rainfall rates from both the SSM/I and TMI sensors
passive microwave radiometers is usually very large. Aircraft sensors fly- requires complicated calculations because water bodies such as oceans
ing closer to the ground may have spatial resolutions measured in meters and lakes emit only about one-half the energy specified by Planck’s radia-
while most satellite passive microwave scanning radiometers have a spa- tion law at microwave frequencies. Therefore, they appear to have only
tial resolution measured in kilometers (Jensen, 2000). about half their actual temperature at the surface and appear very “cold” to
a passive microwave radiometer. Fortunately, raindrops appear to have a
Rainfall Detection from the Defense Meteorological Satellite temperature that equals their real temperature and appear “warm” or bright
Program to a passive microwave radiometer. The more raindrops, the warmer the
The Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) was one of the first whole scene appears. Research over the last three decades has made it
passive microwave sensors to obtain global passive microwave informa- possible to obtain relatively accurate rainfall rates based on the tempera-
tion. Beginning in 1987 it flew onboard the Defense Meteorological Satel- ture of the passive microwave scene.
lite Program (DMSP) satellites. Annex Table 6-1 identifies the DMSP sat- Land is different from oceans because it emits about 90 percent of
ellites that have carried the SSM/I sensor and the dates of data collection. its real temperature at microwave frequencies. This reduces the contrast
The SSM/I is a four-channel, polarized passive microwave radiometer that between the rain droplets and the land. Fortunately, the high-frequency
measures atmospheric, ocean and terrain microwave brightness tempera- microwaves (85.5 GHz) are strongly scattered by ice present in many
tures at frequencies of 19.35, 22.23, 37.0, and 85.5 GHz. The SSM/I ro- raining clouds. This reduces the microwave signal of the rain at the satel-
tates continuously about an axis parallel to the local spacecraft vertical lite and provides a contrast with the warm land background, allowing
and measures the upwelling scene brightness temperatures. The swath is accurate rainfall rates to be computed over land as well as water.
approximately 1,400 km.
The area of the image for each channel (its “footprint”) varies with Rainfall Detection from NASA’s Aqua Satellite
channel energy, position in the scan, along scan or along-track direction, The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) is
and altitude of the satellite. The 85-GHz footprint is the smallest with a 13 flown on NASA’s Aqua satellite in a polar, Sun-synchronous orbit. It was
× 15 km and the 19-GHz footprint is the largest at 43 × 69 km. DMSP launched on May 4, 2002. The 12-channel passive microwave radiometer
satellites are in a Sun-synchronous, low altitude polar orbit. The orbital measures frequencies at 6.9, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89 (HV polariza-
period is 101 minutes and the nominal altitude is 830 km. The data are tion) and 50.3 and 52.8 (VV polarization). It has a 7-km field of view at 89
transmitted to NOAA/NESDIS in Suitland, Maryland. GHz and 60-km field of view at 6.9 GHz and a 1,600-km swath width. The
NOAA personnel and others developed SSM/I rainfall algorithms AMSR measures total water-vapor content, total liquid-water content, pre-
that use the 85.5 GHz channel to detect the scattering of upwelling radia- cipitation, snow-water equivalent, soil moisture (using the 6.9- and 10.7-
tion by precipitation-size ice particles within the rain layer. Rain rates can GHz frequencies), sea-surface temperature (SST), sea-surface wind speed,
be derived indirectly, based on the relationship between the amount of ice and sea-ice extent. The specifications of the sensors are subject to change.
in the rain layer and the actual rainfall on the surface. In addition, a scat-

ANNEX TABLE 6-1 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line Scan and SSM/I Data Available for
Distribution from the Various Satellites (e.g., F10 to F14)
Sensor F10 F11 F12 F13 F14
OLS 4/12/92-2/8/95a 4/12/92-4/22/95a 9/25/94-present 4/24/95-present 4/28/97-present

SSM/I 4/12/92-11/14/97 4/12/92-4/22/95 Nonea 4/24/95-present 4/28/97-present
4/21/97-present
aData stopped due to sensor problems.

GIS-Based Decision-Support Systems in Africa
INTRODUCTION needed for environment and natural resource analysis and

forecasting.
The previous chapters discuss the importance of compil- Spatial decision-support systems are interactive and com-
ing fundamental data and their integration within spatial data puter-based (Malczewski, 1997). They help prioritize dataset
infrastructures. This is a necessary first step toward informed development and information gathering and put geographic
decision-making, for without accurate, reliable, and inter- information in a decision-making context. These systems are
disciplinary data from a variety of sources it will be difficult used to set data and information requirements in terms of
to evaluate the many facets of sustainable development time, scale, accuracy, and methods, and make it possible to
(Table 1-1). When observations are made on a routine basis, link spatial decision-support efforts with other planning ef-
as can be done with remote-sensing, and when various forts, such as economic development, transportation plan-
sources and types of data are accessible and can be inte- ning, or poverty reduction programs.
grated into a GIS, the basic infrastructure exists for making A spatial decision-support system allows a decision-
informed decisions. This chapter discusses the concepts for maker to (1) build relationships, both spatial and process-
developing and using geographic data within spatial deci- based, between different types of data, (2) merge multiple
sion-support systems, examples of applications of these sys- data layers into synthetic information, (3) weigh outcomes
tems, impediments to their use, and opportunities for en- from potentially competing alternatives, and (4) forecast. To
hancing their application to challenges of sustainable do this a spatial decision-support system uses three basic
development. elements: (1) data (e.g., see Chapters 5 and 6), (2) known
relationships between data, and (3) analysis functions and
models to synthesize relationships or to test scenarios of dif-
The Value of Spatial Decision-Support Systems
ferent policy or decision-making alternatives.
The action of accumulating data is in itself insufficient to Spatial decision-support tools, such as GIS, are important
assess and manage the complex process of sustainable de- facilitators of the use of geographic data for sustainable de-
velopment and its broad implications for the environmental, velopment. As stated in Our Common Journey (NRC,
economic, health, and social issues that confront policy-mak- 1999a),
ers and citizens. Capacity is needed to evaluate natural re-
sources and environmental change in a strategic planning Ultimately, success in achieving a sustainable transition will
context, primarily through analysis or forecasting of change be determined not by the possession of knowledge, but by
with models that are sensitive to policy options. using it, and using it intelligently in setting goals, providing
Forecasting tools are common in economic analyses, and needed indicators and incentives, carefully examining alter-
planners and policy-makers routinely use estimates from natives, establishing effective institutions, and, most gener-
economic and demographic analyses and forecasts to evalu- ally, encouraging good decisions and taking appropriate ac-
ate alternatives and inform their decisions. Yet, geographic tions.
information activities in Africa have tended to focus on mak-
ing maps or collecting observations (EIS-Africa, 2001). An To support good decisions, spatial decision-support sys-
analytical framework in spatial decision-support systems is tems that include GIS often are employed.
104

GIS-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN AFRICA 105
Geographic Information Systems about sustainable development often involve compromises

and trade-offs (e.g., setting aside land for wildlife protection
Geographic information systems provide an excellent versus land for farming, or deciding how much water from a
medium for data integration and a basis for a spatial deci- river should be diverted to farming as opposed to industry or
sion-support system (Cowen, 1988). A GIS supports deci- housing), and competing demands complicate the decision-
sion-making by providing ways to examine and choose making process.
among alternative solutions, and takes decision-makers be-
yond the point of simply possessing data, information, and
From GIS to Decision-Support
knowledge.
The concept of a decision-support system dates to the late A GIS aids the decision-making process by integrating
1950s (e.g., Simon, 1977), and systems using geographic and displaying data in an understandable form. Furthermore,
data emerged in the last 10 years and subsequently grew a GIS is used to analyze relationships among different kinds
dramatically (Densham and Goodchild, 1989; NCGIA, 1990, of data (e.g., environmental and health data). The fundamen-
1996). By 2000 over $900 million had been spent on GIS tal analytical functions of a GIS-based spatial decision-sup-
software, and GIS-related services had generated $7 billion port system include (1) query analysis, (2) proximity or
in revenue. The annual growth rate of the GIS industry is buffer analysis, (3) overlay analysis, (4) neighborhood analy-
now 15 to 20 percent, and there are over 2 million GIS users sis, (5) network analysis, and (6) modeling (Box 7-1). Vari-
worldwide (Daratech, 2001). ous combinations of these functions are commonly used dur-
Still, little of the growth in the GIS industry has taken ing the geographic data analysis process.
place in Africa. Increased use of GIS in African countries GIS is not an end in itself, however, but provides a valu-
depends on effective demand for geographic information and able foundation for further analysis. A spatial decision-sup-
tools, and on technology cooperation with other countries. port system can be based on the primary functions of a GIS,
Lessons learned from past efforts to transfer technology from but these basic functions need enhancements for analysis and
developed to developing countries are (Schmidheiny, 1998) modeling. For instance, for food-security analysis it is pos-
sible to link a GIS to a model that predicts grain yields from
• technology ought to be appropriate to serve user needs. a range of spatial input data, such as soils, climate, and to-
• people should be educated and trained in the use of the pography. This model can be linked to economic and demo-
technology. graphic models showing where people live and the grain
• technology should suit local conditions (e.g., climate, demand from these settlements. The combination of basic
energy availability, customs). data, yield modeling, and human demand and location analy-
• technology should be transferred over the long term. sis provides a way to evaluate food security. Hence, using a
spatial decision-support system is not simply a descriptive
GIS technology is available at a variety of technology levels, exercise. The desired outcome is not how the world looks,
or scales of implementation, from advanced systems using but instead how the world works.
considerable computational power and large datasets to use A critical feature of a spatial decision-support system is
of paper maps and GPS. The level of technology should be its emphasis on linking data with analysis tools. Some analy-
appropriate to its intended use. Hence, this report encour- ses use spatial analysis functions often referred to as GIS
ages the use of geographic information—not GIS technolo- modeling in which several data layers are merged to create a
gies per se—to support decision-making, regardless of its new synthetic layer. This is often the approach for risk as-
level of technological advancement. sessment. For example, various habitat, human population,
and climate data layers can be merged to provide a vector-
borne disease risk map as a product (e.g., Chapter 6). This
DECISION-MAKING AND GEOGRAPHIC
product can be updated rapidly and often is a means to mar-
INFORMATION
shal scarce resources.
Decision-makers in African countries need data and tools Spatial decision-support systems also can involve numeri-
to monitor and assess natural resource inventories and envi- cal models, including forecast models that evaluate through
ronmental and social change. These data and tools are also simulation in map form various alternative scenarios based
needed to predict scenarios (e.g., trends and needs for land on different policy options. This type of decision-support
and food), determine critical information needs, evaluate usually is deployed for planning purposes. It can be useful as
data quality, and identify data gaps. Entities ranging from a way to integrate multiple planning objectives, or compet-
governments to NGOs to farmers can use information from ing options for the use of a specific natural resource, such as
decision-support systems to reduce the impact of global land, or particular location, such as a watershed.
change on human well-being and the environment. Needs Lastly, a spatial decision-support system is indeed for
and priorities vary among these entities. Therefore, decisions support to decision-making—it does not make decisions by

106 DOWN TO EARTH
BOX 7-1
Analytical Functions of a GIS-Based Decision-Support System
Query Analysis. A query is a question asked of the decision-support • Determine the distribution of people exposed to disease-vector
system. For example, a GIS could be asked to show all primary schools, (e.g., mosquito) habitats to show populations at greatest risk of
water wells, or markets within a specified geographic area. Queries with health problems (population layer, hydrography layer, eleva-
more specific conditions might include: tion layer, health-center layer).
• Identify those areas where agricultural production may be most
• Where are all the lateritic soils?
feasible and provide the greatest benefits using an area’s differ-
• Where are croplands that are at risk from high erosion?
ent soil types overlaid by vegetation types and population den-
• Where are all the paved roads in an administrative area?
sity.
Proximity or Buffer Analysis. Buffer analysis is a geographically
Neighborhood Analysis. This determines the characteristics of
or temporally constrained version of query analysis. The GIS creates a
features that are in close proximity (neighbor) to an object or an area of
buffer or boundary of a specified distance (measured in units of length or
interest. A moving window is used; for example, a window might be
time) around an object represented as a point, line, or polygon. The buffer
systematically moved across a data layer to determine the statistical char-
is then used to constrain the queries to within a specified distance.
acteristics of the pixels within the window such as the average elevation
The types of questions that might be asked using buffer analysis in-
if the data layer were topography.
clude:
• Where are all the people that fall within a specified distance of a Network or Connectivity Analysis. This is used on vector-based
clinic (a point)? datasets to determine such network characteristics as the shortest route
• Or within a specified distance of a river (line) (e.g., to determine to a clinic.
a region’s dependence on a particular water system)?
• Or within a specific distance of a city boundary (polygon)? Modeling. Because data in a GIS can be accessed, transformed,
and manipulated interactively, a GIS can serve as a testing area for ana-
Overlay Analysis. This analysis involves the “electronic stacking”
lyzing processes, analyzing the results of trends, or projecting the pos-
of spatial data (e.g., human population, land cover, soils, hydrology) as
sible results of decisions. The use of GIS allows non-destructive experi-
layers on “top” of each other so that the geographic position within each
mentation and manipulation of the environment and other factors.
layer is precisely registered to all the other data layers in the database
Changes in the geographic characteristics of features such as size or
(Figure 1-2).
shape can be modeled over time. For example, land-use changes, such
Queries that might be addressed using overlay analysis include:
as changing farming practices can be modeled to predict per-hectare
• Show all locations where a particular vegetation type is growing loss of soil over time.
on a specified soil type (vegetation layer and soil-type layer).
itself. Human inputs must be recognized, particularly in the ways comfortable or familiar with direct responsibility for
complex arena of sustainable development. A spatial deci- decision-making (e.g., Eastman, 1999, 2001a,b). For ex-
sion-support system is not simply a turn-key process by ample, to decide where to build a road, policy-makers will
which data are ingested and buttons are pushed. Humans want to know all options and be able to calculate the out-
select the questions posed and which data and analyses to comes of alternatives. Local people, on the other hand, may
use. Humans also decide how to disseminate results (e.g., want to express their priorities and views, yet defer the ac-
which medium will most effectively convey the information tual decision to others. Stakeholders in a decision, that is,
to those who need it) and encourage open participation in the those most involved in and affected by the decision, can still
process. be indirectly involved in the decision-making process.
Technology must be useful and appropriate to its users.
For example, African scientists require advanced GIS and
Decision-Makers and Data Users
modeling capabilities. New technology might be introduced
The data and technology needs of decision-makers vary to scientists and technical users through partnerships with
with the types of users. Policy-makers at the national level their counterparts in developed nations. Non-technical us-
need different information than the residents of a town or ers, such as policy-makers or community leaders, on the
village affected by the decision. Although good decision- other hand, might find printed material such as brochures,
making involves all the people who are likely to be affected satellite imagery, sample data, or maps more useful. Projects
by a decision, individuals and organizations play different operate at both ends of this technology continuum in Africa.
roles in the decision process. People and groups are not al-

Data for Decision-Support Systems includes (1) aggregation and weighting that enable mapping
of priority and risk areas and (2) appraisal of options by
The first requirement for implementing a spatial decision-
modeling. Resource allocation decisions are also character-
support system is access to data (Chapter 4). Ideally, deci-
ized by multiple objectives, such as food production and dis-
sion-support systems use distributed GISs so that users can
ease control. A decision-support system for questions about
obtain data relevant to their needs, such as framework data
farming and disease would incorporate data on land cover,
and other thematic data (Chapters 5 and 6). A geolibrary is
population distribution, hydrology, and other factors neces-
an example of an open distributed system that combines the
sary to analyze and map the risk of disease and food insecu-
idea of a traditional library with the resources of the Internet.
rity. A GIS for this purpose would also allow users to ana-
Geolibraries make geographic data available to those with
lyze tradeoffs and weigh outcomes of alternative plans.
access to a computer and the Internet (NRC, 1999b).
Distributed geolibraries are global in reach and are part of
the concept of the national and global spatial data infrastruc- Resource Status Decisions
tures (Chapter 4). Data-sharing, necessary for a distributed
Resource status decisions involve merging routine obser-
system, often is inhibited by a lack of precedent and proto-
vations of the status of a resource (e.g., timber, cattle, or
cols for sharing among government agencies (EIS-Africa,
fuel) with policy planning and management issues. Decision
2001) and other entities. Fortunately, a number of African
support requires routine, repeated collection of data on the
countries are creating protocols for data-sharing (e.g., Ghana,
desired parameters. There is a tendency in GIS technology
Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe) as part of
transfer to focus on static factors, such as political units, el-
their participation in EIS-Africa (Chapter 4).
evation and slope, and other framework data sets (Chapter
5). Although these datasets are required for construction of
Types of Decisions base maps, they do not by themselves support decisions that
require assessment of status and changing conditions. Ana-
Decisions are on a continuum ranging from structured to
lytical tools are needed to highlight changes.
unstructured. Structured decisions can be solved by comput-
FEWS (Chapters 3 and 6) is among the most successful
ers. They require only manipulation of information and
demonstrators of resource status decision support in Africa.
mathematical computations. Unstructured decisions involve
In FEWS, data come from routine updates of vegetation con-
human judgments, such as assessing risk or priorities, or
dition, through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
human values like determining what is just or fair. These
(NDVI). The changes in NDVI provide an indication of
kinds of decisions cannot be made by a computer. Most de-
moisture conditions that gives advance warning of drought.
cision problems fall somewhere between these two extremes
FEWS provides rapid decision support at localized scales
and are called semi-structured decisions. Spatial decision-
using direct observations. Similar observations can be made
support systems provide computation and analytic power for
for drought and fire risk; for example, the Miombo Network
structured decisions and model alternative solutions for hu-
(Chapter 3) and programs of the MODIS land science team
man consideration. Through this process a semi-structured
(Chapter 6).
decision is made.
Although local applications of geographic information are
The process of formalizing the development of a deci-
important, environmental effects on a large scale must also be
sion-support system and related organizational requirements
monitored. A continental-scale application of condition and
is referred to as “managed decision support.” J. R. Eastman
status assessment comes from programs that are developing
(Clark University, personal communication, 2001) describes
early warning capability for El Niño1 prediction. El Niño and
a managed decision process for applying geographic infor-
land use are linked. Understanding El Niño has important
mation to sustainable development that has three types of
implications for food productivity. Systems that couple large-
decisions: (1) resource allocation decisions, (2) resource sta-
scale advance warning with current regional or local condi-
tus decisions, and (3) policy decisions.
tions provide decision-makers with more time to respond.
Resource Allocation Decisions

Policy Decisions
The first step in resource allocation decision-making is
A challenge for decision support is to assess the future
the standardization of information including units of mea-
impact of implementing policy options. For example, analy-
surement and data accuracy. Assuring the accuracy of data is
sis of future land-cover changes as a result of future land-use
an important next step that adds cost and requires trained
distribution requires analytical capabilities that are time and
staff to collect field data for validation (ground-truthing).
Resource allocation decisions often involve tradeoffs or
assessment of risk. These decisions are value questions as
1An episodic global weather phenomenon driven by conditions in the
well as technical questions. Support for this type of decision
western Pacific Ocean.

108 DOWN TO EARTH
space sensitive. Many predictive land-use and cover-change and involves a broad network of African institutions and sci-
models are simple extrapolations from trends in variables entists.
such as estimates of population growth. Policy decision-
making requires the analytic and modeling capabilities of 2. A Continent-wide Application—The Famine Early
GIS. Warning System Network
Many policy decisions require spatial data and analysis of FEWS NET is a network of 17 African countries working
overlapping sets of data layers. Necessary data analysis in- with partners to address food security issues (Chapter 3).
cludes computer functions that merge various layers to pro- FEWS NET operates on the principle that gradually unfold-
duce a synthetic layer. For example, soil erosion risk maps ing natural disasters influencing food security give decision-
are produced by merging land use, slope, and soil informa- makers time to prepare and take preventive action.
tion. A range of data and information sources is used by FEWS
NET including continent-wide, 10-day NDVI (Chapter 6)
and rainfall estimates from NOAA and European satellites,
EXAMPLES OF DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN
ground-based meteorological data, data on crop and range-
AFRICA
land conditions, commodity pricing data and agricultural
Geographic information technologies are used in African production data (Chopak, 2000). FEWS NET handles a large
countries and elsewhere, but are rarely used in routine sup- volume of data, and has developed automated processing
port of policy-making, natural resource management, or and analysis tools for routine operations.
planning (e.g., EIS-Africa, 2001). Five examples illustrating Food-security analysis is broken into five assessment ac-
different aspects of implementation of decision-support sys- tivities: a start-of-season assessment, a preliminary crop fore-
tems in Africa at scales ranging from the continental to the cast, an annual food balance sheet, a harvest assessment, and
community level follow: a current vulnerability assessment (Chopak, 2000). After the
analysis stage, information is disseminated to decision-mak-
1. A Continent-wide Application—Mapping Malaria Risk ers. Monthly updates for all member countries are posted on
in Africa (MARA) Project the FEWS NET website (FEWS NET, 2002). Additionally,
The Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa (MARA) project memoranda are issued to warn of developing food security
maps malaria risk using in situ data on malaria occurrence in issues (e.g., Box 7-2).
combination with spatial modeling to predict the geographic The USGS provides technical support to FEWS NET
distribution, seasonality, and endemicity (peculiarity to a partners in the use of remote-sensing and GIS and develops
locality or region) of the disease. The project uses the GIS to data-processing and analysis tools. Additionally, USGS as-
evaluate location and risk and to disseminate information to sists with data archival and dissemination.
national and international decision-makers.
The MARA project is a federated network of scientists 3. A Regional Network Application—Fire Detection and
throughout Africa who are mapping malaria risk at the dis- Response in the Miombo Woodlands
trict level. Five regional data collectors are responsible for The Miombo Network was formed to create a regional
obtaining malaria datasets from neighboring countries. network for environmental research on the dominant biome2
Stratified risk maps of the type and severity of malaria trans- of southern Africa, the Miombo Woodlands (Chapter 3). It is
mission are produced from geographic data on demography, an informal network of scientists funded through grants and
climate, elevation, ecological zone, vector distribution, and contracts from donor and science agencies.
malaria endemicity. One of the important environmental threats in the region
MARA uses continent-wide datasets (e.g., land cover, el- is fire. The Miombo Network has developed a remote-sens-
evation, biotype) in addition to local precipitation and tem- ing approach to fire detection and mapping using the MO-
perature data. This combination of information from local DIS sensor onboard NASA’s Terra satellite (Chapters 5 and
and continental-level sources presents challenges for accu- 6). MODIS data are retrieved and provided on an Internet-
racy and compatibility, as does the need to organize data on based interactive GIS, which shows the location of fires and
an administrative district level. Health authorities in each the underlying vegetation cover.
country rank each district in terms of the severity of the ma- Remotely sensed vegetation maps are incorporated into
laria risk. This derived product of risk-ranking assessment is the GIS and merged with in situ data to derive fuel loads,
then mapped in the GIS and provided to health officials. which are then mapped and merged with fire location. The
MARA provided the first continental maps of malaria distri-
bution and the first quantitative “burden of disease” esti-
mates. Maps produced by MARA are widely used for plan-
ning, intervention, and prevention. In the committee’s 2A biome is an ecological formation including both plants and
opinion, this simple decision-support system is effective be- animals. Traditionally biomes are identified in terms of their char-
cause it relies on low-cost data, operates on a routine basis, acteristic vegetation form.

lems affecting livestock (e.g., weight loss, loss of condition)

BOX 7-2 occur before the response is visible, irrespective of personal
Sample Early Warning Memorandum of an experience. This problem necessitates an early warning sys-
Evolving Food Security Crisis tem that works at the local level (LEWS, 2001).
In response to this challenge LEWS applies technologies
August 15, 1999 capable of (1) predicting the current nutritional status of free-
ranging animals, (2) assessing the impact of weather on for-
RE: LIVESTOCK SITUATION IN NORTHERN BOTSWANA WORSENING age supply and crop production, and (3) linking these data
with local, household-level data. Currently, there are six op-
The livestock situation in northern Botswana continues to deteriorate erational monitoring zones in East Africa (southern Ethio-
as a result of spreading disease and the late delivery of veterinary pia, northern Kenya, southern Kenya, central and southwest-
supplies. As a result of too much rainfall during the past season, the ern Uganda, northern Tanzania, and central Tanzania), with
conditions were existent for a livestock disease outbreak. Since April two other zones under development in northeastern Ethiopia
over eighty percent of cattle have died. Although animal deaths are not and northeastern Uganda. Each zone is comprised of 30
unusual after heavy rains experienced this year in this part of the coun- LEWS monitoring points. A network of households in each
try, the lack of available drugs have exacerbated the already difficult zone provides monthly fecal samples from cattle, sheep, and
situation. The result is that the productive capacity of farm households goats. Nutritional well-being of free-ranging livestock is then
in this area will have difficulty in land preparation in the coming agri- assessed in laboratories through fecal profiling using a tech-
cultural season. nology called near-infrared spectroscopy. The fecal profiles
are geographically referenced and integrated into the GIS,
SOURCE: Chopak (2000). along with livestock population surveys, continuous 10-day
weather data sets, and vegetation data (NDVI [Chapter 6])
from the FEWS program. This combination of data sources
provides a foundation dataset for a linked series of predic-
integration of fire location, area burned, vegetation type, and tive models involving
fuel loads enables a near-real-time prediction of fire risk and
active fire. Decision-makers use these maps, which are avail- • a grazing land production model;
able on the Internet, to target limited resources to areas of • a livestock nutritional balance analysis model;
greatest need. In 1997 the Miombo Network produced a CD • a mixed farming crop model; and
that includes a Web-based interface, GIS software, and geo- • a modified El Niño/Southern Oscillation model cali-
graphic data archived in a standard format (Arcinfo export brated for East Africa.
format). This CD was distributed widely and freely in Africa
to overcome data access problems. Every 10 days a small data file containing the output of the
In the committee’s opinion, the Miombo Network is suc- predictive models is packaged for broadcasting to teams
cessful and self-sustaining because it is local need-driven, equipped with World Space Satellite radios (Chapter 4)
African-directed, and relevant to the missions of its partici- linked to laptop computers. This process is managed by the
pating agencies. Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East-
ern and Central Africa’s (ASARECA) Crisis Mitigation Of-
4. A Regional Example—The Livestock Early Warning fice in Nairobi and distributed on the African Learning Chan-
System nel with help from the Arid Lands Information Network.
Food security and famine in East Africa are related to Over the past two years LEWS has cultivated partner-
weather variation, expanding human populations, political ships with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
instability, and changing patterns of land use and land ten- Drought Monitoring Center and the Regional Center for
ure. The Livestock Early Warning System (LEWS) project, Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD [Chap-
which is funded by USAID and is being implemented by ters 3 and 8]), both in Nairobi. Currently LEWS is in the
Texas A&M University, demonstrates the application of in- process of improving computer server and analytical capac-
tegrated remotely sensed weather data, point-based biophysi- ity at these organizations and providing training in the use of
cal modeling, and geographic data on animal and vegetation Arcview GIS software. Texas A&M University’s Center for
distribution to serve decision-makers concerned with the Natural Resource Information Technology provides staffing
welfare of pastoral communities in East Africa. and server capacity to support the system.
Typically, early warning systems (e.g., FEWS [Chapter A final component of the LEWS activity is community
6]) provide predictive data on rainfall and vegetation condi- outreach to pastoralists. LEWS is testing early warning com-
tion, whereas the on-ground monitoring programs of mar- munication techniques in pastoral villages, with the aim of
kets, human conditions, and animal herd situations provide a more effectively influencing decision-making at the local
“post-effect” appraisal system. However, many of the prob- level.

110 DOWN TO EARTH
5. A Community-Based Example—Natural Resource Man- is aided by geographic information. Maps with icons
agement in Namibia (rather than words or numbers) are effective in over-
The quality of local involvement in natural resource deci- coming communication challenges. And well-orga-
sion support may be more important than the level of techni- nized land-use plans attract potential investors who use
cal sophistication. In Namibia communities are experiment- maps of game distribution and land-use zones in their
ing with the use of paper maps generated from a GIS to deliberations about the placement of tourist lodges that
manage natural resources at a community level (Figure 7-1). provide income and jobs for local people.
This work demonstrates the creation of long-term self-sus-
taining applications of geographic information to sustain- The program operates on a needs-driven approach, and
able development. promotes sharing of data and tools. Sharing has resulted in
The principal applications of geographic data in the Com- considerable cost savings, and is promoted by not charging
munity Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) for data; adopting standardized software, data formats, and
program are for mapping conservancy boundaries, land-use file directory structure; and developing a metadata database.
planning, monitoring, and communication. The needs-driven approach has built credibility with field
users, led to a strong feeling of ownership by rural people
• Accurately defined boundaries are a legal requirement and field-based support staff, fostered a culture of sensitivity
for registration in the conservancy. Neighbors must to community needs among technical institutions that are
agree upon boundaries. Although these discussions can partners in the program, generated trust and a common vi-
be contentious, displaying the proposed boundaries in sion among partners (communities, government, donors),
a GIS map has proven to be an effective decision-sup- and built a critical mass to enhance sustainability of the pro-
port tool. gram (Jo Tagg and Greg Stuart-Hill, Namibia Nature Foun-
• Land-use decisions include evaluating competing ac- dation, personal communication, 2002).
tivities within conservancies such as farming, settle-
ment, mining, tourism, and wildlife management. To
aid in this process staff at the central office in IMPEDIMENTS TO IMPLEMENTING SPATIAL
Windhoek gather and integrate pertinent geographic DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN AFRICA
data within a GIS and disseminate the resultant paper
map products to the conservancies. Through an itera- EIS-Africa (2001) concluded from a review of informa-
tive process of participatory mapping, members of the tion initiatives in Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda,
conservancies converge on solutions. and Zimbabwe that few application-oriented examples dem-
• Geographic information assists in annual game counts, onstrated advanced analysis of geographic information. In-
monitoring poaching or problem animals, assessing formation systems were still insignificant in environmental
drought risk, and monitoring trends in animal popula- decision-making. The following reasons were cited:
tions. Maps are central in all three stages of the moni-
toring process: planning, implementing, and reporting. • the decision-support process has not been planned, and
• Communication within conservancies and externally clear objectives, goals, and responsibilities of local
to neighbors, partners, donors, and potential investors agencies have not been set;
• projects are orientated toward data production and up-
dating rather than usage or application (most organi-
zations do not consider analysis to be part of their mis-
sion);
• there is a focus on technical issues instead of data man-
agement in support of the decision-making process;
• many databases are still under construction—hence
many organizations have not had time to consider
analysis;
• poor communication between technical staff and those
involved in environmental science;
• lack of inclusion of universities in the environmental
network in several of the countries (reducing the
chance for ongoing research projects to be a driving
force for analysis and data combination);
• lack of demand and user awareness; and
FIGURE 7-1 Paper maps used in decision support in Namibia • difficulty measuring the impact of technological ad-
(Source: Jo Tagg, Namibia Nature Foundation). vances on the decision-making process.

The focus on developing data instead of the analytical face. Hence, decision support in the area of land cover (Chap-
environment for using data in the decision-making process ter 6) will be one of the more fruitful application areas of
partly results from limitations on data accessibility. How- geographic data and tools.
ever, there are also organizational barriers caused by a focus A further rationale for focusing on land cover is that it is
on applied analysis rather than basic research. Research in- basic information for many applications. Land use and cover
vestments have the potential to advance understanding of change is at the nexus of a range of issues including habitat
relationships that tie data together. For example the relation- fragmentation, biodiversity, food and agriculture, water qual-
ship between soil texture, slope, rain intensity, and other fac- ity, urbanization and settlement, and human health and dis-
tors that determine soil erosion is embodied in the Universal ease. Land cover is also readily obtained from satellites.
Soil Loss Equation, which itself must be locally calibrated. International activities could accelerate the use of deci-
This equation is a powerful analytical tool, and was an out- sion-support systems for land-cover applications in Africa.
come of basic research. It remains to be tested and adapted For example, as the U.S. Geographic Information for Sus-
for use in many parts of Africa. tainable Development Alliance (GISD, 2002) initiatives are
Deploying a spatial decision-support system requires field implemented, the need will arise to identify data for under-
research, case studies, and pilot projects. Development as- standing land transformation processes. In addition, U.N.
sistance investments targeted to research-based programs initiatives, notably the Global Land Cover Network and the
would promote a shift from descriptive to process-based GOFC/GOLD programs (Chapter 6), emphasize routine ob-
analysis in spatial decision-support systems. There are some servations and analysis of land cover and change.
examples where these long-term investments can work. Strategies to improve or create these data sets are needed
USAID’s Cooperative Research Support Program (Chapter now, and these strategies should build on existing initiatives
3) recognizes the importance of research to development and networks. An effective land-cover decision-support sys-
assistance programs and has promoted collaborative research tem for Africa would include:
between U.S. land grant universities and African organiza-
tions, mostly in agriculture and natural resource manage- • Development of standardized land cover and envi-
ment. With the increasing availability of geographic data and ronmental classification systems. Classification sys-
decision-support tools, there is an opportunity for these pro- tems are central to the use of the product layers in a
grams to emphasize the spatial aspects of the research. spatial data infrastructure. Classification systems are
defined and formalized but are not rigid. FAO’s
Africover Land Cover Classification System (Chapter
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCING DECISION
6) is an emerging standard in Africa.
SUPPORT IN AFRICA
• Development of a system for land-cover baseline
This section draws from lessons learned in examples from and change detection across spatial scales. This
the previous sections and discusses approaches that could component would include a baseline map and compi-
increase integration of decision-support systems into devel- lations of change maps from repeated observations
opment policy-making and natural resources management. over time. These maps can be constructed using multi-
The contribution of decision-support systems to policy resolution remotely sensed data (e.g., AVHRR, MO-
dialog depends on geospatial capacity (Box 7-3 and Chapter DIS, SPOT VEGETATION, ASTER [Annex Box 6-
8) (e.g., good data and equipment and trained staff) and com- 4], Landsat). Satellite observations alone cannot ex-
munication among policy-makers, scientists, GIS experts, plain socio-economic and political factors that are
and civil society (Bassolé, et al., 2001). These interactions among the causes of land-cover and environmental
are “most effective within a fully supportive geo-informa- change, nor can they always identify trends or dynam-
tion policy environment at the national level” (Bassolé et al., ics at the scale needed by decision-makers. Hence, re-
2001). motely sensed data should be coupled with multi-scale
In addition to geospatial capacity, demand will spur the geographically referenced economic and social data.
development and use of decision-support systems. In the • Identification of “hot spots” of change. Because re-
committee’s opinion, the agricultural and natural resource sources are scarce, and there are limited opportunities
management sectors are a likely primary source of this de- for decision-makers to make comprehensive evalua-
mand, as these sectors are the main users of geographic data tions, an approach that identifies areas of rapid change,
and tools. The livelihoods of the majority of Africans de- high risk, or other critical occurrences should be de-
pend on agriculture and natural resources, and pressing prob- veloped. The routine identification of such hot spots
lems within these sectors include soil infertility and erosion, will guide decision-makers to critical locations and
pollution from farm chemicals, pressure from grazing, and times for the most efficient use of resources (e.g., Fig-
competition for resources. Addressing these problems de- ure 6-5).
mands better data and better ways of analyzing the relation- • Analysis and modeling of the relationship of land-
ship between human activities and changes on the land sur- cover change to proximate causes. Identification of

112 DOWN TO EARTH
BOX 7-3
Enhancing the Contribution of GIS to Policy-making
Based on case studies in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Gambia, 4. Strengthen local capacity. Capacity building is an essential
Bassolé et al. (2001) made the following recommendations: component of developing national GIS strategies in West Africa. GIS ca-
pacity should receive more attention from the government and education
1. Expand awareness of GIS value and use. Greater awareness
sectors, and capacity should be developed and based in universities and
is needed among African decision-makers of the value and usefulness of
the private sector as well as government agencies.
GIS analyses. This can be brought about through briefings and workshops
5. Expand access to geographic information. The results of
where policy-makers have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of
GIS analyses—including databases, maps, and studies—should be
how GIS tools are developed and used.
made available to the public through the media, through regular govern-
2. Strengthen the policy dialogue process. The processes for
ment and private marketing and distribution channels, and increasingly
encouraging and enhancing dialogue between policy-makers and GIS
through the Internet. Wider access will help strengthen the policy dia-
practitioners should be strengthened in all three countries studied. The
logue process by requiring policy makers to be more transparent in how
process should be user-driven and should feature input from all levels of
they make decisions on resource pricing, allocations, concessions, rev-
users (i.e., mid-level as well as senior government officials), and from
enues, and use.
civil society and other stakeholders.
6. Continue to study the use of GIS in policy-making. Each
3. Establish national geographic information policies. All
African country should conduct a periodic review of the development and
African countries should establish national geographic information poli-
use of GIS, taking into account the interests of the public, government,
cies that address key issues and problems related to how this information
business, NGOs, academia, and other affected parties. In addition, more
is developed, accessed, and used. Some principal issues and problems
countries in Africa should develop case studies on the use of GIS in
include: how to enhance access to information and information sharing;
policy-making, thus building a stronger network of GIS users and ex-
setting the rules that determine standards and protocols for data collec-
perts.
tion, storage, labeling, and integration; data ownership; confidentiality and
privacy; and copyright protection.
drivers of change enables decision-makers to make sive, systematic approach to managing land-cover
critical interventions. Human causes of immediate, or change.
proximate, land-cover change include land-manage- • Prediction of land-cover and environmental change
ment strategies that convert land cover from one type risk zones. Once a spatial model of environmental
to another (e.g., from forest to field). A better under- change has been calibrated, a projection can be gener-
standing could be developed of the links between hu- ated representing the probability of future land-cover
man activities and consequences for land-cover change changes. This projection can be overlain on a land-
if it were possible to measure the magnitude, fre- cover map corresponding to the current situation to
quency, and geographic distribution of proximate highlight areas at risk of unwanted change. Land-cover
causes. With GIS and other analysis tools it is possible change probability maps allow validation of the mod-
to develop quantitative analyses of spatial relationships els because they can also be used in retrospect to com-
associated with land-cover change and their drivers. pare the actual land-cover changes that took place be-
• Definition of important pressures and remedies tween two past observation years used in the model’s
through case studies and modeling. Direct observa- calibration.
tions of resource status alone do not reveal driving • Development of environmental indicators. An envi-
forces of land-cover and environmental change. If the ronmental indicator is a phenomenon or statistic asso-
drivers are unknown, natural resources management ciated with a particular environmental condition. Indi-
cannot be effective. Experience and knowledge for cators of land use and cover change, and quality can be
making policy decisions is gained by linking direct used to assess trends over time and to determine the
observations, case studies, and models to identify efficacy of policy actions. Such indicators can be de-
dominant drivers of environmental change. Linking veloped from various observation sources. Remotely
observations at a range of spatial and temporal scales sensed data can indicate areas where change is occur-
to empirical models that include socioeconomic ac- ring. For example, the occurrence of fires or change in
tivities and management goals allows a comprehen- the spectral properties of data, which provides an indi-

rect “alarm” that there has been some kind of land- port tools into the decision-making process. The next chap-
cover change). Subsequently, detailed analysis can be ter discusses geospatial capacity building.
done through ground observations.
The agricultural and natural resource management sec- REFERENCES

tors are among the main users of geographic information Bassolé, A., J. Brunner, and D. B. Tunstall. 2001. GIS: Supporting Environ-
making land cover a priority area for the development of mental Planning and Management in West Africa. Washington, D.C. :
spatial decision-support systems in Africa. A land-cover World Resources Institute.
Chopak, C. 2000. Early Warning Primer: and Overview of Monitoring and
decision-support system should include a standard clas- Reporting. Available at: <http://www.fews.net>. Accessed June 28,
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pabilities; hot spot detection and high risk zone predic- Cowen, D. J. 1988. GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: What are the differ-
tion capabilities; analysis and modeling of proximate ences? Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1551-
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Daratech. 2001. GIS software revenue tops $939 million in 2000. Press
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Orlando, FL. Bethesda, MD: ASPRS
SUMMARY Eastman, J. R. 1999. Multi-criteria evaluation and GIS. Pp 493-502 in Geo-
graphical Information Systems, P. A. Longley, M. F. Goodchild, D. J.
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information. GIS is a decision-support tool that can be used Tools for Effective Use of Spatial Data. Pp 379-390 in Spatial Uncer-
tainty in Ecology: Implications for Remote Sensing and GIS Applica-
to integrate many kinds of data into a usable format, analyze tions, C. Hunsaker, M.F. Goodchild, M. Friedl, and E. Case, eds. New
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toward data production rather than application; lack of plan- graphic Information for Sustainable Development homepage. Available
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LEWS (Livestock Early Warning System). 2001. Available at <http://
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such as the continent-wide MARA and FEWS NET pro- NCGIA (National Center for Geographic Information Analysis). 1990. Re-
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Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Building Capacity to Apply Geographic Information to

INTRODUCTION people will find that their skills rapidly erode or be-
come obsolete. If they find no opportunities locally,
The effective use of geographic information to implement trained people will join the brain drain and take their
Agenda 21 will require sustained investments in human re- skills overseas.
sources development, building public and private organiza-
All of these layers of capacity are mutually interdependent
tions, and improving societal capabilities for generating and
and interactive; they co-evolve over long time horizons. For
using new knowledge. These efforts will involve strengthen-
example, a paucity of organizations that employ a trained
ing existing international cooperation and introducing new
workforce may result in “brain drain” leading to the weaken-
approaches based on lessons learned from previous efforts.
ing of existing organizations such as universities, govern-
The application of geographic information to Agenda 21 is-
ment departments, and private enterprises. When either hu-
sues in Africa requires considerable growth in geospatial
man or organizational capacity-building is pursued on its
capacity. Geospatial capacity is the ability to undertake ac-
own, development can become skewed and inefficient
tivities, solve problems, and achieve objectives using geo-
(Fukuda-Parr et al., 2002). Geospatial capacity-building is
graphic information and tools.
closely linked to expansion in economic activities and there-
As countries transform themselves they have to develop
fore part and parcel of the overall system of economic trans-
different capacities. Capacity development needs to be ad-
formation. Policies to promote scientific and technological
dressed at three levels.
development will facilitate the use of geographic informa-
tion for sustainable development.
1. Human or individual—This involves enabling indi-
This Chapter follows the above structural framework.
viduals to embark on a continuous process of learn-
(The committee chose to use the terms “organizational” and
ing—building on existing knowledge and skills, and
“human” rather than “institutional” and “individual.”) The
extending these in new directions as fresh opportuni-
first section discusses human capacity-building, examining
ties appear.
primary, secondary, post-secondary, and continuing or on-
2. Organizational or institutional—This involves
the-job training. Section two discusses organizations at lev-
strengthening and improving existing institutions as
els from national to international (continental) including:
well as the design of new ones where they do not exist.
In additional to the role of individual organizations, • governmental, civic, and private-sector institutions;
emphasis is also placed on interactions between dif- • academic and related institutions; and
ferent organizations as a source of products and ser- • professional (scientific and technical) societies.
vices derived from geographic information sciences.
The final section treats the broader issue of societal
3. Societal—This involves capacities in the society as a
geospatial capacity. It summarizes factors at the national
whole, or a transformation for development. An ex-
level, including good governance,1 that affect the applica-
ample is creating the kinds of opportunities, whether
in the public or private sector, that enable people to
1Governance is defined by the UNDP as “the exercise of political, eco-
use and expand their capacities to the fullest through
nomic, and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs.” Sound or
reforms in policies, laws, and regulations. Societal ca- good governance is defined as that sub-set of governance “wherein public
pabilities are therefore linked to existing national sys- resources and problems are managed efficiently and in response to the criti-
tems of governance. Without such opportunities, cal needs of society” (UNDP, 1997a).
114

BUILDING CAPACITY TO APPLY GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA 115
tion of geographic information to sustainable development how their communities are changing and how to make com-
and discusses the role of partnerships in the development of munities sustainable.
geospatial capacity. The chapter discusses capacity-building The integrated perspectives of geography and the tech-
research networks and organizations at the national, regional, nologies of the geographic information sciences are an inte-
and international levels. These organizations are described gral part of the development and use of information and com-
as examples and the committee does not analyze or critique munications technologies in Africa and should be central to
their programs in terms of success or failure to build the new African Learning Network (ECA, 2001a). However,
geospatial capacity. at present, geographic information is being developed pri-
marily as an independent higher-level technical specializa-
tion in Africa. The same is true of the way geographic infor-
HUMAN CAPACITY
mation science is being taught at the tertiary level throughout
The first manifestation of society’s capacity is the com- North America and Europe. Even where geographic infor-
petence of a critical mass of its citizens. Development of mation science is introduced as part of the secondary school
human capacity in a society is accomplished primarily system (such as in Ontario, Canada), the emphasis is on the
through education and training. The basic health and nutri- technology itself rather than on how the technology can be
tion of its citizens also determines a nation’s human capacity used to deal with issues of societal significance.
(Box 8-1). Appropriate places in the secondary school curriculum
Developing geospatial capacity in Africa is part of the include computer science and other information technology
larger challenge of building scientific and technical capacity courses as well as interdisciplinary studies such as geogra-
and a trained workforce. As in other scientific and technical phy and environmental studies. The format of final second-
fields, such as information and communications technology ary school exams is a key element in the integration of geo-
and agriculture (see Aiyepeku et al., 1994; Lindley et al., graphic information science in the curriculum.
1996; Cisse et al., 1998), geospatial capacity-building de-
pends on
Post-Secondary Education and Training
• primary education, including adequate nutrition and Post-secondary education and training3 is particularly
health care; important for geographic information science and technol-
• secondary education, including interdisciplinary sci- ogy because of their scientific and technical natures. The
ence and mathematics; importance of university education is stated in the NEPAD
• post-secondary education and training; and plan (NEPAD, 2001).
• continuing, and on-the-job training in relevant sectors.
The plan supports the immediate strengthening of the uni-
versity system across Africa, including the creation of spe-
cialized universities where needed, building on available
Primary and Secondary Education African teaching staff. The need to establish and strengthen
institutes of technology is especially emphasized.
Capacity-building begins with primary education. By the
secondary level multidisciplinary approaches may provide NEPAD’s argument is supported by two studies that empha-
an avenue for learning about sustainable development. To be size university education (Bourne, 2000; World Bank, 2000).
addressed effectively sustainable development issues require NEPAD also calls for the establishment of “regional coop-
a multidisciplinary approach. eration on product standards development and dissemina-
In sub-Saharan Africa enrollment rates in primary and tion, and on geographic information systems” (NEPAD,
secondary school are low and gender disparity is high. Cur- 2001, p. 47). Such regional cooperation could promote ca-
rently girls are enrolled in lower proportion than boys in 26 pacity-building in geographic information science.
sub-Saharan African countries (Sass and Ashford, 2002). According to Bassolé (2002), 35-45 percent of human
African governments have made universal primary educa- capacity in geographic information science takes place in
tion by 2015 a major objective (NEPAD, 2001). the formal education system. Education and training in geo-
Opportunities for linking geographic science activities in graphic information science in Africa is offered in universi-
secondary schools around the world are emerging. For ex- ties or polytechnics in which geographic information sci-
ample, a worldwide network of projects in secondary schools ence is part of a broader curriculum, and in national and
and universities called My Community, Our Earth2 is help- regional training centers (Bassolé, 2002).
ing students to use geographic information science to show
3Post-secondary education and training refers to formal education at the
tertiary level in universities, polytechnics, and in this case, regional remote-

2 <http://www.geography.com/sustainable/>. sensing centers.

116 DOWN TO EARTH
BOX 8-1
Health Issues and the Workforce in Africa
Workforce issues cannot be discussed without reference to the im- system is devastating. When parents become ill or die, children are taken
mense impact of endemic disease on children and the working-age popu- out of school, girls in greater number than boys, widening the gender gap
lation (Gallup and Sachs, 1998). Good health is an integral part of human in education. Two-thirds of the 113 million children out of school in devel-
capacity-building. Diseases including HIV/AIDS, water- and vector-borne oping countries are girls (World Bank, 2002). The problem is unlikely to
diseases (e.g., malaria, schistosomiasis), and tuberculosis have a pro- abate: Although sub-Saharan Africa has two-thirds of the world’s HIV in-
found impact on the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa. The effect of such fections and 84 percent of its AIDS deaths (UNAIDS, 2000), the region
losses among the working-age population is to exacerbate poverty and accounts for just 3 percent of global AIDS spending.
social disruption. Indeed, poverty and malaria are closely linked (Gallup Although women now outnumber men infected with HIV/AIDS in sub-
and Sachs, 1998). Saharan Africa, the biggest killer of women in Africa is not AIDS but AIDS-
On the level of the individual these illnesses reduce energy and effi- related tuberculosis. The United Nations warns that cases of tuberculosis
ciency. On a larger scale diseases like AIDS are creating a generation of in Africa are expected to double over the next 10 years. Such catastrophic
orphans and unraveling the fabric of society. The impact on the education losses to society undermine the potential for a stable workforce.
In West Africa 50-55 percent of training in the use of tion science are available from a variety of public and pri-
geographic information technologies occurs in the context vate sources. The use of the Internet and Web-based pro-
of externally funded development projects that have a geo- grams emphasizes the need for information and telecommu-
graphic information component (Bassolé, 2002). Often these nication infrastructure (ICT) plans (Chapter 4) involving the
projects work at the local level and demonstrate the potential development of human capacity to manage this infrastruc-
of geographic information science in grassroots applications. ture. Internet delivery of education and training in geo-
On average they last three to five years until external fund- graphic information science is an area of opportunity in Af-
ing expires. In addition, overseas development assistance rica and for technical cooperation between African and donor
often requires the use of technology, including hardware and nations.
software from the donor country. This results in the delivery The importance of ICTs for development was articulated
of short-term intensive instruction on how to operate a par- by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA, 1999) and
ticular software system but little knowledge of the concepts recognized in the Okinawa Charter (Government of Japan,
and principles of geographic information science. It may be 2000). Two African programs assisting sustainable growth
challenging to transfer specific skills developed in project- of human capacity in ICTs are the African Information Soci-
based training to other situations. Human resource develop- ety Initiative (AISI) and the African Learning Network
ment does not always fit well within a project-oriented ap- (ALN). The AISI provides a framework for information and
proach. Geospatial capacity-building is a long-term process. communication activities in Africa, and the ALN is intro-
ducing ICTs to schools, linking universities and research
organizations, and creating a national network for students
Continuing Education
enrolled in further education.
Geographic information technologies are evolving rap- A cadre of well-trained individuals will need to be formed
idly, therefore necessitating retraining. Kufoniyi (2001) says in each country to apply geographic data and information in
that “the rate of development in geographic information tech- support of sustainable development in Africa. Continuing
nologies is so rapid that it is often difficult for staff [of the and on-the-job training should become an integral part
Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys of the process of enhancing geospatial capacity. Organi-
(RECTAS) in Nigeria] to be constantly retrained to keep zations that provide professional training in geographic
pace with the rapid technological development.” information sciences such as regional centers and poly-
Educational institutions in developing countries are be- technics should be strengthened.
ginning to address the needs for lifelong learning (NRC,
1999), and the Internet has a role to play. RECTAS, for ex-
ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY
ample, is striving for full Internet connectivity to start a Web-
based distance learning program that will include continuing Within a country organizational capacity can be built on
education. Our Common Journey (NRC, 1999) underscores several levels—nationally, regionally, internationally—and
the role of the Internet in continuing education in developing simultaneously at multiple levels. The relative proportion of
countries. Internet-delivered courses in geographic informa- types of organizations differs among countries. For example,

in developing countries there tend to be fewer formal organi-

zations and more social and cultural groups (Fukuda-Parr et BOX 8-2
al., 2002). These social and cultural groups function simi- “Brain Drain” and “Brain Circulation”
larly to formal organizations in developed countries, provid-
ing advice, assistance, and support. Because geographic in- “Brain drain” is an example of human capacity development
formation science is technical, geospatial capacity-building resulting in a loss of organizational capacity. When staff are
requires support from formal organizations in government, trained overseas, their withdrawal can weaken the organization if
civil society, and industry. In Africa a number of programs replacements are not found during their absence (Carrington and
to develop new types of organizations have been imple- Detragiache, 1998; Eking, 1998; Downes, 2000). Where a devel-
mented to diversify capacity and promote coordination opment strategy takes brain drain into account, one beneficial
among various sectors (e.g., NEPAD, EIS-Africa, and approach might be to work with nationals in diaspora as a way of
SADC). One challenge facing organizations is the tendency retaining links to the latest sources of scientific and technologi-
for technically trained people to be attracted elsewhere (Box cal advancement (Juma, 2000). For the adaptive and dynamic
8-2). the world of the future could be characterized by “brain circula-
tion,” which would favor those countries that have placed a large
number of nationals for training in centers of scientific and tech-
Role of Universities
nological leadership. China is an excellent example of such stra-
In Africa, as elsewhere, universities and training centers tegic choices in capacity-building in geographic information sci-
play an important role in geographic education and train- ence (Taylor, 1998). The situation in Africa, however, has been
ing.4 The most effective application of geographic informa- characterized by decades of institutional decay and low levels of
tion is carried out by individuals who understand both the enterprise development. These conditions have resulted in the
technology and the socioeconomic development context in absence of local absorptive capacity for expertise and added to
which it is to be applied (Akinyemi, 2001). Learning to ap- the “brain drain”. Greater private-sector investment will improve
ply modern geographic information and tools to address Africa’s demand for expertise and help to reduce “brain drain”.
evolving societal needs requires a long learning period and Appropriate organizational arrangements and incentives includ-
attention to the development of research and analytical abili- ing research networks and regional cooperation could enable
ties as well as technical skills. Universities are the logical Africans in diaspora to contribute to geographic information ac-
source of this kind of education and training because they tivities in their home countries.
focus on teaching and research. With the appropriate poli-
cies and incentives, universities are also natural incubators
for enterprises and social organizations. The organizations It is unlikely that long-term capacity-building in techni-
of civil society are important in many African countries cal fields such as geographic information science can be sus-
where the functions of the state are inadequate. tained in the absence of strong foundations in higher educa-
Training produces an educated workforce, and research is tion with emphasis on the science and technology. Despite
the basis for generating new knowledge and for developing the difficulties African universities face they remain vital to
products and services. Unfortunately, universities have the generation of new knowledge and have the potential for
tended to operate as discrete entities, focusing on teaching organizational capacity-building. The application of geo-
with limited interaction with wider society, including the graphic information to sustainable development in Africa
private sector. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s massive will depend on the quality, character, and direction of uni-
funding cuts to universities reduced the research and teach- versity education in Africa.
ing capacity of African universities (Ajayi et. al., 1996; There is an urgent need to coordinate and strengthen the
Bourne, 2000; Association of African Universities and the capacity of university departments providing both research
World Bank, 1997; Davenport, 2000; Downes, 2000; and training in geographic information science. African
Labatut, 2002; Mehta, 2000; Swartz, 2000; Task Force on universities should become a focus for capacity-building
Higher Education and Society, 2000). During this period, including training and research in geographic informa-
university enrollments increased but human and physical tion science, and development organizations should co-
resources did not keep pace. ordinate their efforts to achieve this goal.
National Organizations: Illustrative Cases

4In Africa geographic information science is found in diverse faculties Bassolé (2002) stressed the importance of a supportive
and departments, including geography, environmental sciences, and engi- geographic information policy at the national level to en-
neering. Applied research in geographic information science is often found
in departments of geography, whereas research in remote-sensing, photo-
courage active partnerships among government, civil soci-
grammetry, surveying, geodesy, and other mapping sciences is usually ety, and industry. National-level capacity in developing
found in faculties of engineering. countries has been particularly difficult to build (Fukuda-

118 DOWN TO EARTH
Parr et al., 2002), but examples exist. These include a pro- the hesitance of government officials who are unfamiliar
gram of integrated coastal management (Tanzania); an effort with requests for access to information (Mwebaza, 2002).
to use GIS in economic analysis (Uganda); and the mapping
of freshwater resources (Burkina Faso).
Spatial Database of Water Resources in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is coordinating activities across internal
Tanzanian Coastal Management Partnership
boundaries and among government ministries and levels of
In 1997 the Tanzanian National Environmental Manage- government. A major challenge is the completion of a pro-
ment Council (NEMC) formed a partnership with the Uni- cess that began in 1991 to coordinate the collection, produc-
versity of Rhode Island and USAID to improve coastal man- tion, and application of geographic information at the na-
agement. Another goal was to strengthen the links between tional level. Previously many applications of GIS were
local and national coastal management agencies and the project driven and did not lead to a strategic plan or holistic
University of Dar es Salaam. Working groups were estab- vision for geospatial capacity-building. Currently Burkina
lished in priority areas such as sustainable coastal aquacul- Faso’s goal with respect to geographic information is to es-
ture, tourism, and environmental monitoring, creating a tablish a national policy that includes regulations for imple-
bridge between coastal managers and the science commu- mentation, increase capacity for analysis in the universities,
nity. and raise awareness in the policy community.
The partnership has resulted in several new programs. In A spatial database of water and natural resources in south-
2002 the University of Dar es Salaam began offering five western Burkina Faso was developed by the “Haute-Bassins”
courses in coastal applications of geographic information. Regional Directorate of Hydraulics using more than 500
The partnership also produced a national coastal policy that hydrological and natural resource maps of the region, large-
is under review by the Tanzanian government. The Tanza- scale remotely sensed Landsat images, and GIS to analyze
nian coastal management partners have demonstrated orga- and display data. The program includes 12 river basins and
nizational flexibility and commitment to apply geographic responds to Burkina Faso’s need for basin-level management
information and technology to coastal natural resource man- of water resources and for relevant nationwide government
agement. bodies that address water resource issues.
Demonstration of the wide array of GIS uses in gover-
nance has attracted the attention of other ministries within
Ugandan Information System
Burkina Faso and of neighboring countries, including Cote
The National Environmental Information Center and d’Ivoire, Mali, and Togo. In addition, a private sector GIS
Makerere University in Kampala5 have developed GIS ca- group, the Centre SIGET-A has been established to address
pabilities that can be applied to economic analysis and deci- natural resource management issues in Burkina Faso
sion-making. The GIS project creates an application for a (USAID/WRI, 2001). The Centre SIGET-A emerged from
large volume of national social and environmental data that the activities of EIS-Africa (Chapter 4). In turn, the Centre
has been digitized at 1:50,000, with the goal of making this SIGET-A created a training program for students and is
information available to the public. Makerere University working to increase the demand for geographic information,
formed the Advocates Coalition for Development and Envi- tools, and services needed to invigorate the field of geo-
ronment (ACODE) to manage this GIS effort. graphic information science in West Africa.
ACODE has developed an approach based on Principle
10 of the Rio Declaration. This says that states should en-
Regional Organizations
courage public awareness of environmental information, pro-
vide access to this information and to judicial remedy should Regional organizations involve the cooperation of two or
access be denied. ACODE’s objectives include the creation more countries in addressing common concerns such as
and support of an information access system for Uganda, shared resources. Organizations at the regional level permit
common standards for information access across the coun- countries to take advantage of economies of scale and pro-
try, and improvement of information exchange between in- vide opportunities for communication and collaboration.
dustry and government. Regional cooperation promotes data standardization, and
A major challenge faced by ACODE in carrying out its regional centers play a role in the continuing education of
work is inadequate access to government information. Ac- the workforce and raise awareness of policy-makers at all
cess is limited by elaborate, time-consuming procedures for levels of the importance of geographic information.
requesting information, poor government record-keeping The regional centers established by the ECA in 19646 are
that makes it difficult to track and locate information, and making an important contribution to increasing technologi-
5Specifically, the university’s Makerere Institute of the Environment and
Natural Resources. 6These centers were set up as a result of ECA Resolution 164 (VIII).

cal capacity in geographic information science. They include of environmental information, EIS-Africa draws together
the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Develop- private- and public-sector organizations and experts, promot-
ment (RCMRD) in Kenya (Box 8-3), RECTAS in Nigeria, ing access to and use of environmental information (Bassolé,
the Southern and Eastern Africa Mineral Centre (SEAMIC) 2002).
in Tanzania, and the African Centre for Meteorological Ap- In 2000, the African Ministerial Conference on the Envi-
plications and Development (ACMAD) and Agro-Hydro- ronment approved the production of the AEO report involv-
Meteorological Center (AGRHYMET) in Niger. ing participation of UNEP and multiple partners in six re-
At RECTAS there are four program components: two gions (central, eastern, northern, southern, and western
master’s level courses, a three-month certificate course, and Africa and the western Indian Ocean islands). This project
refresher courses. RECTAS also provides consulting ser- harmonizes regional and national-level sources of environ-
vices and short-term customized training. Until 2000 mental data and is striving to build capacity in the area of
RECTAS’s main contribution to capacity-building was to environmental reporting, policy analysis, and scenario de-
develop a technical workforce in photogrammetry and re- velopment. For example, GIS has been used to identify high-
mote-sensing. Recently the center reoriented its activities to priority biological conservation areas across the continent
contribute to the development of both human and societal (AMCEN, 2002).
capabilities in the region. As the director of RECTAS ob- Recently ECA reorganized its structure and processes to
served, “The need for capacity-building in geographic infor- promote effective interaction among various groups inter-
mation production and management in Africa cannot be ested in information for development. ECA’s Committee on
over-emphasized as geographic information is definitely the Development Information (CODI-2) developed a plan for
sine-qua-non for sustainable national development” capacity-building entitled “The Future Orientation of Geo-
(Kufoniyi, 2001). graphic Information Activities in Africa” (ECA, 2001b).
This document identified as a key problem the lack of indi-
viduals trained in geographic and interdisciplinary science.
Continent-Wide Organizations
Drawing together previously separate activities, ECA has
Several organizations are approaching capacity-building created a new organizational structure with increased poten-
on a continental scale (e.g., EIS-Africa, the Africa Environ- tial for capacity-building.
ment Outlook [AEO] Project and ECA). Continent-wide ef-
forts draw organizations from multiple sectors together and
Research Networks
promote open access to data and information.
EIS-Africa is applying GIS and remote-sensing to natural Research networks represent an important avenue for us-
resource management and development issues in Africa ing existing capacity, focusing their goals on meeting local
(Chapter 4). As a network for the cooperative management and international needs, for promoting “brain circulation”
BOX 8-3
Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi
Focus: The RCMRD trains leaders in planning and decision-making, ing member states and from donors, which include USAID, UNDP, FAO,
project implementers, trainers, and researchers. Its remote-sensing and World Bank, IDRC, UNESCO, BADEA, and a number of bilateral donors,
environmental management program addresses environmental problems such as France, India, Italy, and the Netherlands.
through training in a number of activities, including maintenance of a Key results to date: The center has trained more than 3,000 people
regional early warning system for food security, environmental monitor- from member states and other African countries. Former trainees now
ing, and disaster management. RCMRD’s engineering services program is train others and provide technical services in their own countries.
expanding the center’s capacity and capability to service and maintain Lessons learned: Confronted with a decline in funding from mem-
automated equipment and hardware used in resource-mapping and envi- ber states, the center was advised in 1997 by UNEP, UNDP, and the World
ronmental management. The focus of RCMRD has evolved to reflect chang- Bank to reorient its efforts to problem-solving applications in natural re-
ing technology, changing geospatial capacity in the region that it serves, source development and environmental management. Commercialization
and changing socio-economic and operational needs of the member coun- of services was recommended as a means of ensuring long-term financial
tries (Figure 8-1). stability of the center, and the center was encouraged to partner with net-
Sponsor/partners: The RCMRD operates with funds from contract- works such as EIS-Africa to promote sharing of knowledge and best prac-
tices.
SOURCE: W. Ottichilo (RCMRD, personal communication, 2002)

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FIGURE 8-1 Contracting and non-contracting member states of the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development in Nairobi
(courtesy of RCMRD).
(see Box 8-2), and providing opportunities for young re- building initiatives adversely affected the development of
searchers to enhance their capabilities (e.g., Miombo Net- local organizations for training and education because they
work, Chapter 7). These networks build upon ongoing re- tended to
search activities in universities, government, industry, and
civil society organizations. Donor-funded networks often are (1) undermine local capacity,
created to promote the effective use of available resources (2) distort priorities
and succeed where demand exists for their services. Net- (3) focus on high-profile activities,
works do not produce demand; rather their effectiveness de- (4) fragment management,
pends on the degree to which demand is incorporated into (5) use expensive methods,
their planning. (6) ignore local wishes, and
(7) fixate on targets.
International Organizations
These problems of technical cooperation were a result of
Although indigenous geospatial capacity-building efforts two mistaken assumptions in particular according to Fukuda-
are growing, international players dominate the application Parr et al. (2002):
of geographic information science to development in Africa.
Fukuda-Parr et al. (2002) describe how traditional capacity- The first is that it is possible simply to ignore existing ca-

pacities in developing countries and replace them with North America provide scholarships to Africans to study
knowledge and systems elsewhere—a form of development geographic information science (e.g., the Fulbright scholar-
as displacement rather than development as transformation. ship program). However, these organizations may also be
The second assumption concerns the asymmetric donor-re- detrimental to capacity development because they reduce the
cipient relationship—the belief that it is possible ultimately
incentive for donors to support the creation of similar orga-
for donors to control the process and yet consider the recipi-
nizations in Africa. Indeed, the large number of international
ents to be equal partners.
organizations operating in Africa may reduce the potential
International agencies that build geospatial capacity in Af- for the emergence or maturation of local organizations. In-
rica have learned from these lessons and are paying greater ternational organizations often operate under an immune
attention to the central role of local capacity in development. policy environment and, therefore, have no incentive to ad-
Although the influence of donors will continue to determine vocate public-policy reforms that promote the wider use of
the direction of capability-building efforts, there is consider- geographic information. An appropriate balance needs to be
able scope for taking into account recipient needs without struck between the role of international organizations and
compromising the requirements for accountability among the need to create space for the emergence of local public
donor agencies. For example, extending the timeframes for and private organizations.
donor projects may have a greater impact on capacity devel-
opment than simply increasing the level of funding avail- SOCIETAL CAPACITY
able.
Examples of international organizations that are active in Cooperation among all sectors of society (e.g., govern-
African geospatial capacity-building are USAID; the Inter- ment, civil society, and the private sector) is essential for the
national Development and Research Center (IDRC), Canada; development of geospatial capacity. Government’s role is
the Aerospace Remote Sensing Development Group, France central. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said,
(GDTA); and the International Institute for Aerospace Sur- All our work for development and peace has taught us that if
vey and Earth Sciences (ITC), the Netherlands. Many of the the issue of governance is neglected, then we are building on
examples of USAID’s work are introduced in Chapter 3 and sand. No amount of aid, no degree of diplomacy can produce
subsequent Chapters. The IDRC supports development re- lasting progress if it is not rooted in legitimate, rule-bound
search and contributes to building research capacity in Afri- institutions responsive and accountable to the people
(Annan, 2002).
can universities in ICT. Geographic information processing
is an integral part of this effort through its Acacia program Government has the power to formulate policies that encour-
(IDRC, 1999; Labatut, 2002). GDTA and ITC are partners age access to data and information, facilitate relationships
of RECTAS in Nigeria. Established in 1973 as an economic among the three sectors, and create an environment in which
consortium, GDTA operates mainly in Francophone Africa. private-sector development can flourish. In turn, the private
It trains people in remote-sensing and GIS through courses sector builds demand for geographic goods and services.
and workshops in France or in the country requesting the Although demand currently exceeds supply in geographic
training. In 1950, the Netherlands Government founded ITC information science in Africa, overall demand for geographic
(Box 8-4) at the request of the United Nations to build ca- information, goods, and services is very low. The critical
pacity through educating and training mid-career profession- mass of individuals required for the development of societal
als from developing countries. Initially the institute concen- capacity in geographic information science will not enter the
trated on photogrammetry and cartography but as technology field in the absence of demand that creates jobs and income.
in the mapping sciences developed new activities were This section discusses the role of science and geographic
added, including training in the analysis of satellite imagery information in governance, the societal factors that influ-
and GIS. ence geospatial capacity, and partnerships for geospatial ca-
Among other international groups contributing to capac- pacity-building within Africa and between African countries
ity-building in Africa are universities and colleges and pro- and the United States.
fessional organizations. In recent years international profes-
sional associations in the geographic information sciences
such as the African Organization for Cartography and Re- Science and Governance
mote Sensing, Federation Internationale Géographique, EIS- A government’s recognition of the value of geographic
Africa (Chapter 4), International Society for Photogramme- information for policy-making reflects the level of attention
try and Remote Sensing, International Cartographic given to scientific and technological issues in general. Since
Association, International Association of Geodesy, and In- the adoption of Agenda 21 in 1992, emphasis on scientific
ternational Hydrological Organization have held meetings and technical capacity-building has increased in Africa. This
allowing local professionals access to the latest develop- increase likely is related to the following:
ments in the field. Universities and colleges in Europe and

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BOX 8-4
The International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences
Since the 1960s, ITC has been in the forefront of curriculum develop- • promoting geospatial capacity-building without competing with
ment for geographic information sciences in Africa. Recently the organiza- indigenous efforts.
tion reframed its curriculum and program goals to address Africa-centered
Competing with indigenous efforts is contrary to ITC’s goals to build
issues. Students can receive master’s or Ph.D. degrees or can attend short
geospatial capacity in Africa, yet “it is easier for some Nigerians to study
refresher courses. Between 1950 and the present, ITC graduated more
cartography in The Netherlands than at Kaduna Polytechnic” (Ademlemo
than 4,000 students from 45 African countries. The largest number of
et al., 1985). According to Beerens (2002),
graduates were from Tanzania (553) followed by Ethiopia (499), Nigeria
(442), Kenya (382), Sudan (309), and Egypt (308) (Beerens, 2002). ITC’s Perhaps donors themselves should not set standards too high, stan-
decentralization strategy illustrates a number of important challenges dards that require African countries to look for help from the outside, either
in the form of expatriate technical assistance or overseas education and
shared by all aid agencies. These include:
training. The problem then is that this type of assistance, although at first
• mobilizing adequate resources for regional centers and univer- temporary and targeted, becomes structural. We have to accept that devel-
opment takes place not by throwing money, projects and expatriate techni-
sities,
cal assistance at problems but by recognizing the need to start from local
• creating organizational linkages within countries and regions, conditions and capacities.
and
• Responsibilities of African countries as signatories of more authoritative role in advising their governments
international treaties for reporting in areas of science (Hassan, 2001).
ranging from agriculture and natural resources to cli- In African governments recognition is growing of the
mate change (Cisse et al., 1998). need for science capacity in a world defined by economic
• Recognition by African and donor nations that capac- globalization and information (NEPAD, 2001; Rabenoro,
ity-building and good governance are necessary for 2001). Evidence is needed at all levels of government that
economic reform (UNDP, 1997a,b; Nsouli, 2000). science capacity can contribute to economic competitiveness
• Explosion of the Internet that brought concerns about and human well-being. To promote the use of geographic
the “digital divide” to the forefront. information for sustainable development governments need
coherent science, technology, and innovation policies with
Because Africa is a large and diverse continent, there are the appropriate institutional arrangements for science and
significant national differences in approach to the applica- technology advice to key branches of government. Efforts to
tion of geographic information. The capacity to produce and educate policy-makers about the potential applications of
use geographic data varies between and within countries. geographic information and technology are underway in
For example, South Africa has a sophisticated research and many countries including the United States.7 Practical appli-
educational system for producing geographic data expertise cations in areas of transportation, cadastral issues, and disas-
and a long tradition of using geographic information in ad- ter mitigation are among the examples used to illustrate the
ministrative and policy contexts. In other African countries contributions of GIS to the business of government.
these efforts are just beginning. African countries that do not
have the technical expertise and infrastructure to gather and
process geographic data rely on access to geographic infor- Geographic Information and Governance
mation from other countries. The relationship of geospatial capacity and good gover-
Mohammed Hassan, executive director of the Third nance in Africa hinges on broad public access to information
World Academy of Sciences and president of the African and the decision process and accountability on the part of the
Academy of Sciences, made these remarks about the need government regarding decisions including the allocation of
for science advice for African governments. public resources such as food, land, and water. Resource al-
Africa, a continent with nearly 1 billion people, has less than location is central to African development efforts that focus
30,000 African-born Ph.D. scientists living and working on the eradication of poverty (e.g., NEPAD, 2001). Geo-
there…It is clear that both well-trained scientists and strong graphic data provides governments with needed information
scientific institutions are in short supply in Africa and that
the absence of one helps to explain the absence of the
other…More funds must be invested in academic research 7Tap into the Power of GIS. Available at< http://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/
and training activities and academies must play a larger, docs/communications>.

about territory, spatial patterns (e.g. population distribution wildlife and tourism issues using two-dimensional maps and
or urban forms), flows of people and goods, and human- images. Currently there are 14 conservancies in the program
environment relations (Murphy, 1995). and 14 more are interested in joining. The devolution of en-
Civil society plays an important role in Africa. Non-gov- vironmental monitoring responsibilities by the national gov-
ernmental organizations assume responsibility for providing ernment to provincial or local governments promotes the
food, clothing, and health services in many countries (Jo- demand for and use of geographic data at sub-national lev-
seph, 2002). Organizations such as ACODE in Uganda els. While opportunities for open access to geographic infor-
(Chapter 8) provide information to the public and are part of mation are increasing with efforts towards democratization
a system of checks and balances for the government. Tradi- and with advances in the Internet that make digital maps
tional organizations such as the gachacha in Rwanda and widespread, programs that engage communities and local
kgotla in Botswana provide a local arena for debate and dis- citizens and land managers with paper maps and other acces-
pute resolution helping to lighten the burden on the formal sible outlets for these geographic information can promote
legal system (Cliffe, 2002). broader participation in the decision process at the local
Geographic information and good governance go hand in level.
hand. Access to integrated (social, environmental, and eco-
nomic) geographic information allows civil society to hold
Social Factors Influencing Geospatial Capacity
government accountable for its decisions; government cre-
ates policies that allocate goods and services, and determine Data, hardware, and software systems provide increas-
public access to information and public participation in the ingly sophisticated geographic information worldwide, but
decision process. it is really the political, social, economic, and educational
The concept of spatial data infrastructures has existed for institutions of a country that ultimately determine the appli-
about a decade (NRC, 1993). Its value to society has not cation and use of geographic data for decision-making.
been fully realized (Chapter 4). Focus groups and courses to Nonetheless, this barrier could be overcome through build-
acquaint national policy-makers with spatial data infrastruc- ing social capacity. Awareness of the importance of geo-
tures were among the suggestions offered at a meeting of the graphic information to Agenda 21 issues is a basis for devel-
GISD Alliance8 in Nairobi in 2002 (E. Gavin, personal com- oping social capacity; so too are the efficient management of
munication, 2002) and echoed by Bassolé (2002). geographic information and access to information and inclu-
National governments are key players in applying geo- sion in the decision process.
graphic information to sustainable development. One of the
critical decisions that African governments make relates to
The Efficient Management of Geographic Information
how well or fairly public resources are managed and shared.
Governments also have the power to enact legal and regula- Spatial data infrastructures whose standards conform to
tory frameworks to ensure availability of geographic data the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) have the po-
for use in government operations and in policy- and deci- tential to enhance the use of geographic information by soci-
sion-making. International reporting responsibilities require ety. With shared compatible data, countries can monitor and
African governments to establish frameworks from the manage areas that transcend national boundaries such as river
grassroots to the national level to inventory and monitor the basins and forest systems. Seamless geographic information
state of the country and its resources. Geographic informa- can facilitate discussions about shared resources. Participants
tion can help African governments to meet their national and at the Geographic Information for Sustainable Development
international reporting responsibilities incurred as signato- Alliance meeting in Nairobi (E. Gavin, personal communi-
ries of treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diver- cation, 2002) identified major difficulties in managing geo-
sity and the Convention on International Trade in Endan- graphic information: lack of a clear policy framework, lack
gered Species. of standardization, and technical constraints (see also NSIF,
Governments can provide incentives for the use of geo- 2000). Addressing these challenges requires collaboration
graphic information science at the sub-national level through among all sectors and acceptance of the principles underly-
legislation designed to achieve sustainable development ing spatial data infrastructures (Chapter 4).
goals. In Namibia the Ministry of Environment and
Tourism’s CBNRM (Chapters 3 and 7) promotes sustainable
Access to Information and Inclusion in the Decision Process
use of natural resources and facilitates communication be-
tween the national government and rural communities on As the goal of universal education in all countries is pur-
sued a growing number of people will be able to use infor-
mation to inform themselves about government activities.
8This meeting included participants from Algeria, Botswana, Ethiopia, People want access to information about their environment,
Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, their health, and their economic and social opportunities.
South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Information provides people with more control over their

124 DOWN TO EARTH
lives and the quality of their environments. Access to infor- business, and community activities, is a driving force behind
mation in a country includes the right to information and the the development of capacity for using geographic informa-
right to participation in decision-making (Mwebaza, 2002). tion in the sustainability transition. This section looks toward
Ideally, if access to data were denied, legal processes to re- a more sustainable and dynamic approach to capacity-build-
dress grievances would be in place. ing that creates an important role for African universities.
The rapid development of new information technologies
and networks over the past two decades has made it possible
New Partnerships
to obtain geographic data through remote-sensing and to
store them in databases for later use. Detailed data about a
Effective use of geographic information science in sus-
country can be obtained by other countries and by commer-
tainable development will be associated with the emergence
cial firms without the observed country’s permission. Data-
of partnerships involving universities, industry, government,
bases can be created wholly outside the country of interest
and civil society.
and the information could be of superior quality to that avail-
able in the country of interest. This growing capacity of indi-
University Partnerships
viduals and organizations to obtain data from global net-
Universities bring together many of the elements needed
work sources means that governments can no longer
for innovative partnerships. The growing need to build hu-
completely control access to data and information about their
man and organizational capacity to address issues of envi-
countries. As awareness of information grows access to in-
ronment and development offers universities new opportu-
formation will be in greater demand.
nities to expand their teaching and research. Universities can
Decision-making involves both objective information and
play a role in offering conservation education and in helping
subjective goals and values. The goal of a spatial decision-
to create conservation organizations. The Stellenbosch Uni-
support system is to improve decision-making through an
versity in South Africa is promoting the use of geographic
informed process, not to encapsulate all facets of the pro-
information science in Africa with its satellite launched in
cess. Although geographic information can improve deci-
1999 in cooperation with NASA. This is the world’s only
sion-making, adding information to the process without in-
satellite built and managed by a university (Box 8-5).
creasing public access can exacerbate the growing digital
Focusing on capacity-building through research universi-
divide.
ties may entail changes in the way African universities func-
In an increasingly technical world where decision-mak-
tion. African universities can contribute to societal capacity
ing can be based on vast and complex databases the ordinary
by functioning as nodes in global networks of knowledge.
citizen can fall behind the “information power curve.” This
Universities can provide the knowledge and the know-how
is particularly true for the application of geographic data that
that government and the private sector need. Government
may require powerful computers and trained technicians.
and the private sector, in turn, can create social and practical
Often projects and programs using GIS technology have con-
support for universities.
verted paper maps to computer maps that are subsequently
A dual focus on teaching and research would build and
stored in central computer databanks, often inaccessible to
retain capacity, providing the incentive for African scholars
all but the technically trained agency personnel. With the
to remain in African universities. These changes should be
emergence of digital processing of geographic information,
promoted from within universities, and not imposed on them.
there is a risk of further increasing the digital divide as new
A new generation of partnerships among government, civil
analyses and models are implemented without wide public
society, and the private sector could foster innovation and
access to the inputs and results.
entrepreneurship in Africa.
Partnerships for Geospatial Capacity-building Entrepreneurship: Developing Demand

In Africa, supply and demand in geographic information
Geospatial capacity-building, like the transfer of technol-
science are often out of balance. A study of the situation in
ogy discussed in Chapter 7, will be more effective when the
Nigeria in the mid-1980s (Adeniyi, 1985; Ademlemo et. al.,
cooperation occurs in the context of long-term, practical part-
1985; Duru, 1985) shows that the shortage of trained person-
nerships such as business-to-business or university-to-uni-
nel limited the country’s capacity to effectively use them. Of
versity rather than exclusively in the traditional donor-
93 Nigerians trained externally in remote-sensing (many at
agency-to-recipient-government partnership. Partnerships
ITC) only 22 were in a position to apply remote-sensing tech-
among those with similar experiences (e.g., between entities
niques and only five of them had the necessary equipment
in developing countries) could enhance their efficacy. Over
for their work (Adeniyi, 1985). Partnerships of universities
time, a commitment is needed for communication and edu-
and the private sector in geospatial capacity-building are key
cation of partners and for human and organizational adjust-
to achieving a balance between supply and demand for geo-
ments to the use of new technologies (Schmidheiny, 1998).
graphic information, tools, and services in Africa.
In addition to partnerships driven by demand for specific
Countries are searching for ways to facilitate the transfor-
services, entrepreneurship defined broadly to include social,
mation of new knowledge into products and services, and

mism. The prospects for such alliances in the fields of geo-

BOX 8-5 graphic information are immense and need to be tapped.
Universities as Incubators: In promoting organizational cooperation emphasis
The Case of theUniversity of Stellenbosch should be placed on fostering innovation and the trans-
fer of geographic data and technology through: (1) part-
The Stellenbosch University Satellite (SUNSAT) program set out nerships and research networks among government
in 1992 to enrich the engineering graduate training program; expand agencies, research and training institutions, the private
international scientific cooperation; and stimulate interest in technical sector, and the non-governmental sector; (2) interna-
careers among school children. tional collaboration involving developed and African
The venture started in the Computer and Control Systems Group countries; and (3) cooperation between African and other
of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department of the univer- developing countries.
sity to set up a post-graduate research group in satellite systems. This
resulted in the establishment of the Electronic Systems Laboratory U.S.-Africa Partnerships
(ESL) in the department in 1992. SUNSAT was designed, constructed, Growing recognition of the role of science and technol-
and tested entirely by ESL students and staff, with the exception of the ogy in development is creating opportunities to redefine in-
solar arrays, batteries, GPS receiver, and laser reflectors. ternational diplomacy. Good diplomacy entails deploying the
The Department of Communication of the South African govern- benefits of science and technology to meet the needs of de-
ment has identified the need for more engineers to supply the demand veloping countries. The United States is already engaged in
for satellite telecommunication services and the University of providing support to African countries for the development
Stellenbosch is meeting this challenge. The impact of SUNSAT on of their spatial data infrastructures (see Appendix C). At the
capacity-building can be measured by the more than 50 master’s and U.S. National Academy of Sciences meeting on April 30,
Ph.D. degrees that have been awarded to students who participated in 2002, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made the follow-
the satellite’s development. ing remarks about the importance of science and technology
to sustainable development.
SOURCE: <http://www.sunspace.co.za/_index.html>.
You will also see our new approach to development at the
World Summit on Sustainable Development in
closer cooperation between universities and the private sec- Johannesburg, South Africa, this August and early Septem-
tor has emerged as one of the most efficient ways of achiev- ber. At the summit, we will stress that good governance,
including solid science and technology policies, are funda-
ing this goal. Governments can also collaborate with univer-
mental to sustainable development. We will also emphasize
sities to provide education for managers and policy-makers.
in Johannesburg that as important as government-to-govern-
Private-sector participation in geographic information sci- ment cooperation is to development, governments alone can-
ence will require the support of government for a wide range not do the job. Public-private partnerships will be crucial to
of enabling policies and incentive measures. Universities find the money needed to help nations address the daunting
could play a key role by providing much needed research problems that they face in developing.
and development to start-up geographic information enter-
prises in both civil society and in the private sector. The United States and many other countries and multilat-
Private-sector demand in Africa as a whole is likely to eral organizations are working to improve the geospatial ca-
grow fastest in the areas where the present users of geo- pacity of African countries. For example, the United States
graphic information and tools are concentrated: agriculture is engaged with African countries in organizational partner-
and natural resource management (Chapter 7). Data and tools ships promoting the use of geographic information includ-
for agricultural and environmental issues are needed to ad- ing the Open GIS Consortium Pilot Project (Box 4-4) and
dress local concerns, including poverty, land ownership, the nine USAID Collaborative Research Support Programs
water resource management, and the relationships between [Table 3-1]). The success of these efforts depends on whether
competing stakeholders. Capacity-building is needed in both they (1) respect the national basis both for African govern-
the formal and informal agricultural sectors; extension work- ment operations and decision-making and for local non-gov-
ers need training that emphasizes both skills and knowledge ernmental organizations; (2) provide for open access to data
(Lindley et al., 1996). Agriculture and natural resource man- and information and the use of common standards to pro-
agement are areas of opportunity for entrepreneurship in- mote data integration; (3) provide reasonable guarantees of
volving geographic information science and technology. stability and continuity in financial support; and (4) recog-
Partnerships between universities and industry will not nize the importance of traveling the “last mile” from the tech-
emerge automatically. Efforts to create novel partnerships nical data to the non-technical decision-maker.
without government incentives and support are unlikely to In addition to the many benefits that African countries
meet with success. Strategic alliances among government, derive from access to and use of geographic data, the United
civil society, and the private sector are a global phenomenon States benefits from improved capacity in Africa to use geo-
and represent a significant source of productivity and dyna- graphic data and information. Improvements in access, man-

126 DOWN TO EARTH
agement, and use of geographic data in Africa can promote SUMMARY

global stability through participatory government and help
The application of geographic information to Agenda 21
African countries to fulfill their international obligations in-
issues in Africa requires considerable growth in geospatial
curred as signatories of international treaties. Information
capacity. Capacity development is addressed at three inter-
management in African countries also improves the data
dependent levels: human, organizational, and societal. Hu-
available to scientists and policy-makers in the United States
man capacity is accomplished primarily through education
for scientific research, economic activities (such as the ex-
and training. Owing to the technical nature of geographic
pansion of consumer markets in Africa for U.S. goods and
information science, university and on-the-job training are
services), and for the care of the global commons: the oceans
vital to enhance geospatial capacity. Among the challenges
and the atmosphere.
faced by organizations in building capacity are retention of
In addition to supporting developing countries in the de-
trained people and restricted access to information. An ap-
velopment of their spatial data infrastructures, the United
propriate balance needs to be struck between the role of in-
States provides valuable foundation and thematic geographic
ternational organizations and the need to create space for the
data for a wide variety of applications in Africa. These data
emergence of local public and private organizations. Soci-
include
etal capacity benefits from partnerships among universities,
governments, and the private sector, and from open access to
• free and open access to the 24-satellite Global Posi-
data.
tioning System (GPS) (Chapter 5);
The final chapter summarizes lessons learned in the ap-
• global 30 × 30 m orthorectified Landsat Thematic im-
plication of geographic information in Africa and offers the
agery from circa 1990 through the NASA Data Buy
committee’s conclusions and recommendations.
and Earth Satellite Corporation (Chapter 6);
• imagery of many African countries from CORONA
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Lessons Learned and Recommendations
INTRODUCTION growing through continent-wide activities (e.g., EIS-Africa

and ECA’s regional centers) and partnerships (e.g., NOAA’s
This chapter discusses lessons learned from the applica- RANET [Radio and Internet for the Communication of Hy-
tion of geographic information in Africa and presents the dro Meteorological and Climate Related Information Across
committee’s conclusions and recommendations. The first Africa] project, the Miombo Network, and FAO’s Africover
section summarizes lessons learned from the GISD case- project). Some of these activities like FEWS NET (Famine
study areas and other examples. The remaining sections con- Early Warning System Network) have been in place for
tain conclusions and recommendations in a structure that many years, whereas others like Uganda’s ACODE (Advo-
parallels the flow of the report, namely, the spatial data and cates Coalition for Development and Environment), Burkina
telecommunications infrastructure (Chapter 4), geographic Faso’s PNGIM (National Program for Environment Infor-
data and tools (Chapters 5, 6, and 7), and geospatial capac- mation Management), and LEWS (Livestock Early Warning
ity-building (Chapter 8). System) in East Africa are new.
LESSONS LEARNED Needs-Driven Approaches and Data-Sharing

Africa has a small but growing community of geographic Needs-driven approaches and open data-sharing environ-
data providers, processors and analysts, trainers, techni- ments are common among effective applications of geo-
cians, advocates, and data and information users (decision- graphic information (e.g., the CBNRM [Community Based
makers). The community’s growth is demonstrated by the Natural Resource Management] program in Namibia, the
more than 400 participants at the Africa-GIS conference in continent-wide MARA [Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa]
Nairobi in November 2001 in contrast to the 70 attendees project, and the Miombo Network in southern Africa). The
at the first Africa-GIS conference in Tunis in 1993.1 As the needs-driven approach of the CBNRM program has built
community grows its activities are becoming better coordi- credibility with field users, led to a strong feeling of owner-
nated. This community comprises African and international ship by rural people and field-based support staff, fostered a
partners from NGOs, universities, private companies, and culture of sensitivity to community needs among technical
foreign governments, including the space and aid agencies institutions that are partners in the program, generated trust
that are a major source of geographic data, training, and and a common vision among partners (communities, gov-
support. ernment, donors), and built a critical mass to enhance
Efforts to expand the use of geographic information at sustainability of the program. Data-sharing—facilitated by
national and regional levels are resulting in data and infor- adopting standardized software, data formats, and file direc-
mation for decision-making, technical training for students tory structure, and a metadata database—has resulted in cost
and professionals, and creating geospatial capacity. The ca- savings.
pacity to manage and use geographic data and information is The agricultural and natural resource management sec-
tors are a likely primary source of demand for geographic
information and related decision-support tools, as these sec-
1Daniel Tunstall, World Resources Institute, personal communication, tors are the main users because the livelihoods of the major-
May 10, 2002. ity of Africans depend on them. Additional demand will arise
128

LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 129
as African countries need to satisfy reporting requirements and diverse geographic datasets, creating new opportunities
on treaties to which they are signatories. for collaboration among natural and social scientists and
decision-makers at all levels (e.g., the LEWS project, the
Lesson Learned: Needs-driven as opposed to prescriptive Miombo Network, the MARA project, CBNRM, and SADC
approaches with provision of information in appropriate [Southern African Development Community]).
and usable forms are most likely to result in effective appli-
cation of geographic information. Lesson Learned: In this century many environmental prob-
lems will occur at the intersection of sectors. Geographic
information technologies can assist people in tackling this
From Environmental Management to Sustainable
integration challenge.
Development
Geographic information and technologies are central to
Good Governance
achieving a successful transition from traditional environ-
mental and resource management practices to sustainable Societal capacity is built by governance2 that promotes
development because of their integrative quality (linking the relationships among individuals, organizations, and the
social, economic, and environmental data) and their place- larger society. In this way governance contributes to the de-
based quality (addressing relationships among places at lo- velopment of geospatial capacity. Linkages that facilitate
cal, national, regional, and global scales). collaboration among academics, governmental and non-gov-
A narrow focus on either economic development or envi- ernmental actors, and the private sector are needed for the
ronmental management can obscure the connections between transition to sustainable development (NRC, 1999).
environmental change and social, political, and economic Human and organizational capacity to apply geographic
activities, artificially separating environment from develop- information and technology to Agenda 21 issues cannot grow
ment. This separation can result in short-term, project-ori- or be maintained unless rooted in a wider societal context
ented data collection; single-issue development agendas that values the contributions of science and technology, up-
(e.g., economic growth divorced from environmental and holds principles of openness and sharing of information, and
intergenerational equity considerations); and spurious at- provides incentives for change and adaptation. The develop-
tempts to make tradeoffs between inseparable dimensions of ment of a policy environment that supports the use of geo-
sustainable development, such as human well-being and en- graphic information depends on the attention given to scien-
vironmental protection (NRC, 2002). tific and technological issues in general.
Sustainable development necessarily links people, their Geographic data, hardware, and software systems are in-
needs, and the impacts of their behavior over time (including creasingly sophisticated but it is really the political, social,
patterns of population growth and consumption, cultural pat- economic, and educational institutions of a country that ulti-
terns, and political activities) to the environment and the mately determine the application and use of these data and
economy. Consequently, data on human population distribu- tools for decision-making. Good governance creates a cli-
tion are fundamentally important to decision-makers as they mate in which geospatial capacity can grow and vice versa.
address Agenda 21 issues. Geographic information illuminates social and political
problems, such as the uneven distribution of the benefits of
Lesson Learned: Geographic information and technolo- economic development, lack of accountability of elected of-
gies are central to the transition from traditional environ- ficials, and a burden of disease that impacts societal cohe-
mental management to sustainable development, that sion.
brings people to the fore, rightfully integrating environ-
Lesson Learned: Good governance promotes geospatial
ment and development.
capacity and vice versa. Access to integrated geographic
information allows civil society to hold government account-
Geographic Information at the Intersection of Sectors able; and government creates policies that determine public
access to information and public participation in the
Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992) calls for integrated social,
decision process.
economic, and environmental data. There is growing recog-
nition by decision-makers in Africa that problems at the in-
tersection of agriculture and environmental management,
climate change, and land-cover change, with their attendant
social and economic consequences, will be at the forefront
2Governance is defined by the UNDP as “the exercise of political, eco-
of the twenty-first century.
nomic, and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs.” Sound or
Technological advances fostering the integration of satel- good governance is defined as that sub-set of governance “wherein public
lite imagery with other data (such as socioeconomic or health resources and problems are managed efficiently and in response to the critical
data) in GIS are opening new ways to synthesize complex needs of society” (UNDP, 1997).

130 DOWN TO EARTH
Barriers to Use of Geographic Information Lesson Learned: There are several barriers to the use of
geographic data to address Agenda 21 issues. The next sec-
There remain barriers to effective use of geographic in-
tion describes approaches to overcome some of these barri-
formation in Africa, including:
ers.
• technical limitations of accessibility to such data as
inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, limited
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
bandwidth, and low Internet connectivity (Chapter 4);
• administrative challenges of accessibility to data in-
cluding lack of (1) familiarity on the part of govern- Enabling Frameworks
ment officials with requests for information, (2) effi-
cient protocols for requesting government data (Chap- Spatial Data Infrastructures
ter 8), (3) common data standards to promote sharing
Conclusion: There is no universally accepted framework for
(Chapter 4), and (4) issues of copyright and distribu-
geographic data management in Africa. An integrated,
tion;
interoperable approach will provide Africans with better ac-
• inability to afford needed data and lack of availability
cess to more diversified data that can then be applied to spe-
of hard currency and foreign exchange in many coun-
cific questions or problems. Decision-making on Agenda 21
tries (Chapter 6);
issues requires access to data from multiple sources, includ-
• educational and organizational limitations on access
ing international ones, and this is facilitated by standardiza-
to data and technology including a poorly trained
tion within a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) (Chapter 4).
workforce, and limited private-sector demand to spur
Countries can benefit economically from SDIs because of
the development of geographic information and tools
the possibility to use data many times for many applications.
(Chapter 8); and
• ineffective transfer of technology to the local level
Recommendation: Because of the potential benefits, devel-
where many decisions are made that impact sustain-
oping countries should consider using a standardized SDI
able development (Chapter 7) (NRC, 1999).
that is compatible with the emerging Global Spatial Data
Infrastructure (GSDI). Data derived from international de-
The available data often are not of sufficiently high spa-
velopment programs (for example, those of USAID) should
tial or temporal resolution to be useful for decision-support
conform to the standards recommended by the GSDI. In this
at the local level. Urban planners require regularly updated
way data collected by these programs is rendered more useful.
data at 1-meter spatial resolution to take into account the
rapid pace of change in cities. In rural areas where the bulk
of the population still live the minimum spatial resolution of Telecommunications Infrastructure
value to agricultural extension workers and rural develop-
ment specialists is that of the small farms. Existing cover- Conclusion: Sustainable development activities would be
ages, as outlined in this report, are impressive at national and improved if a greater emphasis were placed on distributed
sub-national levels but virtually nonexistent at local scales. systems that enabled access to multiple geographic datasets
The problem is confounded by the fact that what data are and linked networks of African scientists, data users, and
available rarely reach the rural and urban decision-makers at organizations. An efficient telecommunications infrastruc-
the local level dealing with the day-to-day realities of sus- ture facilitates accessibility, use, and dissemination of geo-
tainable development. graphic data and information, and forms the backbone of
In addition to data-availability challenges, many decision- any SDI. Although telecommunications infrastructures are
makers in developed and developing countries have no ex- improving, in Africa as in much of the developing world
perience with GIS and other spatial decision-support tools, they often are inadequate to support efficient SDIs (Chapter
and thus do not appreciate their potential for using geo- 4). Access to geographic data through the Internet is limited,
graphic information. Other impediments to implementation and connection costs and bandwidth are restrictive for data-
of spatial decision-support systems include the orientation sharing.
of projects toward data production rather than application, In response to these problems a range of organizations
lack of planning for the decision-support process, lack of are developing and improving telecommunications infra-
communication between technicians and scientists within an structure in Africa (e.g., the African Information Society,
organization, and lack of inclusion of university research that the African Development Forum, the African Telecommuni-
could drive data analysis (EIS-Africa, 2001). With limited cations Union, the African Connection, USAID’s Leland
geographic data and a limited appreciation for its value the Initiative, and NOAA’s RANET project).
ability of African countries to address Agenda 21 issues and
to fulfill their international treaty obligations for environ- Recommendation: The U.S. government (e.g., USAID and
mental reporting is compromised. NOAA) should continue to assist African countries in im-

proving telecommunications infrastructure so that large com- lution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (250 × 250 m
puter files containing geographic data can readily be distrib- to 1 × 1 km), and Landsat satellite sensors (79 × 79 m to 15
uted within national and global spatial data infrastructures. × 15 m). The resultant datasets include Global Land Cover
(AVHRR), TREES (Tropical Ecosystem Environment Ob-
servations by Satellite) (AVHRR), GeoCover Land Cover
Collection and Maintenance of Geographic Data and
(Landsat), and Africover (Landsat). In addition to global
Information
land-cover mapping applications NOAA’s AVHRR is a
widely used source of satellite data for cloud and sea-surface
Data Continuity and Technological Uncertainty
temperature mapping in meteorological applications, natural
For geographic information to be useful for long-term resource management and early warning systems (e.g.,
sustainable development and natural resource management, FEWS NET, LEWS). This class of sensor flies onboard
the data source needs to be dependable into the foreseeable NOAA’s “operational” satellites and its successor will likely
future. With the exception of development programs now continue operating until 2018 onboard the National Polar-
capitalizing on satellite meteorological observations, most orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System.
programs will conclude as demonstrations rather than be- NASA’s advanced MODIS sensor on its Terra satellite plat-
coming operational within African institutions or programs, form has a range of mapping applications including land
in part because of cost and related uncertainty over future cover, fire, and productivity.
availability of data.
Geographic information technology is rapidly changing. Conclusion: Land-cover datasets and vegetation indexes are
Dramatic changes in architectures, configurations, and ap- valuable resources for natural resource management and de-
proaches to data processing and handling technologies are velopment planning in rural areas. Similar datasets and indi-
creating concerns about technological obsolescence. The is- ces can be constructed in the future for change detection and
sues of data continuity and rapid technological change are many other applications as long as there is continued flow of
important considerations when building sustainable geo- data from AVHRR, MODIS, and Landsat (or their equiva-
graphic information activities. Rapidly evolving technology lents).
makes it difficult to provide access to low-cost data analysis
tools and to generate continuous datasets. Without some way Recommendation: Until at least 2018, NASA, NOAA, and
to assure data continuity (NRC, 1995), investments by de- DOD should carry out their plan for the National Polar-Or-
velopment organizations in training and capacity building biting Environmental Satellite System to ensure that it sup-
will be less useful than they could be. Without assurances plies relatively coarse spatial and high temporal frequency
that these investments will be useful in the future, it will be observations (such as the AVHRR follow-on) that are neces-
more difficult for African governments to invest in their own sary for a multitude of applications in Africa and elsewhere.
capacity and infrastructure. Changes in data access policy,
data cost, or the elimination of an observation program cre- Recommendation: NASA and USGS should take measures
ate uncertainties about long-term benefits of international to ensure that the Landsat data continuity mission(s) pro-
programs to Africans. vides long-term continuous data, perhaps through making
the Landsat program an operational system for land observa-
Global Positioning Systems tions, to support sustainable development and natural re-
Conclusion: GPS information is broadcast worldwide to vir- source management in Africa and elsewhere. NASA should
tually anyone in any country and is of great importance to also ensure that sensors on its Terra and Aqua satellites (e.g.,
the practical collection and use of fundamental geographic MODIS, ASTER, AMSR-E) continue to provide data for
data for Agenda 21-related initiatives. meteorological and land observation applications.
Recommendation: The utility of GPS information should These actions would address data continuity at the data
not be reduced by reintroducing selective availability and its source. One means of reducing uncertainty in the data stream
continuity should be guaranteed. The U.S. Department of at the downstream end is to develop databases using data
Defense should continue to allow free access to GPS data. from more than one source. Such multi-sensor approaches as
the twinning of Landsat and SPOT satellite imagery for high-
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satel- resolution land-cover change information promote flexibil-
lite System, Terra, and Landsat ity for agencies that base new programs on the availability of
There are low-cost sources of coarse and medium spatial data. This approach would benefit from close coordination
resolution land-cover information for Africa. These come and cooperation among international data providers and be-
from sensors that include the Advanced Very High Resolu- tween data providers and donor agencies. Flexibility in the
tion Radiometer (AVHRR) (1 × 1 km), the Moderate Reso- provision of hardware and software technologies will also

132 DOWN TO EARTH
be necessary; often programs are tightly coupled to specific, basis (at 5 to 10 year intervals) for urban areas in Africa and
sometimes unique data processing and analysis systems. donating them to African organizations to ensure continuity
More use of open interoperable software environments, as of the data source and change detection. The imagery might
promoted in SDIs, would enhance the flexibility and reduce include airborne analog or digital photography or satellite-
the vulnerability of these programs. derived high-resolution imagery. The areas surveyed could
be requested by African organizations on the basis of impor-
tance of problem and technical and organizational capacity
Focused Geographic Data Requirements
to use the data. One model for this concept is the U.S. Sci-
ence Data Buy (Box 5-3).
Elevation Data
Conclusion: National census data provide the foundation for
measuring population distribution and change at the national Elevation (topographic) data have many uses (Table 5-2)
to local scales. The strengths of human population censuses but are often inaccurate, of limited extent, or nonexistent,
arise from their completeness of coverage; continuity of sta- owing to inaccessibility of Earth’s mountain ranges, deserts,
tistics from census to census; and the detail that each census and forests. Even where access is practical, traditional sur-
provides about population sub-groups in local areas. In the veying methods are expensive. Furthermore, neighboring
current worldwide development arena, such key issues as countries may use differing data-collection methods that
good governance, poverty eradication strategies, and the cause data discontinuities at borders, even though natural
need to promote economic growth with social equity all re- resources (e.g., rivers) often cross these borders. To address
quire population and other demographic data at the detailed these challenges, the United States has partnered with a num-
local scale that only a population census can provide. More- ber of countries and organizations to produce two digital
over, there exists an increasing demand for disaggregated elevation datasets: the GTOPO30 (Global Topography at 30
data at the sub-national level. arc seconds) dataset (with its derivative hydrologic product:
Despite these needs datasets on population distribution HYDRO1K) and the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mis-
from many African censuses are incomplete, often owing to sion (SRTM) dataset. The GTOPO30 dataset is a global digi-
high costs and insufficient funds. Progress toward Agenda tal elevation dataset, whereas the SRTM dataset covers 80
21 goals is impeded by this lack of complete, reliable data on percent of the globe. In the current plan, which is not final-
human population distribution. ized, SRTM data will be released at 30 × 30 m spatial reso-
lution for the U.S. and at 90 × 90 m spatial resolution for the
Recommendation: USAID and the U.S. Bureau of the Cen- rest of the world.
sus should provide financial and technical support to national
census offices and bureaus in Africa to help them complete Conclusion: The GTOPO30 dataset is of limited value in
censuses, geographically reference the data, and make the Africa and most other developing countries for monitoring
data available in disaggregated form to decision-makers. ecosystems, urban and rural infrastructures, and hydrology
because of its coarse spatial resolution (1.1 × 1.1 km). Fortu-
nately, elevation data derived from NASA’s Shuttle Radar
Very High Spatial Resolution Remotely Sensed Data Topography Mission in 2000 may be more suitable for many
Conclusion: Many Agenda 21 issues concentrate on urban applications because all data were collected during a single
and suburban areas (Chapter 2). Addressing sustainability 11-day mission using standardized technology; they will
issues relating to urban and suburban land use (including have accurate geodetic control; and will be homogeneous
ownership) and infrastructure requires very high spatial reso- across each continent (Chapter 5).
lution (≤ 1 × 1 m) remotely-sensed data. High-resolution
Recommendation: NASA should produce digital elevation
data is costly whether obtained from satellites or airborne
data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission at the high-
sensors. Although there are inexpensive options for obtain-
est possible spatial resolution (e.g., 30 × 30 m) for all areas.
ing high-quality coarse (1 × 1 km) and medium (30 × 30 m)
The data should be made available without restriction and at
spatial resolution land-cover datasets for parts of Africa,
affordable cost. NASA should also provide the synthetic
there is no economical method of obtaining very high spatial
aperture radar ortho-image mosaics at 30 × 30 m spatial reso-
resolution imagery to inventory and monitor change in ur-
lution that are being produced as part of the processing.
ban areas in Africa. Image grants would help to inventory
These mosaics would provide additional information about
and map the continually changing characteristics of urban
land-cover conditions and surface roughness characteristics,
infrastructures.
especially in tropical regions shrouded by cloud cover.
Recommendation: USAID should consider purchasing very
Conclusion: A valuable hydrologic product for application
high spatial resolution images (i.e., < 1 × 1 m) on a regular

to Agenda 21 issues could be derived from the Shuttle Radar from lending institutions in their bid to improve quality of
Topography Mission with almost global 90 × 90 m (perhaps life.
30 × 30 m) spatial resolution. This derivative product would
have applications at the sub-regional level where the low- Conclusion: The production of cadastres is costly and has
resolution (1.1 × 1.1 km) HYDROlK dataset currently is in- been a low priority for most African countries and donor
applicable. agencies, even when there are clear benefits. GPS, used in
concert with GIS, produces cadastral data more cheaply than
Recommendation: Serious consideration should be given by traditional surveying techniques and will facilitate produc-
the USGS to modeling the Shuttle Radar Topography Mis- tion of cadastres. Continued, cautious development of
sion-derived 30 × 30 m digital elevation data to produce the cadastres will facilitate land management and administra-
most accurate, affordable hydrologic network database with tion, promote greater efficiency in the operation of land mar-
global coverage. kets, strengthen the operations of free-market economies,
and reinforce the ability of governments to initiate and sus-
tain land and agrarian reforms (e.g., de Soto, 2000).
Legacy Data
Over time cadastres could play an indirect role in poverty
The earliest baseline against which future change can be reduction, especially through enhancing access to credit fa-
compared often comes from historical legacy data. In many cilities and providing socioeconomic information for effec-
instances legacy data may be digitized, placed in a GIS, and tive settlement management. Many Africans have no easily
analyzed in conjunction with more recent geographic data, located residential addresses to facilitate their effective par-
such as satellite remotely-sensed data. The time scales over ticipation in social and economic transactions (ECA, 2001).
which change can be detected are extended through use of These inadequacies have been one reason why the system-
legacy data. Additionally, they contain place names and pro- atic delivery, management, expansion, and improvement of
vide valuable insights on ethnicity and population growth. services to all segments of the population, the effective col-
Bridges between local knowledge and modern technology lection of taxes and rates, and the cost recovery for utilities
are built through the use of legacy data. and services have been difficult to implement in urban areas
Despite their obvious benefits, legacy data are being lost (ECA, 2001).
or remain inaccessible and unused. Efforts are underway to
preserve legacy data and ensure that they are used. Interna- Recommendation: Because of the potential of cadastres to
tional organizations including the French Institute of Scien- address Agenda 21 issues, including poverty reduction and
tific and Technological Research for Cooperative Develop- land resource management, the U.S. government (USAID
ment and DEVECOL, and African regional organizations and USGS) should assist African countries to develop
such as the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa in Dakar, cadastres.
Senegal, and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria are work-
ing to preserve legacy data and make it available to decision-
Decision-Support Systems
makers.
Recommendation: To complement these efforts to preserve Conclusion: Decision-support in the area of land cover
and enhance the use of valuable legacy data U.S. govern- (Chapter 6) will be one of the most fruitful applications of
ment agencies (e.g., USAID and USGS) should assist Afri- geographic data and tools in Africa. The livelihoods of the
can countries and organizations to identify, integrate, and majority of Africans depend on agriculture and natural re-
maintain existing sources of information (legacy data). They sources, and there are many pressing problems within these
should also provide African countries with copies of such sectors. Addressing these problems demands better data and
legacy data as reports, maps, statistics, aerial and satellite better ways of analyzing the relationship between human
photographs, and other relevant data and materials currently activities and changes on the land surface. International ac-
held outside those countries. The first task would be sub- tivities could accelerate the use of decision-support systems
stantial, but the second would be more routine. for land-cover applications in Africa. Strategies to improve
or create these datasets are needed, and these strategies
would work best when built on existing initiatives and net-
Cadastral Data
works.
Owning land provides individuals with economic assets
that can be traded in land markets, used as collateral to raise Recommendation: An effective land-cover decision-support
credit or as security for various forms of economic improve- system should include a standard classification system;
ments. Because individual land ownership is nonexistent in baseline data and change detection capabilities; hot spot de-
large parts of rural Africa, except in eastern and southern tection and high risk zone prediction capabilities; analysis
Africa, challenges remain for rural Africans to obtain credit and modeling of proximate (mainly human) causes of

134 DOWN TO EARTH
change; linkages between direct observations, case studies, Human and Organizational Capacity
and models; and established environmental indicators.
Most of the existing geographic information activities in
Africa were initiated in response to humanitarian needs such
Geospatial Capacity-Building for Sustainable as famine and natural disaster, and implemented through fo-
Development cused, time-limited projects. Learning to apply modern geo-
graphic information and tools to address evolving societal
Coordination and Partnering for Meeting African Data Needs needs requires a long learning period and attention to the
development of societal capacity in science and technology.
Conclusion: Moving beyond the current state of the art in
Universities are the logical source of this kind of education
the application of geographic data in Africa will require
and training because they focus on teaching and research.
greater coordination among data providers, donor agencies,
With the appropriate policies and incentives, universities are
and the science community and end-users in Africa. Already
also natural incubators for enterprises and social organiza-
the requirements for the next generation of remote-sensing
tions. The organizations of civil society are important in
systems are being defined or developed, yet there appears to
many African countries where the functions of the state are
be little dialog between the space agencies and the donor
inadequate.
agencies, and even less input from potential end-users of the
data in Africa. Lessons learned in the application of existing Conclusion: It is unlikely that long-term capacity-building
data for decision-making could be fed back into the defini- in technical fields such as geographic information science
tion of future observation and data system requirements, par- can be sustained in the absence of strong foundations in
ticularly in government science agencies. higher education with emphasis on science and technology.
Despite the difficulties African universities face, they remain
Recommendation: Data providers, U.S. government agen- vital to the generation of new knowledge and have the po-
cies, and partners should work closely with African organi- tential for organizational capacity-building. The application
zations to define and integrate the data needs of Africans of geographic information to sustainable development will
into future programs (e.g., for new satellite remote-sensing depend on the quality, character, and direction of university
missions) and to maximize efficiency of new programs education in Africa. There is an urgent need to coordinate
through a coordinated approach. and strengthen the capacity of university departments pro-
viding both research and training in geographic information
Partnerships for Capacity-Building science.
Conclusion: Partnerships promote sharing of resources, im-
proved communication and cooperation, and acceptance of Recommendation: African universities should become a fo-
shared standards required for spatial data infrastructures. cus for capacity-building including training and research in
Effective use of geographic information science in sustain- geographic information science and development organiza-
able development will be associated with the strengthening tions should coordinate their efforts to achieve this goal.
of existing partnerships and the emergence of new forms of
partnerships involving universities, industry, government, Conclusion: A cadre of well-trained individuals will need to
and civil society. Partnerships among universities and the be formed in each country to apply geographic data and in-
private sector in geospatial capacity building are key to formation in support of sustainable development in Africa.
achieving a balance between supply and demand for geo-
graphic information, tools, and services in Africa. Research Recommendation: Continuing and on-the-job training
networks that develop as a result of these partnerships pro- should become an integral part of the process of enhancing
mote broad exchange of information on sustainable develop- geospatial capacity. Organizations that provide professional
ment, including best practices. Development of effective training in geographic information sciences such as regional
partnerships requires the support and incentives of both Af- centers and polytechnics should be strengthened.
rican and international donor governments.
SUMMARY
Recommendation: In promoting organizational cooperation,
emphasis should be placed on fostering innovation and the Geographic data lie at the heart of many Agenda 21 is-
transfer of geographic data and technology through: (1) part- sues. These data are already in use in a growing geographic
nerships and research networks among government agen- information community in Africa. Although there exist a
cies, research and training institutions, the private sector, and number of barriers to effective application of geographic data
the non-governmental sector; (2) international collaboration to Agenda 21 issues, it is likely that demand for these data
involving developed and African countries; and (3) coopera- will quicken the pace toward the disappearance of these bar-
tion between African and other developing countries. riers.

REFERENCES NRC (National Research Council). 1995. Earth Observations From Space:
History, Promise, and Reality. Washington, DC: National Academy
de Soto, H. 2000. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the Press.
West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York: Basic Books. NRC. 1999. Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability.
ECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa). 2001. The Future Orienta- Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
tion of Geoinformation Activities in Africa: A Position Paper. Avail- NRC. 2002. Community and Quality of Life: Data Needs for Informed
able at <http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Conference_Reports_ Decision Making. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
and_Other_Documents/disd/codi/docs/doc3EN.pdf>. Accessed May UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development).
15, 2002. 1992. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
EIS-Africa (Environmental Information Systems—Africa). 2001. Environ- Development, Rio de Janeiro, June 3-14, 1992. Rio de Janeiro: UN.
mental Information Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ap- (Annex I: Rio Declaration; Annex II: Agenda 21)
proaches, Lessons and Challenges, E. Gavin and J. Gyamfi-Aidoo, eds. UNDP (United Nations Development Program). 1997. Governance for Sus-
EIS-Africa. tainable Development. Policy paper. Available at <http://magnet.
undp.org/policy.default.htm>. Accessed May 20, 2002.


Appendixes


Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
JOHN R. JENSEN, chair, is a Carolina Distinguished Pro- rica since its inception. He also serves on a number of other
fessor in the Department of Geography at the University of important boards, including those of the African Capacity
South Carolina. He majored in physical geography and ana- Building Foundation and the African Economic Research
lytical cartography and remote-sensing at the following in- Consortium. He has consulted widely for a number of inter-
stitutions: B.A., California State University at Fullerton, national institutions, including the World Bank, the Interna-
1971; master’s, Brigham Young University, 1972; Ph.D., tional Monetary Fund, UNDP, UNCTAD, and the Common-
UCLA, 1976. He has mentored 50 master’s students and 22 wealth Secretariat.
Ph.D.’s in remote-sensing. Dr. Jensen’s research has focused
on: (1) remote sensing of coastal wetland biophysical re- ELLEN BRENNAN-GALVIN is chief of the Population
sources (biomass, leaf-area-index, percent canopy closure); Policy Section of the U.N. Population Division. Since the
(2) development of improved digital image-processing algo- early 1980s, she has conducted research on urbanization and
rithms to extract and model change; (3) development of er- urban environmental issues in more than 20 cities through-
ror evaluation statistics for assessing the accuracy of mul- out Asia, Africa, and Latin America and is the author of
tiple-date change detection, (4) improvement of the numerous case studies published by the United Nations. She
remote-sensing and GIS-supported coastal environmental is a member of the U.S. National Research Council’s Com-
sensitivity index (ESI) mapping used worldwide for protect- mittee on Population and the Panel on Urban Population
ing coastal resources in the event of an oil spill; and (5) Dynamics. Dr. Brennan-Galvin is a resident fellow at the
modeling water quality parameters (chlorophyll, dissolved Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Wash-
inorganic matter, suspended sediment) in estuaries and res- ington, D.C., where she will work on a project entitled “Be-
ervoirs using high spatial and spectral resolution remote sen- yond Pretty Maps: Geographic Information Technology in
sor data. He is a past president of the American Society for Urban Governance.” Dr. Brennan-Galvin is a Phi Beta
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Kappa graduate of Smith College, holds an M.A. and a Ph.D.
from Columbia University, and was a population council
KWESI BOTCHWEY is the director of Africa research fellow, studying demography at the Office of Population
and programs at the Center for International Development at Research, Princeton University.
Harvard University and was the minister of finance in Ghana
from 1982 to 1995. As minister of finance he was key to the CHRIS J. JOHANNSEN is professor of agronomy and di-
implementation of one of the most far-reaching economic rector, Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing,
reform programs in sub-Saharan Africa. He holds a bachelor Purdue University. His B.S. and M.S. degrees are from Uni-
of law degree from the University of Ghana, a master’s de- versity of Nebraska and his Ph.D. is from Purdue University.
gree in law from Yale Law School, and a doctorate from the Dr. Johannsen has worked on soil conservation, land use,
University of Michigan Law School. He has taught at the and precision farming topics using remote-sensing and GIS
University of Zambia, University of Dar es Salaam, and the and GPS technologies. He is the author or coauthor of over
University of Ghana. Dr. Botchwey is a member of a panel 185 articles, papers, and book chapters and has edited a book
of high-level personalities on African development set up by on remote-sensing. Dr. Johannsen is active in many profes-
the U.N. Secretary-General and has served as the chairman sional societies, having served as international president of
of the Economic Committee of the Global Coalition for Af- the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS). He is a
139

140 APPENDIX A
fellow of SWCS, American Society of Agronomy, Soil Sci- the University of Kansas. He received a B.S. and M.S. from
ence Society of America, and the American Society for Pho- Brigham Young University in botany and range science and
togrammetry and Remote Sensing. He is recognized as a a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Utah. He has
national and international authority on land use and agricul- 225 publications, has presented 159 scientific papers, and is
tural applications of remote-sensing. principal/co-principal investigator on 73 grants/contracts to-
taling over $21 million. He has ongoing research and educa-
CALESTOUS JUMA is professor of the practice of inter- tional activities in the U.S. Great Plains, Central Asia,
national development and director of the Science, Technol- Mexico, Central America, and south-central Africa. His re-
ogy, and Innovation program at Harvard University’s search focus is on land-cover and use characterization and
Kennedy School of Government. He is a former executive earth system studies using observations made from satellite
secretary of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity remote-sensing instruments.
and founding executive director of the African Centre for
Technology Studies in Nairobi (Kenya). He is chancellor of PRISCILLA REINING, a social anthropologist and
the University of Guyana, a member of the Kenya National Africanist, was formerly program director in the interna-
Academy of Sciences, fellow of the World Academy of Art tional office of the American Association for the Advance-
and Science, fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, ment of Science (AAAS). She received an A.B., A.M., and
and member of the U.S. National Research Council’s Board Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and is a fellow of
on Agriculture and Natural Resources. He has won several AAAS, the African Studies Association, American Anthro-
international awards, including the Pew Scholars Award in pological Association, and a member of the Society of
Conservation and the Environment, the United Nations Glo- Women Geographers. She is a board member of the Renew-
bal 500, and the Henry Shaw Medal. He holds a Ph.D. in able Natural Resources Foundation. Dr. Reining has made
science and technology policy studies from the science numerous trips to Africa for field research, and an enduring
policy research unit at the University of Sussex (U.K.) and concern is the relationship between human groups and their
has written widely on science, technology, and sustainable environment.
development.
DAVID L. SKOLE is professor of geography and director
AKIN L. MABOGUNJE is the chairman of the Develop- of the Basic Science and Remote Sensing Institute at Michi-
ment Policy Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria. His research interests gan State University. His research interests are focused on
include migrations, urban and regional development, and the role of land-use and cover change and its relation to glo-
environmental management. He was formerly professor of bal change and sustainability development. Much of the
geography and dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences at work involves remote-sensing at continental scales in both
the University of Ibadan and former president of the Interna- the tropics and temperate zones, including assessment of the
tional Geographical Union. He is a foreign associate of the rates and geographic patterns of tropical forest conversion
U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of both and fragmentation. His research also incorporates geographi-
the Nigerian National Order of Merit and Commander of the cal information and geospatial information technologies in
Order of the Niger. interdisciplinary analyses of the drivers of landscape change
and its effect on biodiversity and biogeochemistry of natural
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER is director of the Center and managed landscapes. He is past chair of the IGBP-IHDP
for International Earth Science Information Network, Co- Core Project on Land Use and Cover Change. He currently
lumbia University. Her research interests include the role of serves as chair of the Forest Cover Characteristics and
the social sciences in public policy in South Africa and the Changes Implementation team of the U.N. GTOS program
integration of socioeconomic and remote-sensing data. She on Global Observations of Land Cover Dynamics, and has
has served as director of the Division of Social and Eco- served on several advisory committees to federal agencies
nomic Sciences at the U.S. National Science Foundation and and the aerospace and GIS industries in the United States.
was founder and first executive director of COSSA, the Con- He is currently a member of the U.S. National Science Foun-
sortium of Social Science Associations. Dr. Miller was a se- dation Advisory Committee on Environmental Research and
nior fellow at Oxford University in 1991-92 and guest Education and a member of NASA’s Landsat 7 Science
scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Team.
Scholars in 1994. She chairs the U.S. National Research
Council’s Steering Committee on Space Applications and ANDREW STANCIOFF is a natural resources and envi-
Commercialization and serves on the Committee on Global ronmental consultant with Stone Environmental, Inc., of
Change Research. Montpelier, Vermont. His interests and recent research in-
clude work in climate-monitoring, poverty and vulnerability
KEVIN PRICE is a professor of geography and associate assessment, as well as disease and conflict prediction. Much
director of the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing program at of this work has been done in Africa. Mr. Stancioff spent

APPENDIX A 141
five years managing the USAID/CILSS AGRHYMET pro- an intern at the National Science Resources Center at the
gram in Niamey, Niger. He is a member of the Society of Smithsonian Institution. Her research interests include envi-
Economic Geologists and the American Society of Photo- ronmental perception and decision-making, natural resource
grammetry and Remote Sensing. In early 2001 Mr. Stancioff management, land-use decisions, and the role of interdisci-
managed a project to create an atlas of poverty and vulner- plinary studies in environmental protection.
ability for the government of Niger with funding from the
World Bank. He recently taught a course at Georgetown
University entitled Environment, Resources and Conflict. ANTHONY R. DE SOUZA is currently director of the
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources at the National Re-
FRASER TAYLOR is Chancellor’s Professor of Interna- search Council in Washington, D.C. Previously he was ex-
tional Affairs and Geography and Environmental Studies at ecutive director of the National Geography Standards
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. He is also director of Project, secretary general of the 27th International Geo-
the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre and the graphical Union Congress, editor of National Geographic
Centre for Development Research and Training at the uni- Research & Exploration, and editor of the Journal of Geog-
versity. He has worked extensively on African development raphy. He has held positions as a professor and as a visiting
issues and has published widely in this field. A major re- teacher and scholar at the George Washington University,
search interest is the application of geomatics to develop- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, University of Minne-
ment problems. Dr. Taylor also has extensive publications in sota, University of California-Berkeley, and University of
the field of geomatics and cartography. He is an honorary Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He has served as a member of
life member of the Canadian Association of African Studies NRC committees. He holds B.A. (honors) and Ph.D. degrees
and served as president of the International Cartographic from the University of Reading in England, and has received
Association from 1987 to 1995. He is currently president of numerous honors and awards, including the Medalla al
the Canadian Association of Geosciences and History for Benito Juarez in 1992 and the Gilbert Grosvenor honors
the Americas and chairman of the International Steering award from the Association of American Geographers in
Committee for Global Mapping. 1996. His research interests include the processes and
mechanisms of economic development and human-environ-
ment relationships. He has published several books and more
than 100 articles, reports, and reviews.
NRC Staff
KRISTEN L. KRAPF is a program officer for the Board on
Earth Sciences and Resources of the U.S. National Research
PAUL M. CUTLER, study director, is a program officer
Council. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in
for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the U.S.
environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. Pre-
National Research Council. He received a bachelor’s degree
viously, she was director of programs at the Renewable Natu-
from Manchester University, England, a master’s degree
ral Resources Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland. She pro-
from the University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. from the Uni-
vided staff support for numerous inter-disciplinary and
versity of Minnesota. Prior to joining the NRC Dr. Cutler
multi-disciplinary programs, including national meetings,
was an assistant scientist and lecturer in the Department of
roundtables on public policy, international activities, and
Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-
annual achievement awards. She also participated in editing
Madison. His research is in surficial processes, specifically
and producing the Renewable Resources Journal. She is a
glaciology, hydrology, and quaternary science. In addition
member of the Ecological Society of America and the Asso-
to numerical modeling and GIS-based research he has con-
ciation of American Geographers.
ducted field studies in Alaska, Antarctica, arctic Sweden,
the Swiss Alps, Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains, the EILEEN M. McTAGUE is a research assistant for the
midwestern United States, and Canadian Rockies. He is a Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the U.S. National
member of the Geological Society of America, American Research Council. She holds an M.S. in environmental sci-
Geophysical Union, Geological Society of Washington, and ence from American University and a B.S. in biology from
is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Pennsylvania State University. Ms. McTague has interned at
the National Academy of Engineering, the Renewable Natu-
LISA M. VANDEMARK, study director, is a program of-
ral Resources Foundation, and Discovery Creek Children’s
ficer for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the
Museum.
U.S. National Research Council. She has a Ph.D. in geogra-
phy from Rutgers University and an M.S. in human ecology TERESIA K. WILMORE is a project assistant for the
from the University of Brussels, Belgium. Her B.S. (nursing, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the U.S. National
specialty psychiatry) is also from Rutgers University. Prior Research Council. She holds a B.A. in business management
to joining the NRC she was a research associate at the Insti- from the University of the District of Columbia. Previously,
tute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, and she was a secretary in Kenya for the Kenya School of Pro-
fessional Studies and Cunningham G.M. (Kenya) Ltd.

Oral and Written Contributors
Ari Arimi John Cloud

Project Energie Domestigue Peace Studies Program
Niger Cornell University
Paul Bartel Carmelle J. Cote

Africa Bureau Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
U.S. Agency for International Development
Jane D’Aguanno
Sam Bacharach National Environmental Satellite Data and Information
Open GIS Consortium, Inc. Services
International and Interagency Affairs Office
André Bassolé National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
EIS-Africa
Burkina Faso John A. Daly
Consultant
Abdou Ballo
Rural Economy Institute Paul Desanker
Mali IGBP/START Miombo Network
Department of Environmental Sciences
Moïse Ballo University of Virginia
Université du Mali
Mali Alexander M. DeSheribinin
Center for International Earth Science Information Net-
Sjaak J.J. Beerens work
International Institute for Geo-information Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Earth Observation Columbia University
Netherlands
Gaoussou Diarra
Barbara Best Ministère de l’Equipement, de l’Aménagement du
U.S. Agency for International Development Territoire, de l’Environnement et de l’Urbanisme
Mali
Jean Abdias Compaoré
Programme National de Gestion de l’Information sur le Colonel Mbareck Diop
Milieu Office of the President
The National Council for Sustainable Development Senegal
Burkino Faso
142

APPENDIX B 143
Paul Drichi Richard Humphries

National Biomass Survey Southern African Regional Poverty Network
Uganda The Human Sciences Research Council
South Africa
Ron Eastman
Graduate School of Geography Charles Hutchinson
Clark University Office of Earth Science
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Fernando R. Echavarria
U.S. Department of State Maman-Sani Issa
Agence Béninoise Pour l’Environnment
Julie Esanu République du Benin
Policy and Global Affairs Division
National Research Council Mike Jensen
Consultant
Chukwudozie Ezigbalike South Africa
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Ethiopia John A. Kelmelis
U.S. Geological Survey
Mamadou Fofana
United Nations Environment Program Mahamadou Sekou Keita
Ivory Coast Institut Géographique du Mali
Mali
Robert Ford
U.S. Agency for International Development Beth Lachman
RAND
Peter H. Freeman
Peter H. Freeman and Associates Robert W. Lake
DEVECOL Center for Urban Policy Research
Rutgers University
Mesfin W. Gebremichael
Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre Kate Lance
Tanzania International Program
EROS Data Center
Barry N. Haack U.S. Geological Survey
Department of Geography and Earth Science
George Mason University John S. Latham
Food and Agriculture Organization
Lynne Z. Hale of the United Nations
Coastal Resource Center Italy
University of Rhode Island
Scott A. Loomer
Anders Halvorsen Advanced Research and Development Division
World Information Technology and Services Alliance National Imagery and Mapping Agency
Doris Haywood Joseph Matere

U.S. Department of State International Livestock Research Institute
Kenya
David Healy
Stone Environmental, Inc. Robert L. McCanna
International and Policy Office
Frank Holsmuller National Imagery and Mapping Agency
Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.

144 APPENDIX B
Brian J. Mhango Craig Schwabe

University of the Witwatersrand GIS Centre
South Africa The Human Sciences Research Council
South Africa
Allen Z. Miller
Information Technology Association of America Janice Sessing
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Roger Mitchell
Earth Satellite Corporation Sydney Simelane
Department of the Surveyor General
John Moeller Swaziland
Federal Geographic Data Committee
Lane Smith
Keith M. Moore U.S. Agency for International Development
Office of International Research and Development
Virginia Tech University Kelly Sponburg
RANET
G. C. Mulaku
Department of Surveying Gregory Stuart-Hill
University of Nairobi World Wildlife Fund/ Life Project
Kenya Namibia
Rose Mwebaza Jonathan G. Tagg

Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment World Wildlife Fund /Life Project
Uganda Access Initiative Case Study Namibia
Makerere University
Uganda Drissa Tangara
Opération Haute Vallée du Niger
Kate Newman Mali
World Wildlife Fund
Gray Tappan
Jorge A. S. Oliveira International Program
Mitchell Group, Inc. EROS Data Center
Mali U.S. Geological Survey
Wilber K. Ottichilo Assize Touré

Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Develop- Ecological Monitoring Center
ment Senegal
Kenya
Amidou Traore
Malam Souley Oumarou Secrétariat Technique Permanent du Cadre Institutionnel
Programme Recensement Général de L’Agriculture de la Gestion des Questions Environnementales
Niger Mali
Jennifer Phillips Pierre C. Sibiry Traore

International Research Institute for Climate Prediction Institut d’Economie Rurale
Columbia University Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics
Mali
Mark Reichardt
Open GIS Consortium, Inc. Daniel B. Tunstall
World Resources Institute
Patrice Sanou
Centre SIGET
Burkino Faso

APPENDIX B 145
James Verdin William Wood

International Program Bureau of Intelligence and Research
EROS Data Center U.S. Department of State
U.S. Geological Survey
Robert Winterbottom
Hamdou-Rabby Wane Environment and Natural Resources Division
CERPOD/Sabel Institute (INSAH) International Resources Group
The Watson Institute for International Studies,
Brown University Robert Zomer
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry
Kenya

FGDC Statement
146

APPENDIX C 147

Acronyms
AARSE African Association for Remote Sensing of Environment

ACMAD African Centre of Meteorological Forecasting
ACODE Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment
ADDS Africa Data Dissemination Service
ADG Africover Database Gateway
AGRHYMET Agriculture, Hydrology, Meteorology Center
AID Africover Interactive Database
AIM Africover Interpretation and Mapping System
ALC African Learning Channel
ALIN Arid Lands Information Network
ALIN-EA Arid Lands Information Network-Eastern Africa
AMSR-E The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System
AOCRS African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing
ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central
Africa
ASCN African Sustainable Cities Network
ASI Italian Spatial Agency
ATSR Along Track Scanning Radiometer
AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
BADEA Bank for Economic Development in Africa

BATS Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme
BIFAD Board for International Food and Agriculture Development
BRGM Bureau of Geological and Mining Research
CABGLEN Capacity Building for Geographic Information Production and Management for
Sustainable Local Environment and Natural Resources Management
CAD Computer Aided Design
CBNRM Community Based Natural Resource Management
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CEN European Committee for Standardization
CEOS Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
CERPOD Center of Applied Research in Population and Development
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CIESIN Center for International Earth Science Information Network
CILS CEOS Information Locator System
148

APPENDIX D 149
CILSS Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel

CIUEM Information Science Center, Eduardo Mondlane University
CNRIT Center for Natural Resource Information Technology
CODI Committee On Development Information
CRSP Collaborative Research Support Program
CRTEAN Regional Center for Remote Sensing of North African States
CRTO Regional Center of Toronto
CSE Ecological Monitoring Center
CSIR Council for Science and Industrial Research
DAAC Distributed Active Archive Center

DANIDA Danish National Aid Program
DBMS Database Management Systems
DEM Digital Elevation Model
DEVECOL Development Ecology
DfID Department for International Development
DHS Demographic and Health Surveys
DIAPER Permanent Diagnostic Project
DIGEST Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standards
DISD Development Information Services Division
DLR The German Center for Air and Space Travel
DMC Drought Monitoring Center
DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
DOQQ Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quad
DOT Digital Opportunities Taskforce
ECA U.N. Economic Commission for Africa

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EIS Environment Information Systems
EOS Earth Observing System
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EROS Earth Resources Observation Systems
ERTS Earth Resources Technology Satellite (Later renamed
Landsat)
ESMI European Spatial Metadata Infrastructure
ESRI Environmental Systems Research Institute
ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FDI Foreign Direct Investments
FEWS NET Famine Early Warning System Network
FEWS Famine Early Warning System
FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee
FIPS Federal Information Processing Standards
FPAR Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation
FSS Federal School of Surveying
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GAC Global Area Coverage

GDTA Aerospace Remote Sensing Development Group
GIS Geographic Information System
GISciences Geographic Information Sciences
GISD Geographic Information for Sustainable Development
GOFC Global Observations of Forest Cover
GOLD Global Observations of Land Dynamics

150 APPENDIX D
GPS Global Positioning System

GPW Gridded Population of the World
GRID Global Resource Information Database
GSDI Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
GSI Geographical Survey Institute
GSM Global System for Mobile Communication
GTOS Global Terrestrial Observing System
GTS GNU Triangulated Surface
GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation
HIPC Highly indebted poor countries
ICA International Cartographic Association

ICLARM International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Manage-
ment
ICLEI International Council for Local Environment Initiatives
ICT Information and Communications Technology
IDRC International Development Research Center
IFREMER French Institute for Oceanic Research
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development
IGADD Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development
IGBP International Geosphere/Biosphere Programme
IGBP-DIS International Geosphere/Biosphere Programme Data and
Information System
IGN National Geographic Institute
IHDP International Human Dimensions Programme on Global
Environmental Change
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
IMS Institute for Marine Sciences
INEGI National Institute of Geographic and Information Science and
Statistics
INRSH Nigerian Institute of Social Science Research
INSAH Institute of the Sahel
IRI International Research Institute
ISO International Standards Organization
ISS International Space Station
IUCN World Conservation Union
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JRC Joint Research Center
JSG Joint Steering Group
KARI Kenya Agricultural Research Institute

KEMFRI Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute
LA21 Local Agenda 21

LAI Leaf Area Index
LAN Local Area Network
LCCS Land Cover Classification System
LEWS Livestock Early Warning System
LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging
LQI Land Quality Indicator
LTRS Laboratory for Remote Terrestrial Sensing
LUCC Land Use and Cover Change

APPENDIX D 151
MARA Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa

MIT-AITI Massachusetts Institute of Technology-African Internet
Technology Initiative
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MSS Multi-spectral Scanner
NAFGIM National Framework for Geospatial Information Management

NAPA National Academy of Public Administration
NARS National Agricultural Research Centers
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASDA National Space Development Agency (Japan)
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NAVSTAR Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
NEMC National Environmental Management Council
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
Service
NGDC National Geophysical Data Center
NGO Non-governmental Organization
NICI National Information and Communication Infrastructure
NIIRS National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale
NIMA National Imagery and Mapping Agency
NIRS Near Infrared Spectroscopy
NNF Namibia Nature Foundation
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite
System
NSDI National Spatial Data Infrastructure
NSF National Science Foundation
NSIF National Spatial Information Framework
NUTBAL Nutritional Balance Analysis Model
OAU Organization for African Unity

ODA Official Development Assistance
ODA Overseas Development Aid
OGC Open GIS Consortium
OLS Operational Linescan System
ONC Operational Navigation Chart
ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory
OSS Observatory of the Sahara and the Sahel
PNGIM National Program for Environment Information Management

PLSS Public Land Survey System
PMT Photo Multiplier Tube
POES Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite
PTO Public Telecommunications Operator
PVO Private Voluntary Organization
RCMRD Regional Center of Mapping Resources for Development

RCSSM Regional Center for Services in Surveying and Mapping
RCSSMRS Regional Center for Services in Surveying, Mapping, and
Remote Sensing
RECTAS Regional Center for Training in Aerospace Surveys
REIMP Regional Environmental Information Project

152 APPENDIX D
RFE Rainfall Estimate

RGB Red, Green, Blue
SADC Southern African Development Community

SADCC Southern African Development Coordination Conference
SCAR Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
SCT Spatial Characterization Tool
SDI Spatial Data Infrastructure
SDST Spatial Data Transfer Standards
SiB Simple Biosphere Model
SISEI Environmental Information System on the Internet
SPOT Système Pour l’Observation de la Terre
SPP Single Point Positioning
SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
SSM/I Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
SST Sea-Surface Temperature
START System for Analysis, Research, and Training
STI Sexually Transmitted Infection
STWG Science and Technical Working Group
TB Tuberculosis
TCMP Tanzania Coastal Mapping Partnership
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
TM Thematic Mapper
TREES Tropical Ecosystem Environment Observations by Satellite
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNECA-CODI UNECA-Committee on Development Information
UNEP United Nations Environment Program
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organi-
zation
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNL University of Nebraska-Lincoln
URI University of Rhode Island
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USFS United States Forest Service
USGS United States Geological Survey
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal
WCRP World Climate Research Programme

WRI World Resources Institute
WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development
WWF World Wildlife Fund

Glossary
BANDWIDTH A measure of the amount of data that can DEVELOPMENT For the purposes of this report, see sus-
reliably be transmitted through a channel per unit of time, tainable development.
typically measured in bits or bytes per second.
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES Countries with “high” gross
BIOME An ecological formation including both plants and national income as defined by the World Bank.
animals. Traditionally biomes are identified in terms of their
characteristic vegetation form. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Countries with “low” or
“medium” gross national income as defined by the World
CADASTRE A map that is accompanied by a register show- Bank.
ing the ownership or possession of individual units of land to
facilitate efficient land administration and expedite land DIGITAL DIVIDE This term describes the gap in access
market transactions. between developed and developing countries or within a
country to information and communication technologies.
CALLING POINTS Points from which telephone calls can
be made. (A slightly different use of this term is common in
DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL (DEM) A digital rep-
computer programming.)
resentation of the elevation of locations on Earth’s surface.
A DEM is often used in reference to a set of elevation values
CAPACITY The ability to undertake certain activities, solve
representing the elevations at points in a rectangular grid.
problems, and achieve objectives, such as interpreting a map
(an example of human capacity), managing computer net-
works (organizational capacity), or sharing data (societal EL NIÑO An episodic global weather phenomenon driven
capacity). Capacity is built by enhancing these abilities. by conditions in the western Pacific Ocean.
CONNECTIVITY The degree to which a communications E-READINESS This term is used to suggest the readiness
service is available to the public, typically measured in tele- of an organization, community, or country to use the Internet
phones or Internet connections per unit of population. generally or to use it for business, commercial, or govern-
mental purposes. A number of organizations have proposed
DECISION-MAKERS In the context of sustainable devel- instruments to measure e-readiness, and these instruments
opment, those who choose actions that directly or indirectly differ somewhat.
affect the environment and reside in all levels of govern-
ment, the citizenry, the private sector, non-governmental GEODETIC CONTROL Reference points on Earth whose
organizations, or overseas development agencies, for ex- exact positions are determined to a high degree of accuracy
ample. through measurement.
DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM (DSS) The integration GEOGRAPHICALLY REFERENCED DATA Data with
of geographically referenced data in a problem-solving situ- known latitude, longitude, and elevation, or other horizontal
ation. and vertical coordinates.
153

154 APPENDIX E
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) A the metric qualities of a traditional line map with the rich
digital information system that is designed to work with data detail of an aerial image.
referenced by spatial or geographic coordinates.
PENETRATION The degree to which a technology has
GEOGRAPHIC POSITION Refers to horizontal coordi- penetrated a community or country. Indicators of penetra-
nates as well as elevation of objects and features. tion include the number of points of presence (i.e., points at
which calls are routed for transmission by a long-distance,
GEOGRAPHY An integrative discipline that brings to- interexchange carrier), the percentage of organizations of a
gether the physical and human dimensions of the world in given type (e.g. businesses, schools, health centers) that have
the study of people, places, and environments. Its subject access to a service or the number of secondary cities that
matter is Earth’s surface and the processes that shape it, the have Internet service providers in a country.
relationships between people and environments, and the con-
nections between people and places. PHOTOGRAMMETRY The art, science, and technology
of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) A network of the environment through the processes of recording, mea-
satellites controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense that suring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of
is designed to help aerial and ground-based units with an electromagnetic radiant energy and other phenomena.
appropriate receiver determine their current location.
PLACE-BASED STUDIES The systematic analysis of so-
GSM An acronym for Global System of Mobile Communi- cial, economic, political, and environmental processes oper-
cation, one of several competing standards for mobile tele- ating in a place that provides an integrated understanding of
phones. its distinctiveness or character.
INFORMATION Data that humans assimilate and evaluate RADAR INTERFEROMETRY A technique in which two
to solve a problem or to make a decision. radar images are taken from slightly different locations and
differences between these images allow for the calculation
LEGACY DATA Maps, aerial photographs, reports, and of surface elevation.
other documents that often function as baseline information.
REMOTE-SENSING The measurement or acquisition of
LOCAL AREA NETWORK Personal computers linked information of some property of an object or phenomenon,
into a network in a limited geographic area, such as a build- by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate con-
ing or campus, as distinguished from a wide area network or tact with the object or phenomenon under study.
stand-alone computers.
RESOLUTION A way of detecting variation. In remote-
METADATA A term used to describe information about sensing, there is spatial resolution (the variation caused by
data. Metadata usually includes information on data quality, distance separating adjacent pixels), spectral resolution (the
currency, lineage, ownership, and feature classification. variation caused by the spectral responses within a wave-
length band), and temporal resolution (the variation caused
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE Software for which the by time over the same location).
original or source code is freely available to the user or other
interested parties. Most commercial software firms make the RIFT VALLEY FEVER (RVF) An acute, fever-causing
original source code available only under specific circum- viral disease that affects domestic animals (such as cattle,
stances, usually to collaborating firms, providing the user buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) and humans. RVF is most
with only a machine readable version of the software that is commonly associated with mosquito-borne epidemics dur-
difficult to read and/or modify. In some cases, most notably ing years of heavy rainfall. RVF is generally found in re-
Linux, an open source operating system, large communities gions of eastern and southern Africa where sheep and cattle
have formed around the development and maintenance of are raised. RVF virus also exists in most countries of sub-
specific open source software packages. Open source soft- Saharan Africa and Madagascar.
ware is of special interest to developing countries in that its
development and maintenance cost is born by communities SCHISTOSOMIASIS One of the major communicable dis-
of volunteers, and it is available without charge, or with mini- eases of public health and socio-economic importance in the
mal charges for the provision of disks, manuals, and support. developing world. Direct mortality is relatively low, but the
disease burden is high in terms of chronic pathology and
ORTHO-IMAGE A specially processed image prepared disability. The distribution is particularly related to large-
from an aerial photograph or remotely sensed image that has scale water development. Despite control efforts in a num-

APPENDIX E 155
ber of countries, still an estimated 200 million people are TELECENTER A center offering telephone and other com-
infected, of which 120 million are symptomatic and 20 mil- munications services to the public. There are many different
lion have severe disease. An estimated 80 percent of all cases kinds of telecenters and many business models under which
and all of the most severely affected are concentrated in Af- telecenters are operated in Africa.
rica.
TELEDENSITY The number of telephone connections per
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY The restriction of access unit of population, typically measured by the number of fixed
to or the adjustment of the precision of geographic position- lines per unit of population, number of mobile phones per
ing information by introducing a bias to the system. unit of population, or both.
SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE (SDI) The insti-

tutional framework, policies, technologies, and data require- TELEPHONY The art or practice of operating telephones
ments to enable spatial data to be used to support economic or telephone services.
growth and social and environmental interests.
VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) Direct link to
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Development that communications satellites, typically using antennas less than
meets the needs of the present without compromising the 2 meters in diameter. In Africa an increasing number of or-
ability of future generations to meet their own needs (from ganizations have Internet linkages through VSAT terminals,
Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987). bypassing the local telephone service.

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Committee on the Geographic Foundation for Agenda 21

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Division on Earth and Life Studies

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

International Standard Book Number: 0-309-08478-4

Front cover: Left—a GeoCover-Ortho image of Mount Kilimanjaro originally obtained at 30 × 30 m

Cover designed by Van Nguyen

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COMMITTEE ON THE GEOGRAPHIC FOUNDATION FOR AGENDA 21

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MAPPING SCIENCE COMMITTEE

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BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

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2 AGENDA 21 IMPLEMENTATION: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES,

3 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA 29

4 FACILITATING THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC DATA: SPATIAL DATA

5 GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT I:

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Historical Legacy Data as a Baseline for Documenting Change, 52

6 GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT II:

7 GIS-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN AFRICA 104

8 BUILDING CAPACITY TO APPLY GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

9 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 128

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these abilities. Zimbabwe

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mental, social, and economic sectors.

horizontal and vertical coordinates. May 10, 2002.

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of legacy data. or possession of individual units of land.

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some property of an object or phenomenon by a recording device that is not

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TABLE 1-1 Action Items from Agenda 21a

SECTION I. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

SECTION II. CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT