In the Framework of GMES & Africa Programme, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) organized the kick off meeting of the “Earth Observation for Sustainable Land and Water Management in North Africa “ ( EO- SLWM/NA), project, on 10-11 October 2018 in Tunis.
The workshop aims to introduce the project approach, planned activities and expected results. It will allow broader stakeholders to establish operational planning for national and regional activities, and to agree on technical approaches and implementation strategies for project activities.
TheEO- SLWM/NAproject, is coordinated by OSS, inpartnership with key institutionsdevoted to the promotion and the developmentof remote sensing.
For the national level, namelyAlgerian Space Agency (ASAL), based in Algiers (ALGERIA), Desert Research Center (DRC), based in Cairo (EGYPT), Libyan Center for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (LCRSSS), based in Tripoli (LIBYA), Royal Center for Remote Sensing Space (CRTS), based in Rabat (MOROCCO), University of Technology and Medicine Sciences (USTM), Nouakchott, MAURITANIA and the National Center for Cartography and Remote Sensing (CNCT), based in Tunis (TUNISIA).
For the sub-regional level: African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology in French Language affiliated to the UN (CRASTE-LF), based in Rabat (MOROCCO), Regional Remote Sensing Center for North African States (CRTEAN), based in Tunis (TUNISIA).
Co-Financed by the European Commission and the African Union for a period of 3 years (2018 - 2021), the projectaims to provide Earth Observation data and technology-based products and services to support decision-making in the field of sustainable management of natural resources and water.
More specifically, it aims to:
- Develop and sustain decision support services
- Boost regional cooperation and promote the exchange of know-how
- Build capacity and raise awareness among all partners and users.
Services to be developed by the project:
- Water Abstraction Surveillance, Monitoring and Assessment in Irrigated Areas
- Land Degradation Monitoring and Assessment
- Agriculture Seasonal Monitoring, Early Warning and Assessment
The GMES and Africa is the crystallization of the longstanding cooperation between the European Commission and the African Union Commission. The Programme uses and adapts the Copernicus Programme data and services to the African context. Its overall objective is to promote more sustainable management of natural resources by building technical and institutional capacity in Africa to use Earth Observation data for policy-making. In the implementation agreement, the African Union Commission is the ‘delegated authority’ responsible for the management of the programme.
It includes 13 consortia of institutions representing all regions from Africa: North Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, East Africa, and South Africa.