Role of Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Supporting access to spatial data in East & Southern Africa Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza Director General

Outline Conclusion Introduction to RCMRD Establishment of RCMRD Member States Objectives of RCMRD Core Mandate Key Activities and Key Projects implemented by RCMRD Conclusion

Introduction to RCMRD

Establishment of RCMRD The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), previously known as Regional Centre for Services in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (RCSSMRS) was established in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the then Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Member States Its founder members were Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania and Malawi. The current contracting member States are: Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Member States Affiliated States are: Angola, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Eritrea, Mozambique and Madagascar. The Centre is housed in Nairobi, Kenya.

Status of the RCMRD The Centre is an intergovernmental organisation managed at the highest level by the Ministers in charge of land in the Member states; The Centre is not-for-profit, with its operations funded in part by contributions from contracting Member States and revenue generated from sales of its products and services; The Centre enjoys diplomatic status

RCMRD Objectives To provide quality geo-information and allied information and communication technology (ICT) products and services in environmental and resource management for sustainable development in the member countries and beyond; To promote the development and use of geo- information and information and communication technology in the sustainable development of member States by assisting in human resource and institutional capacity building;

RCMRD Objectives To provide problem solving applications in natural resource and environmental management; To provide formal and on the job training for nationals of the Contracting Parties in geo-information and information communication technology; To offer customer tailored geo- information and information technology courses on demand to contracting Parties and other customers;

RCMRD Objectives To provide advisory services upon request on problems relating to geo- information and ICT to the Contracting Parties; To provide services in the repair, maintenance and calibration of surveying and mapping equipment; To conduct research and development activities in all fields of its expertise in collaboration with its partners;

RCMRD Objectives To make available to the Contracting Parties data and results of the studies, research and tests carried out by the Centre; and To provide competitive services on demand-driven basis and in a business- like manner.

RCMRD’s Core Mandate Project Implementation – Environment, Natural Resources Management, Disaster Management, Infrastructure and Service Provision, Urban Mapping and Planning & Good Governance. Advisory Services – Development of National Policies and Strategies, Geo- information Standards etc. Capacity Development – Training in basic and applied programs.

RCMRD’s Core Mandate Project Implementation – Environment, Natural Resources Management, Disaster Management, Infrastructure and Service Provision, Urban Mapping and Planning & Good Governance. Advisory Services – Development of National Policies and Strategies, Geo-information Standards etc. Capacity Development – Training in basic and applied programs. Research and Development – AFREF, Rapid LCM, Tsetse spread prediction, Crop yield estimation, Water resources management , Land Degradation and Habitat conservation & Disaster management etc. Servicing and Calibration of Mapping Equipment. Data and Information Dissemination – Acquisition, usage, sharing and discovery. IG or NP by UNECA What do we have here: human capacity, ability to receive satellite data, process sat data, Technical areas, Linkages to Geoinfo, Institutions like NASA

Key Activities Advisory services Capacity Building and Training Servicing and Calibration of Mapping Equipment Project implementation Data and information Dissemination Research and Development

Advisory Services National Policies Land use, Management, Administration Geoinformation Standards National Geospatial data Policy Training Needs Assessment

Capacity Building & Training Training of nationals from our member States in the application of geo-information in sustainable development is our core business. We undertake short courses (two weeks to three months) that focus mainly on the application of geo-information technologies in resource mapping, planning and management; environmental management and monitoring; database development and management and servicing of surveying and mapping equipment. We also undertake customer tailored training courses.

Capacity Building & Training i. Basic programmes Short -term Training, Post-Graduate Courses Workshops and Seminars ii. Applied programmes Disaster Rapid Mapping Building of Databases of past disasters (DESINVENTAR) EO for flood forecasting Integrated water Resources Management Green House Gas Inventories

Capacity Building & Training Sponsored and Non-sponsored Regional and National Thematic training courses/Workshops (Basic to Expert levels) Modules Basic GIS/RS principles for DRR Data Management and Data Portals for DRR Hazard Risk Assessment (Pre-Post disaster phases) Open source solutions for DRR (Data and software) Spatial Climate Change Hotspots Vulnerability mapping Disaster Rapid Mapping Impact assessment (Damage and losses-DaLA) RCMRD/SERVIR Tools and Applications for DRR

Service and Calibration of Mapping Equipment

Project Implementation Natural Resources Management Disaster Management Infrastructure and Service Provision Urban Mapping and Planning Good Governance

Research and Development Rapid Land Cover Mapping Crop Yield Estimation Water Quality Monitoring Rift Valley Fever Forecasting Tsetse Spread Prediction Coral Reef Bleach Monitoring

Sharing and Exchange of Data and Information Discover Managed knowledge base Catalog services Directory services Notification services Browse & search function Share Acquire Metadata authoring tools Community building tools Feedback mechanisms Reducing barriers to sharing Ground receiving station Data acquisition services Data processing services Data archive Geodata services Web portal Visualization tools Decision support tools Forecasts and models Support for interoperability Support for product use Use / Create 22

Geoinformation for Societal Benefit Land Management, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate, Disasters, Ecosystem, Energy, Health, Water, Transportation, Infrastructure etc

Geoinformation Positioning Earth Observation Analysis & Visualization Sharing and Exchange

Some Projects @ RCMRD Land Policy Initiative

Purpose To support African decision-makers and planners in designing and implementing national, regional and continental policies and development plans towards sustainable development with the view to advance the socio-economic progress and well-being of populations towards achievement of the MDGs Essence : Increase information capacity management of Regional and National institutions

THEMATIC ACTIONS Crop and Rangeland Management RECs RICs THEMATIC ACTION Crop and Rangeland Management Marine and Coastal Management Water Resources management Agriculture and Environment Resources Management Marine and Coastal management Land degradation mitigation, natural habitat conservation, and forest information systems Climate Change Monitoring Service

IGAD Thematic Actions & Services Land Degradation (LD) Natural Habitat Conservation Forest Monitoring (FM) (tracking depletion & degradation) IGAD Implementing partners: ICPAC RCMRD In this design example, the background is plain white. THEMA: Land Degradation Mitigation & Natural Habitat Conservation & Forest Monitoring System

Land Degradation (LD) – Hotspot LDIM Product High Degradation Hotspot in Kacheliba, West Pokot, Kenya as viewed from the Very High Resolution Image and from a photograph.

Land Degradation Bulletin

Forest Monitoring Services (FMS) – Regional Products Deforestation rate: 0.2% > 0.4% > 0.78% 1990 - 2000 2000 - 2010 2010 - 2015 Results - IGAD Region lost over 50, 000 sqkm ≈ 200,000ha annually in the last 25 yrs.: - 55% forest to forest Mosaic - 25% forest to agriculture and settlement

FMS – National Products Mt.Elgon Forest

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has: SERVIR E&SA National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has: Incredible satellite data A mandate to work domestically The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has: A presence in 100 countries Connections to people who need information SERVIR TODAY SERVIR strengthens the capacity of governments and stakeholders to incorporate Earth observations and geospatial technologies as they: • respond to natural disasters • work to improve food security • safeguard human health • manage water and natural resources SERVIR helps nations and key stakeholders: • improve management of natural resources • identify opportunities to improve economic growth • lower greenhouse gas emissions • build resilience to climate change. NASA + USAID+RCMRD = the potential for significant impact in development decision-making

GoalSERVIR E&SA The goal of SERVIR-Eastern & Southern Africa (E&SA) is to improve environmental management and resilience to climate change by strengthening the capacity of governments and other key stakeholders to integrate Earth observation information and geospatial technologies into development decision making. SERVIR E&SA is one of four hubs globally SERVIR operates under 4 thematic service areas Weather & Climate Water & Hydro climatic disasters Agriculture and Food Security Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) & Ecosystems

Objectives of SERVIR E&SA Improved capacity of RCMRD to function as a regional service provider Improved capacity of analysts and decision-makers to use earth observation information and geospatial information technologies Improved awareness of and access to geospatial data, products, and tools Increased provision of user-tailored geospatial data, products, and tools to inform decision-making

RCMRD’s Contribution Building requisite capacity through skills enhancement Advising member States responsibly and timely Scaling uptake of research and development Collaborating with other institutions to Build Synergy Providing fit-for-purpose, demand-driven and timely geospatial data and information for better decision making

Partnerships, Collaboration Link universities to SERVIR data and science: Education Outreach Potential partnerships e.g. PREPARED Planning for Resilience in East Africa, PREG Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth, LECRD - Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development Youth Mappers (mentorship) – Texas Tech – Dr. Patricia Solis AfriGEOSS: RCMRD - Capacity Building Lead WRUA - Water Resources Users Association NASA DEVELOP GRACE (Geospatial Research and Applications Centre of Excellence) - University Nottingham. GLOBE Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (East Africa Chapter) IEEE summer school programs at RCMRD (2016) UNOSAT

Conclusion Due to the increasing awareness of the importance of geo-information in sustainable development, the demand for capacity building in the same is increasing in Africa. Centres like RCMRD should therefore be supported to continue offering her training courses and advisory services which focus mainly on geo-information application in sustainable development in Africa and beyond.

Kasarani Road, P.O.Box 632-00618 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2680722/2680748, Cell :+254 723 786161/735 981098 Website: http://www.rcmrd.org Email: rcmrd@rcmrd.org Follow Us on: Facebook: RCMRD Twitter: @RCMRD_

Thank You