The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Geoinformation Activities – Regional Databases and Online Applications Aster Denekew Yilma United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ICT and Sciences & Technology Division E-Applications Section

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Outlines Background Selected Geo-information activities of ECA: Standards & Interoperability Metadata Clearinghouse SALB, GeoNyms Application Regional Databases PIDA Africa Fiber Optic Connectivity Database Climate Database Online applications E-Health Application South Sudan Water Clearinghouse,…  Conclusion/Way Forward

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Mandate Support regional development priorities Undertake activities to advance social and economic development in Africa  One Programmatic Area: Harnessing information for Development ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) is devoted to the program area ISTD Division endeavors to improve the capacity of African countries to formulate and implement policies and strategies designed to harness information for development. Background

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background…  ISTD also promotes visibility of geospatial information activities on the continent Leveraging Geo-information for Development Assist member States to develop geospatial Sciences and Technologies for priority regional initiatives Make Africa more spatially enabled, ensuring that spatial data, products and services are available for informed decisions-making. Background …

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Principles:  Put in place Policies, Infrastructures & Institutional arrangements Promote and lead the concept of SDI at national, sub-regional and regional levels Implement SDI at national, sub-regional and regional levels  Make information available to decision makers and the community ensure widest possible dissemination of available information Empower users to make informed decisions Background…

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  Policies and Coordination Assist member states in the implementation of NSDI (technical / policy component) and link with National Information and Communication Infrastructures (NICI) Formulation of sectoral e-strategies,  Data Fundamental, Core Datasets, Regional Thematic Data, Regional databases  Standards and interoperability Promoting harmonization and standards (e.g. AFREF project, SALB (Second Administrative Level Boundary Map), Metadata Standard (Africa Metadata Profile)…  e-Services (find and share data) Streamlined electronic delivery of services to achieve improved user service, faster response times, efficient operations, lower transaction costs, more informed decisions (Regional Databases, and online applications)… ECA Activities :

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Selected Activities of ECA  Standards and Interoperability Metadata “Country Spaces” SALB Database GeoNyms - Africa Gazetteer African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) CODIST-Geo Working Groups –Africa Metadata Profile, Fundamental datasets  Regional Databases Transport infrastructure Database Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Climate Change Database, …  Online Applications, Services and visualization tools: Health and Emergency Management Systems South Sudan Water Clearinghouse, …

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Standards and Interoperability  Standards and Interoperability Metadata “Country Spaces” SALB Database GeoNyms - Africa Gazetteer

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Metadata and Clearinghouses  UNECA continues to provide/maintain on-line metadata clearinghouse services Search and discover existing datasets; what exists, where and how to access  There are five Metadata nodes: ECA, AWICH, MAFA, RECTAS, and RCMRD)  During CODI-V, a review committee was formed to evaluate tools available: to have an open source tool readily available that supports the African Metadata Profile  ECA recently identified an open source metadata collection and dissemination tool, Geonetwork metadata tool  ECA then acquired, tested and deployed GeoNetwork  All clearinghouse nodes have been moved from the old system to Geonetwork.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Second Administrative Level Boundary (SALB) project:  Aims at harmonization  Produce a comprehensive digital database of Second Administrative Level Boundaries  Provide a flexible and intuitive coding scheme that can be applied to any country, independently from administrative structure  Editing work completed for more than 20 countries, and 17 validated by NMAs ECA Activities : SALB Database

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : African Gazetteer GeoNyms application (African Gazetteer)  ECA is developing the GeoNyms application to provide African countries with open source solution for capturing and validating geographical names (toponyms).  to help member states to manage their gazetteers of place names using a common standard. GeoNyms is an open source desktop tool provide free and robust application to collect, validate and disseminate their respective geographical names.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : African Gazetteer… A working prototype is already available

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Regional Databases  Several regional geospatial databases are being developed to support regional initiatives. Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) databases are covering all existing and planned infrastructure facilities in the continent. African Fiber optic connectivity database The African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) Climate Change Activities Database.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA)  ECA sourced and collected data, and developed the geospatial database depicting features on Transport and Energy Infrastructure  The database for PIDA covers all existing and planned infrastructure facilities in the continent including all networks and development corridors (roads, railways, airports, ports & harbours, waterways, power plants, gas and oil pipelines, oil refineries, etc)  The Commission also developed a fully interactive web-based application enabling navigation and online visualisation:  Expected to be used by the AUC for systematic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects on infrastructure systems in Africa

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases…

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases…

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases…

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases…

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities : Regional Databases The African Fiber optic connectivity database: Describes international Sea connectivity and current as well as planned connections within and between African countries. An African fiber optic map was generated from the database.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Online Applications & Services  Online applications and services developed: Geoinfomation Applications Inventory Tool (GAIT) E-Health application South Sudan Water Information Clearinghouse

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities: Online Applications & Services  Geoinfomation Applications Inventory Tool (GAIT)  ECA has developed a Geoinformation Applications Inventory Tool (GAIT) assistance to Cote d’Ivoire to develop their National Geospatial Plan (PGNCI ) help to document geoinformation applications in a standard way to assign geoinformation custodianship responsibilities in Côte d'Ivoire  GAIT tool is developed as a generic application, can be implemented for any member states with some customization.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities: Online Applications & Services  South Sudan Water Information System: ECA in collaboration with the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) are assisting the Government of Southern Sudan to establish a water information system, based on a GIS developing a Water Resources Information Clearing-house that is fully functional equipment and infrastructure, and, skilled and qualified personnel.  The South Sudan Water Information ClearingHouse (SSWICH) was developed for dissemination of the system resources (

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ECA Activities: Online Applications & Services Health and Emergency Management Systems (e-Health Application)  ECA is setting up a monitoring, evaluation and response management system to support preparedness, planning and operations for security and health emergencies.  GIS application, with geodatabase, aims showcase the application of vulnerability mapping to better understand human and environmental impacts.  Currently, data collected only for Ethiopia  the system allows to locate health centers in Ethiopia  Countries expected to contribute to the effort of collecting the data through the online interface

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  Institutional Frameworks African Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure -A cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach to production, management, and dissemination of spatially enabled data: Regional and National level CODIST-Geo Executive Working Groups : -MAfA, -Capacity Building, -Fundamental Datasets, -Developing Common Geodetic Reference (AFREF) ECA Activities : Promoting Continent-wide Geoinformation Governance

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Conclusion / Way Forward  ECA will continue to support the efforts of member States to develop their National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and Spatially Enabled Sectoral e-strategies & Applications.  Making the geo-information available for decision makers to effectively tackle the challenges of African nations.

The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The Second Session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology CODIST-II 2-5 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Thank you! Je Vous Remercie!