An evaluation of Public servant awareness and use of GIS/Remote Sensing in Africa-Nigeria

The study evaluates awareness and use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS)/Remote Sensing by public servants in environmental related professions in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The data used in this paper was collected through administration of 101 questionnaires to public servants in town planning, architecture, estate management and surveying in five local governments in Ibadan metropolitan area and at the Oyo State Government Secretariat between August and October, 2015. Frequencies, descriptive and inferential statistics which include Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, Chi-Square test and correlation methods were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that majority of public servants in the selected professions were computer literate and had interest in GIS/remote sensing techniques and technologies. They were aware of the benefits than the costs of GIS/remote sensing techniques and technologies. Lack of time, inadequate finances, and lack of permission from the place of work were the three top constraints in building their GIS/remote sensing knowledge. The use of GIS/remote sensing applications was constrained by financial problems, followed by power supply (electricity) problem, lack of knowledge about GIS/remote sensing applications, lack of incentives/motivation, and technical nature of the applications.Keywords: Public servant, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing, Human capacity building, Nigeri

Unbundling ‘indigenous space capability’: actors, policy positions and agency in geospatial information science in Southwest Nigeria

Ever since the operation of the first civilian Earth observation (EO) satellites gained momentum in the 1970s, their history has been accompanied by debates over whether in developing countries social and economic development can be promoted through the transfer of space science and technologies, such as remote sensing techniques. Despite continuously growing political and social scientific interest, this debate has so far largely taken place at a comparative level with developing economies and their space programmes as the prime level of analysis. Based on a relevant critical review of development theory perspectives on knowledge and technology transfer to developing countries and corresponding discourses in postcolonial science and technology studies, this thesis moves to the micro-level and provides an ethnography of geospatial information science (GIScience) in Southwest Nigeria. It addresses the limited understanding of social processes that accompany technology transfer by investigating how researchers, who use data from EO satellites, situate themselves in relation to relevant actors, how they conceive their work in relation to society and how they address practices that support their objectives. Research was conducted through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork and situational analysis at GIScience institutions in Southwest Nigeria, comprising semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observation and document analysis. This research challenges the concept of a dependent periphery. Based on individual experiences, researchers in Southwest Nigeria carefully promote EO satellites as a liberating technology that allows them to regain responsibility for unbridled developments at the intersection of Nigeria’s natural and social environments. The thesis demonstrates how Nigerian GIS researchers have developed a collective agency towards relevant capacity building that transcends various institutional limitations and inhibiting national and transnational structures. This agency is set against a backdrop of abstract notions of indigenous capabilities and challenging questions about the implications of GIScience in relation to postcolonial discourses on modernisation and dependency. Overall, this research discusses how we should (figuratively) bring EO satellites back down to Earth for policy-related reasons, whilst creating adequate space for EO technologies and related practices in postcolonial STS

Challenges and Opportunities for the Advancement of GIS Education in TANZANIA

Rapid developments in science and technology have driven utilization of Geographical Information Science (GIS) in various fields of Planning, Management, and exploitation of environmental resources and provision of social services. As information technology gains momentum, GIS uses information science infrastructure to address the problems of geography, cartography, geosciences locations and related branches of science and engineering; that is shortly referred to as Geo-informatics. Increased application of GIS calls for more demand of advanced Geo-informatics education worldwide. This study has established major challenges for the advancement of Geo-informatics education in Tanzania and any possible opportunities which can be utilized for the improvement of the same. Prominent challenges identified could be associated with lack of reliable power, internet connection, computer system and accessories and appropriate software. Other challenges were related to the nature of the school curriculum and insufficient knowledge and skills of the human resources. Opportunities identified involve available government plans for increasing power supply, increasing mobile phones networks, Tanzania ICT and education and training policy with a major aim of improving ICT education and the competency based school curriculum under implementation. But the government should further support directly or indirectly all efforts by various groups that participate in advancing Geo-informatics education in the country. Keywords: Education, Geo-informatics, Tanzania, GIS, Transfer of Technology IC

Odyssey of First IALE World Congress in Africa and Opportunities for North-South or South-South Collaboration

The landscape ecology community witnessed a landmark event in July 2023 as the 11th International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress unfolded on the African continent for the first time. This editorial commemorates this historic occasion, tracing the journey from the inception of IALE Africa initiatives in 2002 to the culmination of the World Congress in Nairobi, Kenya, almost two decades later. Having previously graced Europe, Northern America, Australia, and Asia, the IALE World Congress embraced Africa, showcasing the global reach and inclusive spirit of landscape ecology.  This editorial explores the evolution of IALE Africa, highlighting the initiatives and the persistent efforts that led to the World Congress in Africa.  We delve into the socio-cultural and international significance of this shift, emphasising the unique perspectives and challenges faced by the African landscape ecology community. In addition to recounting the narrative of the 11th IALE World Congress, we assessed the participants involved, topics discussed, current trends, and priorities within the global landscape ecology research community.  To do so, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the conference proceedings.

Mapping land enclosures and vegetation cover changes in the surroundings of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camps with very high resolution satellite imagery

First published: 04 November 2018 The immediate surroundings of refugee camps in drylands are among the areas exposed to highest pressure on natural resources including vegetation and soil. Understanding the dynamics of land fencing in these areas is critical for sustainable camp management and can help to improve the knowledge about land management in drylands in general. Very high resolution satellite imagery provides a means to observe such areas over time and to document land cover and use changes. This study uses satellite images to map fenced areas, which can be divided into pastoral enclosures and the so called 'green belts' (areas fenced for afforestation) around the Hagadera Camp in Dadaab (Kenya). It then analyses change dynamics between 2006 and 2013, a period where the refugee camp has been subject to high oscillations in camp population, due to a combination of conflicts and droughts in Somalia. The applied methodology allows detailed fence mapping and shows a large increase in fenced area (56%) over the 7-year period. Although new pastoral enclosures expanded into more densely vegetated surroundings, land cover density inside already fenced areas either decreased or remained stable. Green belt areas grew at a similar rate (58%) but did not show evidence of greening over time and their longer term success is strongly dependent on maintenance. The settlement area did also expand remarkably in the same time (65%), and human and animal movements in the surroundings intensified with a negative impact on vegetation density. The study could not fully investigate the socio-economic drivers and impacts linked to the rapid increase of enclosures, which are inextricably linked to evolutions in local agro-pastoral practices. However, by documenting spatial and temporal dynamics of fenced areas, it adds new evidence to their increasing relevance in rangeland management, and opens the way to a number of hypotheses, stimulating the debate about long-term ecological and socio-economic impact

Land use change detection of small scale sugarcane : a case study of Umbumbulu, South Africa

Thesis (M.Env.Dev.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.The aim of this study was to detect spatio-temporal changes in sugarcane land use using satellite imagery for 1991–2006 in Umbumbulu, South Africa. This change detection study will enable quantification of change and the changes between different land use and land cover that has occurred over the study period 1991–2006. This work embarked on a change detection analysis using image-processing software namely ERDAS, IDRISI and ArcGIS to complete the study. Three Landsat TM images from 1991, 2001, and 2006 were used. The images were geometrically corrected to a common map projection, followed by image processing operations namely: radiometric correction, supervised image classification, accuracy assessment and post classification comparison change detection. Each image was separately classified into land cover categories of water, grassland, mix bush/shrub, forestry, sugarcane and built-up land using the supervised classification maximum likelihood algorithm in ERDAS. Final classification accuracy was determined to be ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ by means of employing standardized accuracy assessment measures, the error matrix. The post-classification comparison technique was applied to compare the classified images to assess for changes in sugarcane land use over time using IDRISI software. The classified images produced were exported into ArcMap GIS software for additional change analysis. The results are displayed as change maps. Change analysis has been executed based on digital interpretation of classification results

Remote sensing of endangered tree species in the fragmented Dukuduku Indigenous Forest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Sciences. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2016.Abstract available in PDF file

D10.1 Report on the dissemination activities and Conference organisation

This deliverable provides an extensive analysis of the dissemination activities and workshops organisation of the EXCELSIOR H2020 Teaming Project. The analysis starts with the report on our participation in conferences (11) and how the project was promoted through it. Then, we explain about the participation of our team members in talks (17), workshops (7) and seminars (12) as invited speakers. The deliverable continues with a thorough presentation of the lectures by invited speakers (8), the webinar (1) and the workshops (2) organized by our team. Additionally, we document about our participation in other events (i.e., European Researcher’s Night 2021 and SpaceUPCyprus 2021 Live). The last chapter provides the publications, journal papers, conference papers, and book sections for the reporting time period. The deliverable concludes by providing information on the outcome of the reported activities and how they have contributed to the progress of the EXCELSIOR H2020 Teaming Project. It is concluded that there is a strong need to establish links in the EMMENA region and connect with them. This has not been achieved yet, but a strategy was prepared to raise awareness about the EXCELSIOR Project in the EMMENA region and establish partnerships, starting with targeted stakeholders’ workshop in autumn 2021, where selected stakeholders from the region will be invited to be informed them about the project and provide them the space to discuss their needs and identify common scientific interests and ways of collaboration

The user concept in the space industry and how this frames satellite missions, with a focus on social development in Africa

Space-derived data lies untouched in data vaults, while many potential use cases for space applications are not exploited by the space industry. This gap may exist because the conceptualisation of the user in the satellite industry is too narrow, and yet influences the architecture and thence outcomes of a satellite mission. Assumptions about users and markets are not made on the basis of data and market research, in itself typically difficult to obtain, especially in Africa. This results in a lack of understanding of the end user and their social and economic context which feeds back to inadequately scoped requirements in satellite design. The reasons for this are not solely the limited imaginations and culture of practice of satellite engineers, but the structure of the space industry itself and its design frameworks. This limitation has impact especially for developing country applications, where the user and beneficiary concept elide in often unexamined and unchallenged ways. The satellite industry, part of the wider space industry, could borrow usefully from the IT industry in its relationship to the user and methods of deriving user requirements; in fact could consider itself part of the IT/data industry. This study explores the relationship between satellite design and the users of space-derived data, and how this is being affected by new disruptors to the traditional space industry. The implications for potential users in Africa are considered