Down to Earth Geographic Information for Sustainable Development in Africa (2002) / Chapter Skim
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8 Building Capacity to Apply Geographic Information to Sustainable Development in Africa
8 Building Capacity to Apply Geographic Information to Sustainable Development in Africa
Pages 114-127
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From page 114... ...
The application of geographic information to Agenda 21 issues in Africa requires considerable growth in geospatial capacity. Geospatial capacity is the ability to undertake activities, solve problems, and achieve objectives using geographic information and tools.
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From page 115... ...
By the secondary level multidisciplinary approaches may provide an avenue for learning about sustainable development. To be addressed effectively sustainable development issues require a multidisciplinary approach.
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From page 116... ...
A cadre of well-trained individuals will need to be formed in each country to apply geographic data and information in support of sustainable development in Africa. Continuing and on-the-job training should become an integral part of the process of enhancing geospatial capacity.
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From page 117... ...
Despite the difficulties African universities face they remain vital to the generation of new knowledge and have the potential for organizational capacity-building. The application of geographic information to sustainable development in Africa will depend on the quality, character, and direction of uni.
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From page 118... ...
Currently Burkina Faso's goal with respect to geographic information is to establish a national policy that includes regulations for implementation, increase capacity for analysis in the universities, and raise awareness in the policy community. A spatial database of water and natural resources in southwestern Burkina Faso was developed by the "Haute-Bassins" Regional Directorate of Hydraulics using more than 500 hydrological and natural resource maps of the region, largescale remotely sensed Landsat images, and GIS to analyze and display data.
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From page 119... ...
The focus of RCMRD has evolved to reflect changing technology, changing geospatial capacity in the region that it serves, and changing socio-economic and operational needs of the member countries (Figure 8-1~. Sponsor/partners: The RCMRD operates with funds from contractSOURCE: W
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From page 120... ...
Networks do not produce demand; rather their effectiveness depends on the degree to which demand is incorporated into their planning. International Organizations Although indigenous geospatial capacity-building efforts are growing, international players dominate the application of geographic information science to development in Africa.
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From page 121... ...
The critical mass of individuals required for the development of societal capacity in geographic information science will not enter the field in the absence of demand that creates jobs and income. This section discusses the role of science and geographic information in governance, the societal factors that influence geospatial capacity, and partnerships for geospatial capacity-building within Africa and between African countries and the United States.
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From page 122... ...
African countries that do not have the technical expertise and infrastructure to gather and process geographic data rely on access to geographic infor mation from other countries. Mohammed Hassan, executive director of the Third World Academy of Sciences and president of the African Academy of Sciences, made these remarks about the need for science advice for African governments.
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From page 123... ...
While opportunities for open access to geographic information are increasing with efforts towards democratization and with advances in the Internet that make digital maps widespread, programs that engage communities and local citizens and land managers with paper maps and other accessible outlets for these geographic information can promote broader participation in the decision process at the local level. Social Factors Influencing Geospatial Capacity Data, hardware, and software systems provide increasingly sophisticated geographic information worldwide, but it is really the political, social, economic, and educational institutions of a country that ultimately determine the application and use of geographic data for decision-making.
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From page 124... ...
New Partnerships Effective use of geographic information science in sustainable development will be associated with the emergence of partnerships involving universities, industry, government, and civil society. University Partnerships Geospatial capacity-building, like the transfer of technology discussed in Chapter 7, will be more effective when the cooperation occurs in the context of long-term, practical partnerships such as business-to-business or university-to-university rather than exclusively in the traditional donoragency-to-recipient-government partnership.
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From page 125... ...
The United States is already engaged in providing support to African countries for the development of their spatial data infrastructures (see Appendix C)
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From page 126... ...
In addition to supporting developing countries in the development of their spatial data infrastructures, the United States provides valuable foundation and thematic geographic data for a wide variety of applications in Africa. These data include free and open access to the 24-satellite Global Positioning System (GPS J (Chapter 51; global 3 0 x 3 0 m orthorectified Lands at Thematic imagery from circa 1990 through the NASA Data Buy and Earth Satellite Corporation (Chapter 61; imagery of many African countries from CORONA data and space shuttle photography; global digital elevation model information (at 90 x 90 m spatial resolution)
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From page 127... ...
1998. Sustainable Development and Graduate Employment: The African Context.
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