jrc place on dd month yyyy – event name 1 gmes and africa what is it? expectations and prospects...

JRC Place on dd Month YYYY – Event Name 1

GMES and Africa

What is it? Expectations and Prospects

Jean P. Malingreau

Head of Strategy and Work Programme UnitJoint Research Centre of the European Commission in collaboration with colleagues in Commission Services

Belgium Presidency Brussels 16.09.2010 High Level Conference « Space for the African Citizen »


Earth Observation from satellites offers essential tools

for

Generating Knowledge (ecosystems, climate, hydrology, geology..)

Planning & Management (resources, environment)

Control and Verification (commitments, regulations, enforcement)

Diversely, they are also instruments of national sovereignty,

for setting up common regional/continental grounds and

for peace keeping



Africa has been watched day in and day out by a broad range of satellite sensors for over 25 years


What is GMES & Africa?

A long term political initiative by the EU and the AU,

undertaken in the context of the Lisbon agenda (Dec. 2007),

to significantly improve

availability, access and conditions of use of earth observation

data and technologies

to better deal with requirements for information associated with

the sustainable management of natural resources,

the protection of the environment and

the provision of security for the citizens

in Africa

Belgium Presidency Brussels 16.09.2010 High Level Conference « Space for the African Citizen »Belgium Presidency Brussels 16.09.2010 High Level Conference « Space for the African Citizen »


The meeting point between

the demand (better management of natural resources, environment,

security)

the offer (satellite technologies, ICT, GIS, Expertise etc..)

With “champions on both sides…..”a. user driven – answering needsb. technology driven – “a good offer makes a good demand”


GMES


A vision for GMES & Africa 2020

To become the earth observation reference system

directly operated and exploited by African users

as a key tool in resources, environment and security management

at continental, regional, national and local levels.

made possible through a strong partnership EU-Africa



Added value of GMES & Africa is

- assurance of continuity in political support

- provision of a framework guaranteeing data as defined by needs

- maintenance of a long term perspective: towards services

- continuous identification of emerging needs

- support to institutional capacity building

- a pan-African (sum of regions and countries) perspective

- an eye on the technology (adoption, anticipation)



CONCRETELY……

A light management structure providing impetus, strategy, validation, evaluation, management.

Around a GMES Africa Office providing intellectual, political and technological leadership, branding, facilitator of access, brokering of agreements, recognition+ coordination…

Early results in provision of services.

Answering critical issues related e.g. to food security, forest mgt, soil/water resources conservation,

Establishment of shared infrastructure for access, data management, communication ,analyses.

via an investment plan associated with Partnership 8 including on the EU side, the Commission, Member States, ESA, EUMETSAT and other Space Agencieson the African side the AUC, ACP, Regional Structure and key States.



Specificity of the African situation

Building blocks exist

- Elements of GMES & Africa found in existing activities (FORAF, Sth Africa Space Programme, AMESD, GSE, PUMA, TIGER, Bilateral projects etc..).

- The link to the Lisbon Agenda is via the AU-EU Strategic Partnership Programme N°8 “science, information society and space”.

- The AUC is the coordinator of the process; it integrates the African interests

- The Regions (REC) and the States significantly contribute to the setting up of the Agenda

- Expertise exists in many African institutions and SMEs

- GMES (EUROPE): “a tool for cooperation linked to development, humanitarian aid and emergency situations worldwide and, more specifically, with Africa” – GMES Regulation 2009/10



Specificity of the African situation (Cont’d)

Because of existing institutional situation the political mandate must be clarified and sustained

Investments are needed in

short term

- competence centres, expertise- diffusion networks, data sharing (e.g potential extension of GMES data policy to Africa)- supporting demonstrations, early results

long term

- space instruments responding to needs (e.g sharing of GMES Sentinel series, PROBA-V and others)- ground facilities (networks, stations etc)



GMES & Africa – emerging elements

• Research must be part of the agenda: priority to remote sensing sciences, data management, system engineering (training, involvement African Universities, innovation opportunities)

• Reconizing the “market pull”? Towards a thriving added value sector?

• Recognizing that there are new models of data access/analysis/validation (e.g. Google, Geo-wikki, Globo Amazonia, etc…)

• GMES and a future African Space Agency



!!!!!!!!Many Earth Observations activities are taking place in Africa

- national levels (Sth Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and others)

- bilateral relations (European countries/Africa)- south/south links with emerging “space nations”- under the drive of other space powers (US, Japan,

China, Korea, Brazil etc..)

Under the aegis of GEOSS , GMES EU-Africa partnership must play a driving role in

securing

• optimisation of overall investments, • interoperability of systems (GE data sharing principles,

Global Inf. System) • efficiency of investment procedures.



!!!!!!!!

A window of opportunity for establishing GMES Africa as asignificant initiative at pan-African level is still open.

However, it may be slipping away and immediate concretesteps are to be taken.

On the EU side, the efforts of the Belgian Presidency of (as well as of those of Portugal) in persuading other Member States and European Institutions of the urgency and importance of this task are acknowledged.

This Symposium will hopefully develop a strongconsensus in that direction.



Contributions by

Philippe Mayaux, Paolo Roggeri, Etienne Bartholomé, Alan Belward, Olivier Léo,

Delilah Al Khudairi, Stéphane Flasse, Emilio Barisano, Harry De Backer,Alessandro Annoni, Francesco Pignatelli

are gratefully acknowledged

GMES & Africa = the framework to integrate the various facets of this vision


jrc place on dd month yyyy – event name 1 gmes and africa what is it? expectations and prospects...

Documents

high level conference

african citizenafrica

african users

security management

planning management

african citizengmesa

gmes africa office

panafrican sum of regions