-------------------------------------------------------------------- SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AFRICA UPDATE VOL 1, NO. 11 - 30 OCTOBER 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Spatial Data Infrastructure Africa (SDI-Africa) is a free email newsletter for people interested in GIS, remote sensing, and data management issues in Africa. To subscribe to SDI Africa, unsubscribe, or change your email address, contact: klance@usgs.gov If you're subscribing, please indicate your institutional affiliation and how you learned about the SDI-Africa newsletter. I began putting this information into a newsletter in an effort help provide information to colleagues in Africa (particularly since surfing the web can be costly in Africa). I am involved in a number of projects that aim to build SDI capacity in Africa; however, there is no project or organization that is called SDI Africa. I will send out issues as time permits. If you have news or information related to GIS, remote sensing, and spatial data infrastructure (e.g., workshop announcements, publications, reports, websites of interest, etc.), kindly send me the materials so that I can include them in the newsletter. This will ensure that issues are sent more frequently. The newsletter depends upon your continued interest. The more we share, the better the newsletter will be. You are welcome to forward this message onto colleagues who may find the information useful. If you do so, please include the newsletter contact information at the bottom of this message so that others will know about the newsletter and subscribe themselves. Back issues of the newsletter are at the GSDI and GISD websites: GSDI: http://www.gsdi.org (go to GSDI newsletters) GISD: http://www.opengis.org/gisd (go to 'What's New') Best regards, Kate Please note: Some long URLs (internet addresses) may occupy 2 lines. In that case, copy both lines into your browser. -------------------------------------------------------------------- INPUT TO THIS ISSUE -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to Wilber Ottichilo, Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD); Davison Gumbo, World Wildlife Fund Southern Africa Regional Program Office (WWF-SARPO); Tom Miewald, Canaan Valley Institute; Andrew Nadeau, FAO/GILF; Dan Zimble, ESRI; Glenn Hyman, CIAT & Univerisity of Redlands; Carmelle Cote, ESRI; Jide Kufoniyi, Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS); and Chuck Dull, USDA Forest Service for their contributions to this issue. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SDI NEWS, LINKS, PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS - HAVE YOU READ? -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.GSDI.org/SDIA/Seminar_on_Global_Mapping.doc Seminar on Promoting Global Mapping in Africa was held in Nairobi, August 19-23, 2002, at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD). Representative from 13 African countries participated. Global Map Version 1 Kenya was released on Sept. 18, 2002. RCMRD: http://www.rcmrd.org/; Global Map; http://www.iscgm.org/html4/index.html http://www.GSDI.org/SDIA/Harare_Workshop_Schedule.xls The World Wildlife Fund Southern Africa Regional Program Office (WWF-SARPO) hosted a metadata/clearinghouse/web mapping workshop, Sept. 9-13, 2002 with SIRDC Environmental Remote Sensing Institute in Harare. Participants included GIS specialists from WWF, SIRDC, Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, Survey General's Office, the Namibian Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Namibian National Remote Sensing Center, and SADC Regional Remote Sensing Unit. USGS/EROS Data Center provided training. For further information, contact Davison Gumbo, dgumbo@wwf.org.zw http://www.GSDI.org/SDIA/ILTERGabsinvite.doc International Long-Term Ecological Monitoring (ILTER) Seminar for Botswana - The First Steps, took place Sept. 19, 2002. See link above for more information about ILTER. The link below provides details about an ILTER workshop in Mozambique in July 2002: http://intranet.lternet.edu/archives/documents/Newsletters/NetworkNews/fall02/fall02_pg15.html http://www.uem.mz/faculdades/agron/eltosaws.htm Ecoinformatics Training in Maputo, Mozambique, 25-26 July 2002, Eduardo Mondlane University. Eighteen individuals, ranging from Information/GIS Managers to Research Program and Field Station Directors, from Mozambique, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, and South Africa attended the course.Training topics included: lessons learned during database development in the LTER network; data sharing and data policies; information management system basics including: system components, data collection strategies and hardware and software considerations; making information available on the WWW; metadata; quality assurance and quality control; data models for ecological databases; designing databases using MS Access; querying databases via SQL; linking databases to the WWW; workshop synthesis, evaluations and follow-up activities. Three hands-on exercises provided working experience in creating Web pages, creating a MS Access database and data entry forms, and linking an Access database to the Web. For more information, contact Bill Michener (wmichene@lternet.edu), Almeida Sitoe, Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry, UEM (sittus@zebra.uem.mz), Robert Waide, Director, LTER-NET (rwaide@lternet.edu) GIS Day 2002, http://gis.esri.com/gisday/search.cfm A number of African countries are hosting open houses/demonstrations for GIS Day 2002 (e.g, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt). Here are some examples. You can search for others at the link above. There's still time to organize and register your own event if you're interested. -- Akin Akinwande, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, Faculty of Engineering lecture theatre, Tel. 2348023527678, 11.00am November 20, 2002. Event type: a seminar/workshop to create GIS awareness amongst the upcoming ones. -- Dr. Seyi Fabiyi, UI GIS Lab, Conference Center, University of Ibadan, Main Hall, Nigeria, Tel. 234-2-8102900, November 25th. Time: 10 am - 5pm. The program will include demonstartion by GIS vendors, paper presented by GIS specialists and lecturers and discussion papers from stake holders. -- Nsoyuni Ayenika Lawrence, Mt. Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation Center, Buea University, South west Province, Cameroon, Tel. (237) 765 13 74. Event Type: Demonstration, Map Gallery, Open House, November 20/21, http://www.mcbcc.org -- Lawrence Atsu Akpalu, Forestry Commission, Adum, Kumasi, Ghana, Tel. 233-51-22376/7, 233-27-878807, 20th Nov., 10am GMT. Event type: GIS: a solution to our problems -- John K.G. Amonoo, Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, IRNR Auditorium, IRNR - Knust, Kumasi, Ghana, Tel. +233 (51) 60381 http://www.knust.edu -- Odhiambo Ochieng Teddy, Moi University -Eldoret Kenya, Main Campus, Margret Thatcher Library Exhibition Hall, Tel. 0722 740078, November 20. Event Description: Using GIS to manage the natural environment for sustainble development -- Gaseitsewe Laletsang, FFM Botswana, University of Botswana, Environmental Science Bldng, Main Campus, Gaborone, Tel. 267-3907444. Event Type: Demonstration, Map Gallery, Open House, November 20 -- Mr Brian Dube, Msu Geomatics Consortium, Midlands State University (Zimbabwe), Senga Road, Gweru, Great Hall, Tel. +26305460676, 15 November 2002. Event Description: This event is meant to promote GIS professions in Zimbabwe and to raise awareness among potential GIS users of the inumerable benefits of using GIS. http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/tg/guide_frame.jsp?g=47 SEDAC has released a Guide to Land-Use and Land-Cover Change as the second in a series of updated CIESIN Thematic Guides. This thematic guide presents the latest understanding on changes in land use and land cover, a key area of global change research. The guide includes an online bibliography of some 1,300 references. AfricaGIS '03 will be in November 2003 in Dakar, Senegal. Check the EIS-AFRICA website for more details as they become available: http://www.eis-africa.org http://www.fao.org/waicent/portal/outreach/resourcekit_en.htm WAICENT Information Management Resource Kit "Management of Spatial Data". FAO/WAICENT is developing a draft curriculum for a module on managing spatial and statistical data. The module will provide users with the key concepts on mapping, to guide the user through the recommended procedures for managing and manipulating spatial data for producing useful map outputs (both digital and hard copy). Once a draft module is available, a workshop will be held to review and revise the curriculum before starting to develop content. WAICENT hopes to have the workshop in early 2003. The instructional design, authoring and review process typically takes 6-8 months before a beta version of a module is released following a workshop. Contact: Andrew Nadeau (GILF), Andrew.Nadeau@fao.org http://www.fao.org/waicent/portal/outreach/resourcekit_fr.htm Kit de Ressources Pout la Gestion de L'Information (francais) The Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, is organising a 5-day training workshop for all States Surveyors-General (36 of them), the Director of Surveys of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and the Surveyor-General of the Federation, on Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) for Sustainable Development. The workshop is being sponsored by the French Embassy from 11th to 15th November 2002. They will be introduced generally to the concepts of National GDI, but specifically focussing on the production of framework datasets that concern this sector (mainly geodetic control, topographic data and cadastral data). Dr Akinyede, the Director of Space Applications in the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), which is now the lead agency in NGDI development in Nigeria, has also been invited to participate in the workshop. At a later date, a broader stakeholders workshop will be held under the auspices of NASRDA. Contact: Dr. Jide Kufoniyi, kufoniyi@pop.skannet.com http://www.uneca.org/rectas/the_centre.htm http://www.gsdi.org/docs/SDIA/framework_for_SDI_senegal.htm Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) highlighted Senegal's SDI progress as part of its contribution to GISD at the World Summit for Sustainable Development. Here are two slides that depict Senegal's Framework for a National Spatial Data Infrastructure and Schema Network for decentralization, from CSE's GISD Presentation for WSSD, « Using remote sensing to answer user needs for environmental information: the activities of Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE)» Souleymane Diop, 2002. http://www.paris21.org/htm/workshop/agstat2002/sess2pap2e.pdf (english) http://www.paris21.org/htm/workshop/agstat2002/sess2pap2f.pdf (francais) Assessment of National Agricultural Statistical Systems and their Capacity to Meet PRSP Requirements, Prepared for the Seminar on a New Partnership to Strengthen Agricultural & Rural Statistics in Africa for Poverty Reduction and Food Security, 16-17 September 2002 Quote from report: "Countries are not making full use of advances in technology (e.g. Geographic Information System - GIS) to analyse and simplify the presentation of often complex sets of data and information and relationships related to poverty and vulnerability, and to generate improved analytical statistical products like vulnerability and poverty maps." See http://www.paris21.org/htm/TT_agstats.htm for other papers from this Seminar. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/uncsgn.htm The Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names http://www.bkg.bund.de/un-conference2002/ImpressionsoftheConference_frame.htm Enschede/Frankfurt, August 12-23, 2002 Toponymic Training Course in conjunction with the 8th United Nations Conference on the Standardisation of Geographical Names in Berlin, August 27 - September 5, 2002. To provide Developing Countries with information on the establishment or the strengthening of 'names authorities' that can deal with national geographical names in general, with names collection, names surveys, national names standardization, the preparation of a gazetteer and/or a digital toponymic data base. Such a data base could become part of a national geographic information system (GIS). http://www.bkg.bund.de/un-conference2002/stagn_e.htm#What are What are geographical names? Why standardized geographical names? Who deals with standardization? http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/documents.htm Documents on the Standardization of Geographical Names http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/N0238139.pdf Country Report of Mozambique http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.26.pdf Technical cooperation between Canada and Mozambique, in regard to the development of a digital toponymic database for Mozambique http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/N0243696.pdf La Toponymie Ivoirienne, Côte d'Ivoire http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/N0244930.pdf African Geographical Names and the Arabic Writing Systems: Investigating an Obstacle to Standardization (Sudan) http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/N0245083.pdf Country Report of South Africa http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/N0246674.pdf Country Report of the Republic of Namibia http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.33.pdf Terminologie de la Normalisation des Noms Geographiques Algeria http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.34.pdf Reunions, Conferences et Colloques Nationaux sur la Toponymie Algeria http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.35.pdf Fichiers de Donnees Toponymiques: Autres Publications Algeria http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.36.pdf Schema Organisationnel des Structures Toponymiques en Algerie http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.37.pdf Rapport de l'Algerie Algeria http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/INF.38.pdf Base de Donnees Toponymiques http://cgdi.gc.ca/english/publications/reports/standards/pub_standards_report_e.htm Geomatic Standards "Tying it together" (1998). This report summarizes certain activities on geomatics standards and relates them to the Inter-Agency Committee on Geomatics (IACG) and the Canadian Council on Geomatics initiative to create the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). http://www.gsi.go.jp/PCGIAP/brunei/seminar/admin_sdi.pdf Land Administration and Spatial Data Infrastructures Trends and Developments, PCGIAP, Open Seminar, Brunei Darussalam April 17, 2002. Historically, the strength of a land surveyor lies in the ability to use and understand both measurement science and land management, and to apply these skills in a wide range of land related activities ranging from sustainable development to environmental management. It is proposed that a major dimension of the measurement science skill is reflected in the growing importance of spatial data infrastructures (SDI) and the land related skills are reflected in the re-discovery that the role of land administration plays in serving economic, environmental and social priorities in society. While SDI play a much broader role than supporting land administration, land administration could be considered a key driver in SDI evolution. The objective of this paper is to identify SDI and land administration trends and developments by drawing on the research of past, current and future projects undertaken by researchers in the Centre for SDI and Land Administration at The University of Melbourne. http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_description.cfm?PubID=3759 http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_pdf.cfm?PubID=3759 Closing the Gap: Information, participation, and justice in decision-making for the environment. This report addresses the status of access to information, participation, and justice in nine countries -- Chile, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States. In the report, WRI and Access Initiative colleagues around the world ask the question, "What have national governments done -- and what do they still need to do -- to create effective systems of public participation in their countries?" -------------------------------------------------------------------- GIS TOOLS, SOFTWARE, DATA -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/index.htm U.S. World Wildlife Fund Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World. Over the past eight years we have developed a biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. We term our biogeographic units ecoregions, which we define as a relatively large unit of land or water that contains a distinct assemblage of natural communities sharing a large majority of species, dynamics, and environmental conditions. Ecoregions represent the original distribution of distinct assemblages of species and communities. http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/dbaserequest.htm The digital ecoregion database is available for download as an ArcView Shapefile. It has been compressed using WinZip (www.winzip.com) and is 25MB in size. http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/WAtlas/atlas.htm IWMI World Water and Climate Atlas gives irrigation and agricultural planners rapid access to accurate data on climate and moisture availability for agriculture. The Atlas includes monthly and annual summaries for precipitation, temperature, humidity, hours of sunshine, evaporation estimates, wind speed, total number of days with and without rainfall, days without frost and Penman-Montieth reference evapotranspiration rates. The core of the Atlas is data assembled from weather stations around the world for the period 1961-1990. Data can be extracted in summary, manipulated using the Atlas software, or exported in a standardized format for use in other applications. Users can also include their own local data for a more detailed picture of a particular area. http://www.col.org/programmes/training/toolkits.htm Copyright & Distance Education: A trainer's toolkit. Prepared by Christine Swales.This toolkit provides a variety of resources designed to assist trainers in preparing and offering a workshop that introduces participants tocopyright as it relates to distance education. It describes the basic features of copyright, identifies institutional issues and concerns, and outlines ways to deal with them. It is appropriate for academic staff involved in writing and presenting course materials; administrative staff involved in publishing, purchasing, selling, and presenting courses and course materials; and institutional staff involved in setting up procedures and policies on courses and course materials through central administration, the library, or a learning resources centre. The Commonwealth of Learning, 2000 (79 pages) http://www.col.org/copyrightTK.htm Copyright & Distance Education: A trainer's toolkit, The Commonwealth of Learning, 2000. Prepared by Christine Swales This toolkit provides a variety of resources designed to assist trainers in preparing and offering a workshop that introduces participants to copyright as it relates to distance education. It describes the basic features of copyright, identifies institutional issues and concerns and outlines ways to deal with them. http://www.intergraph.com/gis/ogc/interop.asp Intergraph's Open Interoperability Grant Program is designed to stimulate the use of open interoperability standards through the support of organizations desiring to build Web services using OGC standards as well as organizations wishing to publish their data in XML/GML (file) format. -------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH / APPLICATIONS / REFERNECE MATERIAL -------------------------------------------------------------------- Africa's deserts are in "spectacular" retreat http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992811 Thursday, 3 October, 2002, 07:41 GMT 08:41 UK Satellites harnessed for progress http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2288206.stm Technology linking satellite imagery with computer analysis is helping developing countries make the best use of limited resources. http://www.gsdi.org/SDIA/DULL_wssd_description_of_partentships2_form.doc WSSD Type II Partnership: From the Mountains to the Coast: Monitoring for sustainable forests and coastal management in Kenya and Tanzania. The USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters have developed a program of forest health monitoring utilizing a combination of remote sensing, permanent plots and special aerial and ground survey techniques. The results provide land mangers, planners and policy makers and interested communities and individuals with the status and trend information needed for making decisions. It also provides an early warning system of stresses on the forest ecosystem through the use of specific indicators for the forest ecosystem health criteria. One area in need of quality information on forest condition is the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania (http://www.easternarc.org/). The Limbe Botanic and Zoological Garden/Mount Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation Centre recently released their webpage to the public. The website address is http://www.mcbcclimbe.org/. LBZG/MCBCC is Cameroon's cutting edge institution for integrated research on biodiversity, forestry and horticulture and can provide services in a wide range of fields including wildlife, botany, ecology, vegetation mapping and socio-economics. The mission of LBZG/MCBCC is to "Provide facilities, information & services to support biodiversity conservation and improve livelihoods in the Mount Cameroon region and beyond". From its inception, the LBZG has bridged research and development activities. In the last 9 years, the LBZG has developed research, educational, technical and information services that make it a key institution for biodiversity conservation and research at national, regional and international level. Included in these services, are comprehensive GIS and remote sensing capabilities including a full suite of hardware and software. LBZG has worked with a number of natural resource agencies in the region to help them develop their GIS capacities. Services have included comprehensive GPS/GIS training, vegetation mapping, cartography, and database development. Contact Nsoyuni Lawrence, nsoyuni@hotmail.com, for more information. http://www.geocities.com/mockturtl/gis.htm Ebola Virus: GIS analysis of ebola and deforestation in Zaire and Gabon. http://www.forestsmonitor.org/countries.htm Forests Monitor was established in July 1993 in response to the need for corporate based information in the forestry sector. Follow the links below for interactive maps of concessions with company data, general country information and relevant sections of our published reports. http://ioc.unesco.org/goos/Africa/Sodkak_ppr.pdf Remote Sensing Needs and Capabilities in West Africa (A Case for Coastal and Ocean Monitoring).This paper analyses the contribution of satellite imagery to atmospheric, geophysical and ocean studies and management in West Africa since the early 1980s. http://www.earthscape.org/p1/kaa01/ http://www.earthscape.org/p1/kaa01/kaa01.pdf Drought Risk Monitoring for the Sudan. This study employs GIS to examine the relationship between rainfall and the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the context of the Sudan, and the value of NDVI as a tool for drought monitoring. http://www2.soas.ac.uk/Geography/WaterIssues/OccasionalPapers/AcrobatFiles/Occ25.pdf Drought Risk Monitoring for the Sudan using NDVI, 1982 - 1993 http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu1/sfb/d1/regensb/balzerek.htm Applicability of IKONOS satellite scenes to monitoring, classification and evaluation of urbanisation processes in Africa, Case study of Gombe / Nigeria. This article presents the case study of the Nigerian town of Gombe, where IKONOS scenes were used to analyse intra-urban building structures, and other spatial developments in order to differentiate and quantificate the urbanisation process. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES / AWARDS / SUPPORT -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/international/packard.shtml Sigma Xi's Packard International Science Networking Initiative provides up to US$2500 for networking activities for networking groups or newly-forming chapters in developing countries. Examples of fundable activities/items include: lecture programs, awards, paying dues, local meetings, internet access, public outreach and science fairs/poster sessions. The link above explains the Packard Initiative in more detail. Groups of researchers in transitional/ developing countries may apply for awards of US$2500 for scientific networking activities. Interest must be expressed to the International Program Coordinator (international@sigmaxi.org) by 28 February, 2003 and complete proposals submitted by 16 May, 2003. Sigma Xi's Packard International Science Networking Initiative is a pilot programme designed to facilitate interaction between scientists and engineers in transitional/developing countries and research colleagues around the world. The basic goals of the Packard Initiative are to: 1) form new networking groups, 2) create programmes to address communication and collaboration, 3) expand access to research information and journals, and 4) evaluate and report on the progress made. The Packard Initiative provides up to US$2500 for networking activities for networking groups or newly-forming Sigma Xi chapters in transitional/developing countries. http://www.fertilizer.org/ifa/aw_info.asp Int'l Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) International Award is offered every year for research which has led to a significant advance in the efficiency of fertilizer use, and which has been communicated successfully to the farmer in the form of practical recommendations. Any individual researcher, from the public or private sector, from the fertilizer industry, or from research or educational institutes, is eligible. Applications must be submitted to an IFA member company by 31 January 2003. The 2003 Award is for research related to developing countries. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/AboutDFID/files/civilsociety/Csd-ppa-invitations.htm Partnership Programme Agreements (PPAs) This document explains DFID’s Partnership Programme Agreements (PPAs) and invites expressions of interest in the next round of PPAs. These new PPAs will come into effect in the autumn of 2003. DFID seeks to work in partnership with governments that are committed to the international targets. We also work with multilateral institutions including the World Bank, United Nations agencies and the European Community. The expression of interest should: set out the background, aims and objectives of the organisation, coalition or network; identify the potential areas of work to be covered by a PPA (i.e. the possible outcomes), with indications of the added value the organisation would bring and the benefits of working with DFID; indicate existing engagement with DFID run to a maximum of 6 pages. All expressions of interest should reach DFID by 1 January 2003. They will be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt, and applicants will be informed of the outcome of our assessment by 1 March 2003. Short listed organisations will be asked to submit a full proposal by 1 May 2003. They will be provided with further information as to what will be required in a full proposal. Subject to a further satisfactory assessment of the full proposal, we will aim to complete negotiations with short listed applicants by Autumn 2003. http://www.aau.org/programs/staffexchange2003.htm http://www.aau.org/programs/staffexchange2003_fr.htm (francais) Programme d'Échange d'Enseignants de l'AUA/DAAD Association of African Universities (AAU) / German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Staff Exchange Programme 2002/2003 Academic Year. The deadline for nominations is 30 November, 2002. The Programme's objectives are to: 1) mprove the quality of training and research in African universities; and 2) promote the mobility of lecturers. Each participant in the Programme must be nominated by an AAU member institution that needs his/her services. Les objectifs du programme suivants: 1)améliorer la qualité de la formation et de la recherche dans les universités africaines; et 2) promouvoir la mobilité des enseignants. La date limite des nominations est fixée au 30 novembre 2002. http://www.start.org/Fellowships/YS_Conference.html Call for Papers - Expression of interest to submit papers and posters is due 30 November 2002 (Abstracts not exceeding 300 words are due on Friday 14 March 2003. ) START Young Scientists' Global Change Conference, 16-19 November 2003, Trieste, Italy The Young Scientists’ Global Change Conference offers a prestigious platform for young scientists to present their research findings to leading scientists in the field. It is intended to stimulate competition, encourage excellence, reward outstanding performance, and encourage the development of personal and institutional networks. Submissions of papers and posters are invited from young scientists (age 35 years or less) on the physical, biological and human aspects of global change. Selection of papers and posters shall be on the basis of scientific excellence, taking into account the need to achieve a thematic and regional balance. Those not selected to make oral presentations may be offered poster presentations. Authors will be expected to publish their papers in international journals. http://www.iscgm.org/html4/index_c1_s1_ss3.html#doc3_242 Call for Papers - Young Authors Award will be granted to a few people based on the excellence of their submitted paper. The award will provide for travel expenses to the Global Mapping Forum 2003 in Okinawa, Japan (GMF03), including accommodation. http://www.iscgm.org/html4/index_c1_s1.html#doc2_org.iscgm.schedule.gmf03 Applicants for the award should be 40 years old or younger. Those who wish to apply should submit a full paper by February 1st, 2003. http://www.clir.org/fellowships/gates/gates.html Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award. Public libraries, library agencies, or similar kinds of organizations outside the United States are invited to apply. -------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.start.org/Fellowships/PACOM_Fellowship.html http://www.start.org/Fellowships/2ndAf_PhD_ann.pdf (announcement) http://www.start.org/Fellowships/2ndAf_PhD_app.pdf (application) START/PACOM Doctoral Fellowshop Awards for Doctoral Research and Dissertation on Global Change Research, Tenable in African Universities. The International START Secretariat and the Pan African START Secretariat (PASS) are offering fellowship opportunities for outstanding young African scientists engaged in global environmental change research leading to doctoral dissertation. These fellowships are supported through a grant from the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) to START for regional capacity building for global environmental change research in Africa. Awards will be for up to two years of study leading to completion of Ph.D. dissertation or for the final year of graduate study combined with one-year of post-doctoral research. Candidates must have completed at least one year of study toward a Ph.D. to be eligible for this award. Proposals should focus on some aspect of global environmental change in Africa. Awards will provide for tuition, research materials, and a small living allowance. Applicants are encouraged to submit complete application packages electronically. (If this is not possible, materials should be sent via fax.) Application Deadline is 29 November 2002. http://www.start.org/Fellowships/app_guide.html Start Fellowships - Round 11 Deadline: November 1, 2002 This program is designed to increase the number of developing country scientists who serve as active partners in global change research in START regional networks and in the Core Projects of IGBP, WCRP and IHDP. Through this effort, these scientists will be able to contribute to related aspects of sustainable development for their respective countries and regions. START fellows work under senior mentors in leading laboratories or institutions in any part of the world, where research is conducted on relevant regional aspects of global change. Long-term collaboration between the individuals and institution involved is one important preferred outcome of the programme. The duration of these fellowships is ordinarily one or two semesters (i.e. typically 4-8 months). **A parallel activity, the START Visiting Scientist Award, allows more senior scientists from developing countries the opportunity to undertake short-term visits to major international laboratories to become acquainted with recent advances in research. The intended outcome is the development of long-term programmatic linkages between the individuals and institutions involved. The duration of these awards is usually 1-2 months. http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/idrf/ The International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship (IDRF) program provides support for social scientists and humanists conducting dissertation field research in all areas and regions of the world. Up to fifty fellowships will be awarded in the year 2003. The program supports scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader phenomena as well as in relation to particular historical and cultural contexts. The program is open to full-time graduate students in the humanities and social sciences - regardless of citizenship - enrolled in doctoral programs in the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFERENCES - YOU'RE INVITED! -------------------------------------------------------------------- October 30, 2002 -- Deadline for submitting abstracts to the 21st International Cartographic Conference scheduled for August 10-16, 2003 in Durban, South Africa. http://www.icc2003.gov.za/ November 1, 2002 -- Last date for submission http://www.gfis.net/showannoun.php?id=24 The Program Committee invites abstracts (400 words max.) for proposals for presentations at the Information Interoperability and Organization for National and Global Forest Information Systems Conference, 17-19 September 2003, Quebec, Canada. Papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. If you are interested in developing a publication, please indicate this when submitting your abstract and guidelines will be provided. Important dates: - Submission of abstracts: Nov. 1, 2002 - Acceptance of abstracts: Nov. 15, 2002 Manuscript submission for review: May 1, 2003 - Final version of manuscript due September 17th, 2003 at conference. For more information or to submit an abstract, contact: Dr. Alan J. Thomson Canadian Forest Service Pacific Forestry Centre, Phone: (250) 363-0632 Fax: (250) 363-0775 email: athomson@pfc.forestry.ca Nov. 4-9, 2002, Grand Bay, Mauritius, IOGOOS Mauritius Conference http://ns2.incois.gov.in/iogoos/# The First Conference of the Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing System (IOGOOS). The main objectives of the conference are to reach agreement on the establishment of IOGOOS and plan development activities. This is the first time within the framework of the Global Ocean Observing System that a conference for the benefit of all the Indian Ocean rim-countries is being held. It is also expected to attract the participation of countries from outside the region, as well as international researchers who have an interest in the Indian Ocean. For registration and further information, contact: The Director, Mauritius Oceanography Institute, France Centre, Fax: (230) 427 4433, E-mail: moi@intnet.mu November 5-7, 2002, Toulouse, France Institut Aéronautique et Spatial http://www.mediatec-dif.com/pvdst/pvdstfr.html (Francais) http://www.mediatec-dif.com/pvdst/pvdstgb.html (English) La pérennisation et la valorisation des données scientifiques et techniques Ensuring Long-Term Preservation and Adding Value to Scientific and Technical Data http://www.fig.net/figtree/commission7/index.htm#symposium Symposium on land re-distribution of in Southern Africa November 6 and 7, 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting and Symposium on Land Re-distribution in Southern Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, November 4-9 2002 FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting that will be held in Pretoria, November 2002. This year a two day seminar with a focus on land redistribution in southern Africa will be held in conjunction to the annual meeting November 6-7. This seminar is part of Working Group 2 on 'instruments for land distribution', chaired by Mikko Uimonen, and is included in the Commission 7 Work Plan 2002-2006. FIG Commission 7 organises a two day-Symposium - November 6-7, 2002 - on the 'how to do' question of land re-distribution in Southern Africa. The target group for this Symposium are land managers, land surveyors and related professions. The aim is to focus on the operational and technical aspects of the land re-distribution process. This question has been raised amongst others at the FIG Washington congress by land surveyors from the region (April, 2002) and also at the Worldbank Workshop on Land Issues in Kampala (April/May, 2002). The Symposium has support of FAO and will have contributions from representatives of the Worldbank, FAO, possibly the African Development Bank, and many senior academics, bureaucrats, and practitioners. November 11-12, 2002, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France http://www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/cross-cutting/main.htm#1 http://www.science.uwc.ac.za/earthscience/remotesensingworkshop.htm http://www.science.uwc.ac.za/earthscience/about_UNESCOCHAIR.htm Meetings associated with the UNESCO Cross Cutting project on "Application of Remote Sensing for Integrated Management of Ecosystems and Water Resources in Africa". For more details, contact Prof Yongxin Xu, Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, yxu@uwc.ac.za November 11-16, 2002, World Agroforestry Centre Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/NewsItem.asp?NewsItemId=82 Dealing with data from participatory studies: bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative methods This training workshop is aimed at agroforestry research and development professionals. Its goal is to develop understanding of important issues that should be considered in sampling, and information collection and handling. It will help develop skills to achieve optimal combination of PRA tools and statistical principles while dealing with qualitative and quantitative information collected in participatory studies. more Deadline for applications: 10 October 2002 For more information, contact: Jan Beniest, j.beniest@cgiar.org, or Janet Awimbo, j.awimbo@cgiar.org November 11-22, 2002, Headquarters of FAO, Rome, Italy http://www.unccd.int Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - First session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). Further practical information for participants is available at http://www.unccd.int/php/document.php?ref=ICCD/CRIC(1)/Inf.1 Registration: http://www.unccd.int/cop/cric1/registration.php November 15, 2002 -- Last date for submission http://tlc.unipv.it/urban_2003/call.htm http://tlc.unipv.it/urban_2003/index.html 2nd Joint Workshop on Remote Sensing and Data Fusion over Urban Areas (URBAN 2003). May 22-23, 2003. Berlin, Germany. November 20-21, 2002, Pretoria, South Africa EIS-AFRICA Annual General Meeting, see website for details: http://www.eis-africa.org November 30, 2002 - Expression of Interest due http://www.ihdp.uni-bonn.de/Pdf_files/YSC_Circ1.pdf 1st International Young Scientists’ Global Change Conference, 16-19 November 2003 Trieste, Italy. Submissions of papers and posters are invited from young scientists (age 35 years or less) on the physical, biological and human aspects of global change. Abstracts not exceeding 300 words are due on Friday 14 March 2003. Expression of Interest form due 30 November 2002. November 30th, 2002 - Call for Papers http://www.jkuat.ac.ke/other/ce2003/default.htm International Civil Engineering Conference on Sustainable Development in the 21st Century. Those who wish to make oral/poster presentations are requested to submit three copies of an abstract of not more than 500 words, outlining the content and conclusions of their paper, no later than Nov. 30, 2002. December 10, 2002 http://www.gsdi.org/docs/SDIA/Landscapes_of_Africa4.doc Call For Oral And Poster Presentations For A Special Session On "The Changing Landscapes Of Africa". International Association of Landscape Ecologist, (IALE) World Congress. Contact hbulley@calmit.unl.edu by December 10, 2002 to express your interest in participating in this special session and/or inauguration Africa-IALE chapter. All abstracts for oral and poster presentations need to be submitted through the IALE 2003 conference web site at http://www.iale.ntu.edu.au by January 31, 2003 January 22-24, 2003, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa http://www.cig.ensmp.fr/~iahs/conferences/2003Stellenbosch.htm 2nd International Symposium on Integrated Water Resourcs Management - "Towards Sustainable Water Utilisation in the 21st Century. February 17-21, 2003, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand http://www.iucn.org/themes/fcp/activities/transboundary1.htm Increasing effectiveness of Transboundary Conservation Areas in tropical forests. Upcoming workshop organized jointly by ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) and IUCN. The workshop will bring together practioners involved in the implementation of ITTO's transboundary conservation areas (TBCA) programme, and experts from IUCN and other interested organizations. TBCA Meeting Secretariat: transboundary@iucn.org March 10-12, 2003, Paris, France http://www7.nationalacademies.org/usnc-codata/OpenAccessWorkshop.html International Workshop on Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science May 12-16, 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The 3rd Meeting for the Committee on Development Information Theme: Information for Governance United Nations Conference Center (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Conference_Reports_and_Other_Documents/disd/codi/codi_iii__advance_announcement.htm http://www.uneca.org/codi May 14 - 16 , 2003, Cape Town, South Africa http://www.ausimm.com.au/whatsnew/apcom.doc The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy will host the 31st International Symposium on Computer Applications in the Minerals Industries (APCOM). Karen du Toit, The Symposium Co-ordinator, APCOM 2003, apcom@saimm.co.za, http://www.saimm.co.za http://www.egfar.org/tools/special2002/specialcontents.htm#2003 2003 GFAR Conference in Dakar, Senegal Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Senegalese National Organising Committee to hold the 2003 GFAR Conference on May 22 & 23, 2003. The GFAR Conference follows closely behind the 2nd FARA General Assembly which will now take place on May 19 & 20th, 2003 in Dakar, Senegal. In between the FARA and GFAR meetings, there will be an Agricultural Day scheduled for May 21st, 2003, during which the host, the Senegalese NARS, will show us some of the work they have been doing. GFAR Secretariat, gfar-secretariat@fao.org May 22-23, 2003. Berlin, Germany http://tlc.unipv.it/urban_2003/index.html 2nd Joint Workshop on Remote Sensing and Data Fusion over Urban Areas (URBAN 2003) May 26-30, 2003, Bonn, Germany http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/shared/template/livelihoodconference.asp International Conference on Rural Livelihoods, Forests and Biodiversity. An international conference on the role of forests in supporting rural livelihoods in developing countries and on the maintenance of biodiversity. Key objectives are to survey current knowledge and identify policy lessons and a future research strategy. June 14-20, 2003, Marrakech, Morocoo http://www.iaia.org/ IAIA '03 Conference: Impact Assessment and Capacity Building July 7-11, 2003, San Diego, CA, USA http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html ESRI International User Conference 2003 July 12-14, 2003, Okinawa, Japan http://www.iscgm.org/html4/index_c1_s1.html#doc2_org.iscgm.schedule.gmf03 Global Mapping Forum 2003 in Okinawa (GMF03), sponsored by the International Steering Committee for Global Mapping. The objective of the Forum is to exchange ideas, experiences and information among data users and data providers concerning global or regional scale geographic information. July 13-17, 2003, Darwin, Australia International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress. A special session on Africa is being planned for 2003. The proposed theme for this session is, "The Changing Landscapes Of Africa". The session is also intended to be a starting point for an Africa-Chapter of IALE. All those with interest in landscape analysis, resource data and projects in Africa are encouraged to be part of this process. If you are interested in the special session and Africa-IALE, contact: Henry N.N. Bulley CALMIT, University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Tel: 402-472-4973; Email: hbulley@calmit.unl.edu July 20 - 25, 2003, Cambridge, U.K. (by invitation only) http://www.cambridgeconference2003.com/index.htm National Mapping - Shaping the future. A newsletter, giving more details about the conference, has been sent out to potential delegates. Ordnance Survey hosted the first two conferences (1995, 1999), which by design aims to get together the senior people in national mapping to discuss, in a relatively informal setting, the challenges facing national mapping around the world. In recent years, the conference has also, not surprisingly, focused on SDI's, training, public private relationships etc. for senior representatives of national mapping organisations of the world. Each time, about 200 delegates from 70 to 80 countries were represented at the conference July 21 - August 1, 2003, Durban, South Africa http://www.ru.ac.za/institutes/rgi/irc2003/IRC2003.htm International Rangeland Congress August 4 - 11, 2003, Bloemfontein, South Africa Water Conservation Technologies for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (WCT). This event is organized jointly by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the Water Research Commission of South Africa (WRC), South Africa’s National Department of Agriculture (NDA) and the ARC-Institute for Soil, Climate and Water (ISCW). This event was initiated by ISCW and the Optimizing Soil Water Use (OSWU) Consortium which is part of the Systemwide Soil, Water and Nutrient Management (SWNM) Programme of CGIAR. August 10 - 16, 2003, Durban, South Africa http://www.icc2003.gov.za/ 21st International Cartographic Conference & 12th General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association ICA and the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association will offer spatial data infrastructure workshops in conjunction with the International Cartographic Confernce August 12-16, 2003, Nairobi, Kenya http://www.jkuat.ac.ke/other/ce2003/default.htm International Civil Engineering Conference on Sustainable Development in the 21st Century. Organized by: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT) August 13-20, 2003. Berlin, Germany http://www.isi-2003.de International Statistical Institute, 54th Biennial Session (includes meetings of the Bernoulli Society, the International Association for Statistical Computing, the International Association of Survey Statisticians, the International Association for Official Statistics and the International Association for Statistical Education). Email: isi@cbs.nl September 8-17, 2003, Durban, South Africa http://wcpa.iucn.org/wpc/wpc.html Vth World Congress on Protected Areas http://www.gfis.net/showannoun.php?id=24 Information Interoperability and Organization for National and Global Forest Information Systems, 17-19 September 2003, Quebec, Canada. The goal of the conference is to bring together international scientists, practitioners, administrators, and information professionals to discuss and announce recent research and advances in the use and organization of information within national and global forest information systems. October 19-31, 2003. Bonn, Germany 6th Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification. Contact: CCD Secretariat; Tel 49-228-815 2800; Fax 49-228-815 2898/99; secretariat@unccd.int; www.unccd.int November 2003, Dakar, Senegal. AfricaGIS '03. Check EIS-AFRICA website for more details. http://www.eis-africa.org November 10-14, 2003, Honolulu, HI, USA http://www.symposia.org 30th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment December 1- 5, 2003. Morocco FIG Regional Conference for the Arab Countries and Francophone Africa. Organised by FIG, Ordre National des Ingénieurs Géomètres - Topographes ONIGT. Co-sponsored by FIG Commissions 2, 3 and 5. Contact: FIG Office, email: fig@fig.net -------------------------------------------------------------------- EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cgiar.org/ilri/about/job-epi02.cfm Associate Professional Officer, Epidemiology.ILRI, supported by the Dutch Government, has established an Associate Expert (Associate Professional Officer) programme to work on ILRI research activities. This programme gives promising researchers / professionals invaluable on-the-job training under guidance by established scientists.Candidates must be below 32 years of age on the date of application. The Associate Professional Officer (APO) should be a developing country national. Applicants from the country where the post is based are not eligible. The appointment will be for an initial period of one year with the possibility of a further two-year extension. Developing, in collaboration with scientists in ILRI and collaborating organizations (FAO, OIE, NARS), standard measures for disease occurrence / risk that can be capture in geo-referenced format for selected target diseases. Linking disease risk indicators in a) to factors assembled in other geo-referenced databases (human and animal population density, climate, vegetation, poverty and other social indicators). See link for more details. Screening of applications will began on 30 September 2002 and is continuing until the post is filled. The incumbent will be based at ILRI-Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya with a short assignment at ILRI-Los Baños, The Philippines. http://www.frontier.ac.uk/j1.htm http://www.frontier.ac.uk/jobs/PC.pdf Project Co-ordinator (Madagascar Marine Research Programme). Closing date for applications is 4th November 2002. Applicants must have a postgraduate qualification in natural sciences or conservation; knowledge of natural resource management and rural development; experience of field project management, including staff and budgets, preferably in a tropical environment; and excellent communication, administration and presentation skills. Experience of donor liaison and writing of funding proposals and French language advantageous. Post to begin January/February 2003. http://www.unesco.org/per/Vacancies/SENSC0003.pdf Programme Specialist, UNESCO Dakar Office. Implementation of UNESCO’s Ecological Sciences programmes in Western Africa, including the application of the Seville Strategy for the Man and the Biosphere (MAB), Biosphere Reserves and for the development of multidisciplinary research activities.Candidates should send in their applications no later than 6 December 2002. -------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://portal.unesco.org/ioc/ev.php?URL_ID=1635&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1035413354 Fisheries and marines science institutions in Africa have been offered free access to the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) in a programme initiated by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (the publishers of the ASFA), in collaboration with the United Nations co-sponsoring partners (Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO). The programme which will last for an initial period of two years targets institutions in the Low-Income-Food-Deficit Countries. http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/NewsItem.asp?NewsItemId=83 New book: Natural resources management in African agriculture: understanding and improving current practices. This book consists of selected, edited and revised papers from a workshop held in July 2000. It synthesizes existing information on the adoption of natural resource management investments and strategies (such as soil fertility improvements or erosion control) for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. It also critically examines current analytical methods and generates research and policy recommendations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2329479.stm Ambitious plans to halve world hunger by 2015 are facing failure, says a report from the United Nations. Experts predict that it could take a century to meet the target if progress were to continue at the current rate. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The inspiration for this newsletter came from the Forest Information Update (www.foresters.org/portal), and follows the same format. Thank you Gyde! You are welcome to forward this message onto colleagues who may find the information useful. If you do so, please include the newsletter contact information at the bottom of this message so that others will know about the newsletter and subscribe themselves. If you have news or information related to GIS, remote sensing, and spatial data infrastructure (e.g., workshop announcements, publications, reports, websites of interest) kindly send me the materials so that I can include it in the newsletter. This newsletter depends upon your continued interest. The more we share, the better the newsletter will be. This newsletter is supported through the Geographic Information for Sustainable Development Project GISD (http://www.opengis.org/gisd). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Kate Lance EROS Data Center/International Program Address: Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Secretariat USGS 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Mail Stop 590 Reston, VA 20192 Email: klance@usgs.gov Tel: 703-648-4564 Fax. 703-648-5755 Website: http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/ http://www.gsdi.org/