-------------------------------------------------------------------- SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AFRICA UPDATE VOL 2, NO. 2 - 12 FEBRUARY 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 to 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 and input. 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 (VERY MUCH) to Seif Madoffe, Sokoine University (Tanzania); Annette Rolfe, HIC (Sierra Leone); Carmelle Cote, ESRI (USA), Didier Devers, University of Maryland (USA); B.B.H. Morebodi, Department of Surveys and Mapping (Botswana); Ndaendelao E. Noongo, Environmental Information Unit, DEA (Namibia); Dzingirai Murambadoro, SIRDC-ERSI (Zimbabwe); and Ali Mohammed Karatunga, Karamoja Data Centre (Uganda) for their contributions to this issue of the newsletter. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SDI NEWS, LINKS, PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS - HAVE YOU READ? -------------------------------------------------------------------- SDI Africa: an implementation guide A lively group of spatial data infrastructure implementators from Africa met February 4-7, 2003, to review the drafting of a collaborative SDI reference guide that is being prepared by UNECA, the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Secretariat, EIS-AFRICA, and country contributors. The first version of the guide will be available for public review in time for CODI III (May 2003, see conference section below). It is meant to help advance SDI in Africa. The guide will be accompanied by a website with materials from and links to SDI initiatives across Africa. The Ad Hoc Meeting of SDI Experts was sponsored by the U.N. Economic Comission for Africa. Country specialists from Benin, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, and South Africa shared their experiences. Participants also included specialists from ITC, EIS-AFRICA, USGS/EROS Data Center, SADC Regional Remote Sensing Centre (RRSU), Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), and Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), FAO/Africover, University of New Brunswick). http://www.atlas.gov.bw The Department of Surveys and Mapping of Botswana launched the PC version of the Botswana National Atlas January 30, 2003. The Botswana National Atlas is the first ever national atlas for Botswana, providing reference material for a whide spectrum of disciplines such as geography, education, culture, environment and land use. The PC Atlas is distributed in four versions: 1) The PC Atlas 1.0A for users who already have ArcView 3.2, 2) PC Atlas 1.0B, for those who do not have ArcView 3.2, so a runtime ArcView license is provided, 3) PC Atlas 1.0C which uses ArcExplorer, which is free software from ESRI, and 4) Botswana National Atlas e-Book as a pdf file. http://www.karamojadata.org The Karamoja Data Centre (KDC) in Uganda, with the assistance of the Italian Cooperation, has been established as a unit within the Office of the Minister of State for Karamoja (MoSK) as the government's focal point for coordinating all data and information generation activities in the Karamoja Region. The Centre collaborates with key government institutions, non-governmental organisations, international as well as local agencies with specific interests in the Karamoja region in developing the Karamoja Information System. http://www.ics.trieste.it/hightech/telecom/egm-africa.htm http://www.ics.trieste.it/documents/hightech/telecom/activities/egm-dec2002/AideMemoire.pdf (Aide Memoire) Expert group meeting on "Infrastructure and Methodology for Data Communication Networks in East and Central Africa" in Trieste, Italy, from 12-13 December 2002. The workshop aimed to review the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) initiative, looking at current activities and future regional expansion and taking into consideration up-dated data on existing communication networks in the African region. Participants also discussed and formulated operational details for UNIDO-ICS collaboration in the USDI as well as the regional SDI. Experts who participated in this activity included: Mr. A.J. Rwendeire (Managing Director, Programme Development and Technical Cooperation Division of UNIDO), Hon. O. Ojwok (Minister of State for Economic Monitoring in Uganda), Mr. R. Muwanga (Uganda Ministry of Finance, USDI Projects), delegates of the European Commission in Uganda and Rwanda, as well as experts from Kenya and Tanzania. http://wg.jrc.it/Africa/ http://marsunit.jrc.it/Africa/Nairobi%20workshop%200103/Nairobi%20workshop%20program%2028-01-03.pdf JRC/FAO Workshop on "Crop Monitoring and Yield Forecasting for Food Security" in Nairobi, January 28th -30th in Nairobi (Kenya) was an opportunity for participants to present state of the art results on crop monitoring and yield forecasting in Africa. The workshop was also the first step towards the establishment of a network for the improvement of monitoring and forecasting acitivities in Eastern Africa. The Drought Monitoring Centre (DMC) for the Greater Horn of Africa in Nairobi is one of the focal points for the network. Upcoming DMC activities include: http://www.dmcn.org/general/activities.html 16 February - 1 March 2003 Pre COF11 Capacity Building Workshop for Climate Scientists, DMCN, Nairobi 23 February - 1 March 2003 PRECOF11 Users Capacity Building Workshop, DMCN, Nairobi 3 - 5 March 2003 COF11 Activities, Entebbe, Uganda 6 - 7 March 2003 Users Specific workshop, Livestock, Disaster Management, Gender, and Media 16 March - 12 April 2003 Climate Modeling Workshop, DMCN, Nairobi A meeting took place 29 January 2003 at CSIR in South Africa to discuss and comment on the land cover classification scheme for remote sensing in South Africa. The purpose of this Standard is to present a predetermined framework for land-type classifications that will provide standardised baseline specifications, to ensure consistency and conformity in map data produced by various organisations from satellite imagery. This standard caters for specific user or project requirements to be accommodated, including the use and integration of additional non-remote sensing data where applicable or required (i.e. GIS-based modelling). For further information, contact Martha Majadibodu, mmajadibodu@CSG.pwv.gov.za Expert Meeting on "Low and Medium Resolution Satellite Sensors and Disaster Monitoring", 5-6 June 2003, Pretoria, South Africa (by invitation) Organised and hosted by the Satellite Applications Centre/CSIR. The Southern African user community will meet to discuss the various regional initiatives currently being implemented or planned in the region. One such initiative is the Wide Area Satellite Monitoring Information System (WAMIS) that SAC/CSIR is developing. The goals of WAMIS are to provide a wide area coverage and monitoring information service using a suite of low to medium resolution satellite sensors to support to disaster management, early warning and environmental monitoring by delivering timely products and information to the national and regional user community on a non-profit basis. http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/SAP/stdm/2002_africa/presentations/session10/speaker02.pdf The U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs envisions this Expert Meeting as an opportunity for the Southern African institutions already carrying out or interested in developing activities that incorporate space technology in disaster management activities to meet, form partnerships, discuss possible joint projects and define terms of reference for these pilot projects. Institutions interested in participating in the meeting are requested to send a letter to Mr. David Stevens (david.stevens@unvienna.org), with copy to Ms. Helena Bosman (hfbosman@csir.co.za), providing information on the proposed participant (name, nationality, sex, date of birth, current position, principal functions, official mailing address, telephone, fax, e-mail, academic background) and also a short description on the current and/or planned activities in the area of space technology and disaster management to be developed. Please also state if the participant requires funding support for air travel. In order to be considered for funding support, the workshop sponsors must receive an application by 18 April 2003. If you are interested in staying in touch and becoming involved in the area of space technology and disaster management, join the discussion list: http://www.ungiwg.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unoosa-stdm http://www.hsrc.ac.za/gis/projects/index.html http://www.sardc.net/Imercsa/Projects.htm SARDC (Southern African Research and Documentation Centre) IMERCSA, in collaboration with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa, are implementing a Southern African Development Community (SADC) Development GIS. The objective is to provide regional socio-economic and development statistics for the State of Environment (SOE) reporting for the SADC region. The project is being undertaken by a number of organisations/institutions through the Communicating the Environment Programme (CEP). Amongst other things, the intended deliverables of this SADC Development GIS project will include: - country profiles on the availability and accessibility of socio-economic and development information for all SADC countries; - a feasibility report on developing detailed GIS databases of demographic/census information for SADC countries; and - integration of demographic/census information in GIS for a pilot study on Zimbabwe and possibly several other SADC countries. The project has a steering committee that consists of UNEP, SADC ELMS and SADC RRSU, which will provide the institutional framework within which the project will operate and hopefully give momentum to institutionalizing the process of gathering information in later stages of the work. http://www.dea.met.gov.na/data/publications/reports/EMIN2/Appendix4.1.pdf Development of Namibia’s National Environmental and Indicators Meta-databases, by Ndaendelao E. Noongo, EIS Unit, May 2002 The Sierra Leone Information System (SLIS) provides operational support to the Humanitarian Information Centre in Sierra Leone by providing information resource products and analysis to be disseminated to the humanitarian community and Government Ministries. The SLIS aims to ensure that humanitarian information and data is based upon a system of collaboration, partnership and sharing and that it is made available in formats that can be easily, shared and used by humanitarian organisations. With this goal in mind, ths SLIS is currently creating the second edition of the Sierra Leone CD-ROM Encyclopedia, which will be available at the beginning of February. The Encyclopedia is an overview of the current situation in Sierra Leone, the activities of the past year and the proposed projects for the coming year. It has compiled information from international NGOs, national NGOs, international organisations, United Nations agencies, Government and Donor bodies, amongst others. It has also compiled national assessment data, maps, images and photographs for public distribution. The Encyclopedia will also be available on the new SLIS website http://ochadata.un.org/slis. The staff of the Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) would like to express sincere thanks to all agencies that contributed information for the project. http://www.esri.com/industries/internationaldev/index.html http://www.esri.com/industries/internationaldev/wssd-gis-statements.pdf Here are excerpts on GIS/SDI/Global Mapping from documents related to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. These excerpts may prove useful for 'justifying' SDI efforts when preparting proposals and work plans. These were compiled by colleagues at ESRI. -------------------------------------------------------------------- GIS TOOLS, SOFTWARE, DATA -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.gvm.sai.jrc.it/Forest/defaultForest.htm Vegetation Map of Central Africa derived from AVHRR data. The TREES vegetation map of Central Africa at 1.1 km spatial resolution covers the following six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). Set up by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the European Space Agency in the early 90s, the starting point for the TREES project was the production of the first global 'reference map' of the world’s tropical forests from satellite images. You can download digital data (digital map and explanatory notes in English or in French) from the following anonymous ftp site, ftp://ftp.gvm.sai.jrc.it/pub/webtrees/africa/ LocClim or FAOCLIM CD-ROMs The FAO Geoinformation, monitoring and assessment group announces LocClim. This CD-ROM contains a programme that estimates climatic conditions for any location on earth. The Geoinformation, monitoring and assessment group previously produced a CD-ROM entitled FAOCLIM; it covers monthly data for 28100 stations, for up to 14 observed and computed agroclimatic parameters. It includes both long-term averages (1961-90) and time series for rainfall and temperatures. For more information about the LocClim or FAOCLIM CD-ROMs, contact agromet@fao.org. http://www.gryc.ws/autorealm.htm AutoREALM is a free, open source, vector drawing program. AutoRealm can load raster images (like aerial photos, topo maps or screen captures) as backgrounds over which you can trace features, add symbols or write text. AutoRealm is useful for making stand-alone resource management maps that are not part of a geospatial framework. Since the program is also used to create maps for role-playing games, it has some unusual symbol libraries specific for gaming. http://www.fao.org/ag/AGL/agll/soter.htm Global Soil and Terrain Database (WORLD-SOTER) The Soil and Terrain Database for northeastern Africa Crop Production System Zones of the IGAD subregion This CD-ROM contains a collection of land and natural resource information for northeastern Africa, in particular for the IGAD countries bordering the Nile basin. It includes data on administrative boundaries, rivers and lakes, soil and terrain, climatology, land use, physiography, geology and natural vegetation in easily accessible format. http://www.fao.org/catalog/book_review/giii/w7374-e.htm For technical information, contact: Chief, Land and Plant Nutrition Management Service - AGLL, land-and-water@fao.org Copies of this CD-ROM can be ordered from : FAO, Sales and Marketing Group Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 0100 Rome Italy Fax : +39 06 5705 3360 - E-mail: publications-sales@fao.org FAO, Land and Water Digital Media Series n°2, 1998, ISBN 92-5-104078-8, Price: US$40. -------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH / APPLICATIONS / REFERNECE MATERIAL -------------------------------------------------------------------- Current status of the Forest Health Monitoring Project for the Eastern Arc (Kenya and Tanzania). The first phase ended last year (2002). However, the CDE (Centre for Development and Environment) Switzerland has agreed to fund the project named: A Methodology Framework for Incorporating Socio-Economic and Socio-Political Issues and Dynamics in Forest Health Monitoring, Conservation and Management in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. This project is a collaboration between Kenya, Tanzania and Switzerland. - The main objective of this project is to conduct socio-economic assessment of the impact of forest products (building poles, fuel-wood, medicinal trees etc) consumption on the biodiversity conservation and management for the Eastern Arc Mountains. - The second objective is to identify problems of conservation and management in the area as a consequence of forest products use, in order to propose appropriate strategies to improve conservation and management of the area. - The third objective is to design and implement an information sharing system between areas with similar problems in the Eastern Arc Mountains. In addition, an attempt will be made to show how these data can be used to strengthen the co-ordination and co-operation between government agencies, regional institutions, NGOs and the local communities. The information obtained will be used to improve land use patterns to increase food production, provide alternative income opportunities and reduce the impact of damaging forest agents The ground work for the project has been done, i.e. identifying study sites, (Udzungwa and Amani in Tanzania) and these ideas were presented in AMA (African Mountain Association) international conference last August in Moshi, Tanzania. This month, on February 17-21, a Stakeholders workshop is planned in Nanyuki, Kenya. For further information, contact Seif Madoffe, madoffe@suanet.ac.tz. http://www.healthnet.org.na/grnmhss/jpg/namhinmap1.jpg This map is extracted from the book 'Health in Namibia' http://www.healthnet.org.na/grnmhss/htm/healthinnam1.htm http://www.biodiversityscience.org/priority_outcomes/west_africa/ The Conservation Priorities Planning (CPP) held in West Africa in 1999 catalyzed several initiatives that address civil conflict and over-exploitation of natural resources. The Liberian Forest Re-assessment project, a collaborative effort between CI, Flora and Fauna International, the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF) and several Liberian agencies and NGOs, is one such initiative. This appraisal of the extent and condition of Liberia's forest uses the priorities map generated during the workshop as a basis for targeting effort. http://luci.umd.edu/lcluc/lcluc/publications_files/Wilkie_Laporte2001.pdf D. Wilkie and N. Laporte, 2001. Forest area and deforestation in Central Africa: current knowledge and future directions. In African Rainforest Ecology and Conservation, W. Weber et al. (Eds.), Yale University Press http://ag.arizona.edu/OALS/ALN/aln51/klock.html Mapping groundwater recharge and discharge zones in the Kalahari: A remote sensing approach. By Heike Klock and Peter Udluft Drylands populations typically rely on groundwater almost exclusively as a source of drinking water; this can result in over-exploitation of the groundwater resource and even, potentially, water shortages serious enough to threaten survival. Thus, a necessary first step in planning for groundwater management is to reliably estimate both current and likely future amounts of available groundwater recharge. Next, groundwater loss or discharge due to evaporation and transpiration must also be reliably estimated as it strongly influences the groundwater balance in drylands. Finally, based on these estimates, an overall estimate of groundwater balance can be calculated. These tasks are complicated by the fact that groundwater catchments in arid areas are very large due to a lack of discharging streams; also, they generally include a large variety of surface materials, which influence the recharge amount significantly. Therefore any estimates of groundwater recharge, discharge and balance made for purposes of region-wide planning must include a detailed surface mapping of the region in question. This paper explains how the procedures described above were followed for a study area in southern Africa. http://www.bioone.org/bioone/?request=get-document&issn=0044-7447&volume=030&issue=02&page=0089 http://www.bioone.org/bioone/?request=get-pdf&file=i0044-7447-030-02-0089.pdf AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment: Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 89-95. (March 2001) Demarcating Coastal Vegetation Buffers with Multicriteria Evaluation and GIS at Saldanha Bay, South Africa. By Johannes H. van der Merwe and Gene Lohrentz. The Saldanha-Langebaan coastal zone forms an integral part of the South African coastal resource base. As elsewhere in the world, an acute need exists to balance development and economic growth and conservation in the coastal zone as an exploitable resource frontier area. Vegetated buffers and greenways are conservation concepts that have been used with great success in such conservation efforts. They are applied in the study area through the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) as spatial decision-support system to legitimize the demarcation of a vegetated buffer zone. The method of multi-criteria evaluation, as applied here, incorporates public decision-making in constructing an objective model for buffer zone demarcation. Representatives from interested and affected parties participated in model construction and calibration, resulting in the spatial delimitation of a multi-functional vegetated buffer. It conforms to a range of functional criteria and can serve as an environmental element in coastal conservation planning frameworks. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES / AWARDS / SUPPORT -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.gsdi.org//SDIA/Programmes de partenariat1.doc (in French) Intergraph ont deux programmes de partenariat: Bourse " Intergraph Open Interoperability" Programme "Registered Research Laboratory" (RRL). Intergraph a leur premier RRL en Afrique, au Cameroon / Intergraph has their first RRL in Africa, in Cameroon: L'EreT "Geoinformatics Development and Promotion Center." http://www.intergraph.com/gis/newsroom/press02/rrl_rlsf.asp Intergraph Team GeoMedia Program, Registered Research Laboratory program provides technology and development support for non-commercial applied research activities. These activities include developing solutions for geospatial information management, land information management, and map production. Registered Research Laboratories will be granted a GeoMedia license that provides access to GeoMedia, GeoMedia Professional, GeoMedia WebMap Professional, IntelliWhere OnDemand, IntelliWhere LocationServer, GeoMedia Terrain, GeoMedia Grid, Spatial Metadata Management System (SMMS), and SMMS GeoConnect for research projects. For complete details on how to submit a proposal for the Team GeoMedia Registered Research Laboratory Program, visit www.teamgeomedia.com/rrl. http://www.intergraph.com/gis/education/researchgrants.asp Intergraph's GeoMedia Research Grant Program awards $5,000 cash funding and a $50,000 software donation to educational institutions in recognition of exceptional and innovative applied research proposals. The program is open to academic institutions, technical schools, universities, and distance learning programs worldwide. For more information or to submit an application, e-mail education@intergraph.com. 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. One hundred grants will be awarded to qualifying organizations. Applications will be accepted from October 1, 2002, until April 1, 2003. If you have any additional questions, email interop@intergraph.com. http://www.gsdi.org/SDIA/grantees.jpg This graphic shows the countries in which Global Map/GSDI Grants have been awarded (as of Nov. 2002). These grants are meant to support framework data development by national mapping agencies. If your country is not colored, then the national mapping agency of your country still is welcome to apply. ESRI is still accepting applications. The Grant consists of software (ArcGIS) and a credit for training. More information about the grant program, and the online application, can be found at: http://www.esri.com/sdigrant http://www.gsdi.org//SDIA/RoKS_CFP_02_03_list_Jan.pdf CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Research on Knowledge Systems (RoKS) exploratory initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is launching its second annual research competition. This year's theme: "Strengthening Knowledge Policy for Small States: How can small states participate more effectively in local, regional, and global knowledge partnerships?". The deadline for concept note submission is March 14, 2003 (5:00pm EST) APPEL DE PROPOSITIONS. L'initiative exploratoire Recherche sur les systèmes de connaissances (RSC) du Centre de recherches pour le développement international (CRDI) lance son second concours annuel de recherche (2002-2003). Autour du thème « Renforcement de la politique de la connaissance pour les petits États : comment les petits États peuvent-ils participer plus efficacement aux partenariats de savoir locaux, régionaux et mondiaux » proposé cette année, nous sollicitons des notes conceptuelles. Les notes conceptuelles doivent être présentées au plus tard le 14 mars 2003 (17 h HNE) For More Information, contact Research on Knowledge Systems (RoKS), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Email: roks@idrc.ca "Research on Knowledge Systems" (RoKS) is an exploratory effort launched byIDRC in June 2001. Its objective is to explore, from a developing-countrystandpoint, the ways in which knowledge is produced, communicated, andapplied to development problems, and to investigate the policy andinstitutional frameworks that govern this process. RoKS focuses on policy issues in the field of science, research, and knowledge, helping to castlight on cross-cutting issues in the areas of environment and naturalresource management, information and communication technologies for development, and social and economic equity. http://www.infodev.org/incubator/ The infoDev (Information for Development) Incubator Initiative Request for Proposals Support for Existing Incubators in Developing Countries Application Deadline: February 17, 2003 http://www.earthandspace.org/annual.htm Earth and Space Annual Awards The deadline for applications is March 31st. There is one funding round per year. Most expeditions are eligible. They include university expeditions and other expeditions from private or non-profit organisations and government expeditions. Typical award amounts currently range from £200-£400 or $300-$550. http://www.aucc.ca/en/international/guidelines/upcddec2002/upcd_dec2002.html http://www.aucc.ca/en/international/guidelines/upcddec2002/guidelines_tier2_e.pdf University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development Program Deadline: March 10, 2003 (Letter of Intent - LOI) [full proposal deadline Oct. 6, 2003]. Pre-Selection Deadline (McGill): February 10, 2003. Country/Region: Developing countries (50% of approved projects in Africa). The UPCD program funds projects between Canadian universities and education and training organizations in developing countries. The goal is to enhance the latter's institutional capacity to develop the human resources to address their countries' most important development needs in sustainable ways. At the same time, partners respond to the needs of local communities in developing countries. For this program, CIDA contributes up to $1 million over six years and the program is managed by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). Canadian Universities are limited to 2 applications per institutions hence the need for a peer-reviewed pre-selection process that will be coordinated by OIR. Applicants can expect the entire selection process to take approximately one year from the date of submission of the LOI. -------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/education/distance_edu/index2.html Summary of Sources for Distance Education in GIS, Land-based Sciences, and Geo-Spatial Sciences http://www.cipec.org/training/summer_institute/ CIPEC Summer Institute 2003 A Summer Institute on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Applications. A three-week Summer Institute will be held at Indiana University from May 19 through June 6, 2003. The Institute will offer intensive training in theory and methods addressing the Human Dimensions of Global Change (HDGC), including techniques of remote sensing and GIS, survey approaches, forest ecology, and institutional factors with respect to questions of land-use/ land-cover change. Formal classes and computer sessions will cover our theoretical principles for image interpretation; the practical details of searching, ordering, and processing satellite images; and linking regional data to interviews, household surveys, botanical and soil inventories, institutional arrangements, and socioeconomic and demographic patterns. Summer Institute participants will be expected to pay for travel expenses to and from Bloomington, Indiana. However, housing is provided, and participants will receive a modest stipend to cover meal expenses. Deadline for receipt of applications is February 15, 2003. http://www.gsdi.org/SDIA/brochureLuki_fr.doc RS/GIS training in Kinshasa (approx scheduled for Feb / March). The RS/GIS workshop in Kinshasa is scheduled to occur in March/April but the organizers are still identifying funds for its organization. The location of the workshop will be in the Luki area (about 400 Km SW of Kinshasa, close by Boma and Matadi). The main purpose of the workshop will be to train local researchers in basic remote sensing (and GIS) techniques as they are applied to forest, and natural resources in general, management. As the workshop will be organized by OSFAC (Central African network of GOFC/GOLD)--with the technical support of CARPE (htpp://carpe.umd.edu) and the UMD--, the workshop will have a strong international component to it. Trainees will come from the six Central African countries and efforts will be made to tailor the training to the specific needs of each trainees. The exact details of the workshop have not been finalized yet. See link for additional details (only available in French for the moment; it will be translated into English in the near future). If you have more questions, contact Didier Devers, didier@hermes.geog.umd.edu. Under the CARPE programme, GIS training in Cameroon has also been planned. This workshop is being organized by WRI (and partners) at the Limbe Botanical Garden in Cameroon. For more details, contact Susan Minnemeyer at WRI (susanm@wri.org). http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/main/resources/MalmbergAnnouncement.rtf Carl Malmberg Fellowship Program 2003/2004 University Center of International Studies, University of Pittsburgh is pleased to announce the Carl Malmberg Fellowship Program for 2003/2004. The Fellowship provides support for two terms of non-degree educational and professional experiences at the University of Pittsburgh for individuals from Lesotho who show potential as future leaders in public administration, education, business or other professions. Deadline for submission of Fellowship Application is March 15, 2003. -------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAVEL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.warc-croa.org West African Research Center Travel Grant. The West African Research Center in Dakar, Senegal is offering travel bursaries of up to $2500 to West African scholars and graduate students. These funds may be used to: 1) Attend and read papers at academic conferences relevant to the applicant's field of research; 2) Visit libraries or archives that contain resources necessary to the applicant's current academic work; 3) Travel to a research site. Applications will consist of the following: a description (6 double-spaced pages maximum) of the applicant's research and how the proposed travel is relevant to this work; CV with research and teaching record when applicable; an abstract of the paper to be read and a letter of acceptance to the conference (for those wishing to attend meetings); a description of the collections to be consulted and their significance to the applicant's research (for those wishing to travel to libraries or archives). Graduate student applicants should, in addition, submit a letter of recommendation by the professor overseeing their research. The deadline is March 15, 2003 for travel proposed to take place between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. Submit applications to: West African Research Center/ Centre de Recherche Ouest Africaine, Email: assist@mail.ucad.sn, nenediop@hotmail.com http://www.comsci.org/grants/g-docs010.htm The Commonwealth Science Council Travel Grant Applications should be submitted on the official form for travel grants (photocopy acceptable), to reach the CSC Secretariat in London at least 8 weeks before the conference/meeting/course date. 1.Grants cover the actual costs of the return economy international air fare and registration up to a total of 1,000 GBP. They do not cover other costs such as local travel and accommodation. No correspondence will be entered into about the terms of the grant. 2.Payments will be made against originals of invoices or receipts only, and can, on request, be directed to travel agents and event organisers. Receipts or invoices must be received by 30 June in the financial year of the activity. There will be no objection to nominees raising additional funds if this amount is not sufficient to cover their travel costs. 3.In any 3-year period, there is a limit of GBP 1,000/per person. 4.Barring exceptional circumstances, travel grants may not be used in conjunction with a CSC Fellowship award. As far as possible successful applicants will be notified of the result within 4 weeks of receipt of their form. Grantees should provide a report to the Commonwealth Science Council within 30 days of return to their home country. Forms which are not endorsed by the CSC member or are received less than 8 weeks before the meeting or course date WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. -------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFERENCES - YOU'RE INVITED! -------------------------------------------------------------------- February 13-14, 2003, Sierra Leone http://www.aitecafrica.com/events/Sierra/sierra.html Computing, Telecommunications and the Internet for Africa's Digital Transformation (AITEC) is organising a Sierra Leone IT Education Forum on 13-14 February 2003 - Mobilising information technology for National recovery. The main aim of the event is to bring together private sector, government and civil society groups interested in mobilising ICTs as a tool for development and mapping out a vision and strategy to stimulate growth and development in Sierra Leone. Organisations and individuals wanting to propose presentations for the conference should e-mail proposals to Kwami Ahiabenu, with a brief presentation outline and biographical note on the presenter (kwami@aitecafrica.com), admin@aitecafrica.com February 17-21, 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria http://www.paris21.org/htm/regional.htm#africa West Africa Regional Workshop -- Statistics. 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 February 18-21, 2003, Lusaka, Zambia http://www.melissa.org/english/about%20us/main2.htm http://www.melissa.org/english/about%20us/AgendaLusaka.htm (provisional agenda) The MELISSA Program Regional Workshop on "Managing Sustainable Development Locally: Fighting Poverty and Environmental Degradation" The Workshop,hosted by PAES (Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability), aims to advance the participants' knowledge of the broad range of poverty reduction and sustainable development issues confronting local governments. The meeting is an interactive platform to share experiences and knowledge. Recognizing that the success of this event depends on the participants' contribution, the MELISSA Program has set aside a very limited amount of grant funds to facilitate participation of African stakeholders from the public and the private sectors, as well as from the civil society. If you would like to be considered for a grant, please indicate this clearly when registering. However, bear in mind that it is unlikely that the MELISSA Program will be able to meet all grant requests; only those who meet the selection criteria will be eligible for consideration. February 19-21, 2003, Accra, Ghana http://www.cto.int/ http://www.cto.int/frame.php?dir=02&sd=10#Ghana Commonwealth Telecommunications Network (CTO) Digital Africa Summit: Building Digital Opportunities through Public-Private Partnerships. For more information, contact Rowan Waddelow, Conference Director, rw@worldsummits.com February 28, 2003. Deadline for submissions for AfricaGIS '03 (to be held November 4-8, 2003) http://www.gsdi.org/docs/SDIA/First_announcement_def.pdf Anyone interested in making a presentation in the form of a paper, poster, workshop, or demonstration should send an abstract or synopsis (no more than three paragraphs of 50-100 words) in electronic format to the Program Committee by 28 February. Les parties intéressées par une présentation sous l’une des formes suivantes : document imprimé, poster, atelier ou démonstration , sont invitées à en envoyer un résumé ou un condensé (pas plus de 3 paragraphes de 50 à 100 mots) en version électronique au Comité chargé du Programme de la Conférence, vers le 28 Février. March 2003 http://www.gisig.it/coastgis/call_for_papers/callforpaper_def.pdf Call for papers: Submission of abstracts due by beginning of March 2003. Fifth International Symposium on GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zone Management, October 16-18, 2003, Genova, Italy http://www.gisig.it/coastgis/home.htm 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 March 11-12, 2003 tentative "SOCSOM in Senegal: Review and Synthesis Meeting" March 13-15, 2003 tentative "Senegal and Sahel Project Planning, Design, and Implementation" "The Dakar Workshop - Carbon Sequestration, Land Cover Monitoring and Desertification in the Sahel" is being convened primarily to consolidate and report the EDC-CSE-ISRA Senegal applied research on "Sequestration of Carbon in Soil Organic Matter" - "SOCSOM in Senegal". This 1) "Review and Synthesis Meeting" will be followed by a joint workshop 2)"Senegal and Sahel Project Planning, Design, and Implementation" to evaluate and prepare projects for implementation and to combine other interests, e.g., those of the FAO/Land and carbon brokers who have interests in carbon and desertification. The World Bank will participate to discuss their "New Carbon Funds" and provide training in specific national transaction requirements. If funds are secured for participants from other countries, the training will support expansion across the Sahel. Participation: by invitation. For further information, contact Larry Tieszen, USGS EROS Data Center, tieszen@usgs.gov March 16-23, 2003, Japan http://www.water-forum3.com/ta/ The 3rd World Water Forum March 19-20, 2003, Hong Kong, China http://www.hk-cyber.net/sdq/index.htm 2nd International Symposium on Spatial Data Quality. The Symposium will provide an interdisciplinary forum for international leading scientists and young researchers to present their latest research developments and share their experience in this field. A conference proceeding will be published before the conference. Selected papers, after a review process, will be published as a special issue for International Journal of Remote Sensing. Keynote speakers: - Michael Goodchild, Progressive Construction of Geographic Knowledge, University of California, U.S.A. - Andrew Frank, How to measure data quality, How to measure data quality - Martien Molenaar, ITC, The Netherlands March 24-28, 2003, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy http://ugamp.nerc.ac.uk/promise/research/conference2003/index.html Monsoon environments: Agricultural and hydrological impacts of seasonal variability and climate change. Currently sponsored by EU PROMISE, ICTP, WRCP and START/CLIMAG PROMISE comes to an end in March 2003. An international conference is planned to disseminate the results of the project. PROMISE research is inter-disciplinary and applicable to end-users and policy-makers. The aim is to include presentations from development agency representatives and end-users as well as from leading resesarchers in meteorology, hydrology and agriculture. April 13-17, 2003, Paris / Marne-la-Vallée, France http://www.figww2003.com The 125th Anniversary of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) May 12-16, 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia http://www.uneca.org/codi/codi_iii_information_note.htm http://www.uneca.org/codi/codi_iii_information_note_FR.htm (francais) 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/codi May 18-23, 2003, Montreal, Canada http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php?URL_ID=3964&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC International Forum on Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health The goal of the Forum is to provide a platform for a discussion of the ecosystem approach to human health, the evidence from the field, and the relevance of the approach to improving health and well-being. The Forum offers the opportunity for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society representatives from around the world to share knowledge, and for institutions to consider strategies for a way forward. May 19-23, 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. May 22-23, 2003, GFAR Conference in Dakar, Senegal http://www.egfar.org/tools/special2002/specialcontents.htm#2003 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 27-30 2003, Semmering, Austria http://isess.crle.uoguelph.ca/2003.html International Symposium on Environmental Information Systems (ISESS 2003) is the 8th event in the conference series organised by IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) Working Group 5.11, "Computers and Environment". The purpose of the symposium is to present and discuss the progress and actual trends in Enviromatics in terms of methods, tools and state-of-the-art applications. June 5-6, 2003, Pretoria, South Africa Expert Meeting on "Low and Medium Resolution Satellite Sensors and Disaster Monitoring". Organised and Hosted by SAC/CSIR. July 9-11, 2003, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~ssdbm03/ SSDBM2003, 15th International Conference on Scientific and Statistical Database Management June 14-20, 2003, Marrakech, Morocoo http://www.iaia.org/ IAIA '03 Conference: Impact Assessment and Capacity Building June 15-17, 2003, Antananarivo, Madagascar http://www.scgis.org Asa Soa Ara Jeografika Madagascar (MSCAR) Organizer: MSCAR; Theme: Environment Conservation/GIS June 23-25, 2003, Nairobi, Kenya http://www.atpsnet.org Progress Workshop on "Strengthening ICT Policy in Africa: Governance, Equity & Institutional Issues 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 http://www.iale.ntu.edu.au 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 20-22, 2003, Portland, Oregon, USA http://www.urisa.org/PPGIS/ppgis.html 2nd Annual Public Participation GIS Conference (PPGIS) Portland State University 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 Conference 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 August 17-22, 2003, Kruger National Park, South Africa http://safnet.umd.edu/implementation/events/meetings/index.asp Fourth Meeting of Southern Africa Fire Network (SAFNet) Contact: Diane Davies, ddavies@hermes.geog.umd.edu August 25-29, 2003, Abuja, Nigeria http://www.aitecafrica.com/act2002/default.htm The Fifth Annual African Computing & Telecommunications Summit, Mobilising ICT Applications & Projects for effective Corporate, National and Regional Development September 8-17, 2003, Durban, South Africa http://wcpa.iucn.org/wpc/wpc.html Vth World Congress on Protected Areas September 17-19, 2003, Quebec, Canada. http://www.gfis.net/showannoun.php?id=24 Information Interoperability and Organization for National and Global Forest Information Systems. 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. September 29-October 3, 2003, Moscow, Russia http://wccc2003@mecom.ru World Climate Change Conference. Executive Secretariat (scientific issues): Yu.Izrael@g23.relcom.ru October 16-18, 2003: 2003. Montreal, Canada http://www.ihdp.uni-bonn.de/html/other/open%20_meeting_2003.htm http://www.ihdp.uni-bonn.de/word_docs/other/5thOpen%20Meeting.doc Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community. Updated information will be posted at the 2001 open meeting web site: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/openmeeting/ October 16-18, 2003, Genova, Italy http://www.gisig.it/coastgis/home.htm Fifth International Symposium on GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zone Management. CoastGIS is a collaborative initiative of the International Geographical Union's Commission on Coastal Systems and the International Cartographic Association's Commission on Marine Cartography. 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 4-8, 2003, Dakar, Senegal. http://www.gsdi.org/docs/SDIA/First_announcement_def.pdf AfricaGIS '03. Check EIS-AFRICA website for more details as they become available. http://www.eis-africa.org. The main theme for AfricaGIS’03 is 'Meeting the Information Needs for the NEPAD'. Le thème principal retenu pourAfricaGIS’03 est 'vers une satisfaction des besoins informationnels du NEPAD' November 4-7, 2003, Washington, DC, USA http://gsdi.org/SDIA/gdinfinal.pdf http://www.gdin.org GDIN2003, Sixth Annual Conference of the Global Disaster Information Network. For questions on gdin2003, send an email to gdin2003@hotmail.com. For questions on GDIN, send an email to gdin@hotmail.com [the GDIN Secretariat is pleased to announce that the Government of South Africa has offered to host GDIN2004]. 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 Ingenieurs Geometres - Topographes ONIGT. Co-sponsored by FIG Commissions 2, 3 and 5. Contact: FIG Office, email: fig@fig.net December 10-12, 2003, Geneva, Switzerland http://www.itu.int/wsis/ World Summit on the Information Society, First Phase. -------------------------------------------------------------------- EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- Conservation Planning Manager Conservation Development Centre, Nairobi, Kenya This position is being re-advertised. Please do not apply if you have already submitted an application. CDC is now recruiting a new staff member to lead development and management of their Conservation Planning Theme. This new theme will encompass CDC's technical support to conservation and natural resources management institutions helping them to bring about effective and efficient management of natural resources for optimal sustainable benefits. CDC is looking for candidates that have experience in participatory planning techniques and spatial analysis using GIS, among other skills. CDC is a young, customer-focused organisation with a field operations base in Nairobi, Kenya. For information about CDC, visit http://www.cdc.info. Contact jobs@cdc.info for further job details and information on how to apply. Applications should be emailed to no later than 16th February 2003. -------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ictdevagenda.org/frame.php?dir=07&sd=10&sid=2&id=347 The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have published a new map called the ‘Status of Teleaccess: Inside Africa’ as part of its Acacia initiative. This shows the physical, geographic extent of downstream connectivity for information and communication technologies (ICTs) across Africa. It follows the publication by IDRC during 2002 of ‘The Internet: Out of Africa’ map which shows upstream connectivity, depicting the current status of international Internet gateways in Africa, both satellite-based and fibre-optic connectivity, and the destination of the outgoing Internet traffic to North America, Europe, Asia or whether it remains in Africa Developing Community Multimedia Centres The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) are organising a Pan-African meeting on the development of Community Multimedia Centres in May 2003 in Dakar. They would like to learn more about how radio stations and telecentres across Africa are using ICTs. Those who wish to contribute input are requested to fill up a questionnaire downloadable from http://www.globalknowledge.org/, in the Events Calender, under May 2003. More info: http://www.africa.amarc.org, Amarc@global.co.za -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 and input. 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/