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Table 1: SERVIR-Africa components, objectives, and initial activities.
Component Objective Activities (2008-2010)
Needs assessment
Understanding of current and
anticipated needs for data and
information services
• Requirementsspecificationworkshops
Betterlinkagesbetweenearth
observationinitiativesunderway
in AfricaMoregroundedawarenessofhow
data/services are used in practice
(socio-political-technicalrealities
and limitations)
Regionalsystem
implementation
Increased access to and use of
earthobservationdata(andfield-
baseddata)
• Acquisition,testing,andconfigurationof
computerhardware&softwareatRCMRD
• DocumentationandaccesstoRCMRDdata
viaportal(one-stopdiscoverysystem)
• Incorporationofadditionaldata(not
yetinRCMRDholdings)intoSERVIR
system(e.g.,MODIS,TRMM,STRM30m
derivatives,etc.)
• RegistryofexistingAfricangeospatialweb
services(catalog,mapservices)
• DevelopmentandmaintenanceofSERVIR-
Africawebsite
Developmentofdemand-driven
data products/services (derived
fromearthobservationdata);
routinedeliveryofdataproducts/
services
Technicalsupport
Stronglinkagesbetween
MesoamericaandEastAfrican
system(“south-southexchange”)
• Floodpotentialandforecastmappingand
RiftValleyFeverriskmapping
• TerraLookupgrade
• 3Dclimatechangevisualizationtool
(ClimateMapper)
• Climatechangeimpactsonbiodiversity
decision support application
• Coralreefmonitoringapplication
• Publicdomainroadsdatasetpilot
(automaticfeatureextraction,ASTER)
Assemblage,alignment,and
coordinationofexpertiseamongst
partnersRapidprototypingcapacity(as
needed)
Training
Usercommunityactivelydrawing
uponearthobservationresources,
developingnewservicesand
applications
• Metadata&mapservicetraining
• Universitycourseonearthobservation&
spatial data infrastructure
• Courseonrapidlandcovermapping
• MyCOE-SERVIRbiodiversityresearch
initiative
Strengtheningofuniversity
curriculaandembeddingSERVIR
capabilitiesintouniversitytraining
Governance
andfinancial
sustainability
RegionalownershipofSERVIR
andviablestrategyforcontinuing
activitieswellintothefuture
• Establishmentofgovernancemechanism
• Preparationoffinancialsustainabilityplan
• EstablishmentofSERVIRperformance
monitoring and evaluation plan
• DevelopmentofplanforPhase2(2010-
2011)
Communications/
outreach
Widebaseofusers/partners
engagedinSERVIR-Africa
• Developmentandimplementationof
communicationsplan(website/blog/press
releases,brochures,posters,etc.)
• Alumni/community/diasporafora
SERVIR-Africa collaborators(evolving network of partners)
Implementing agencies
Government agencies
NGOs/Non-Profits
Universities
Business/industry
LinksSERVIR:http://www.servir.netRCMRD:http://www.rcmrd.org
CATHALAC:http://www.cathalac.org NASA:http://www.nasa.gov/servirUSAID:http://www.usaid.gov
GEO:http://www.earthobservations.org
ContactsKateLance,SERVIR-AfricaCoordinator,kate.t.lance@nasa.gov
Dr.TesfayeKorme,RCMRDSERVIR-AfricaLead,korme@rcmrd.org
IntroductionSERVIRintegratessatelliteobservationsandpredictivemodelswithothergeographicinformation (sensorandfield-based) tomonitorand forecastecologicalchangesandrespondtonaturaldisasters.Thisevolvingregionalvisualizationandmonitoringplat-formisbeingestablishedinAfricatoimprovescientificknowledgeanddecision-makinginarangeofapplicationareas(e.g.,biodiversityconservation,disastermanagement,agriculturaldevelopment,climatechangeadaptation,etc.).Initialworkcoversfloodpo-tentialmodeling,floodforecasting,andRiftValleyFeverriskmapping.
SERVIRinitiallybeganoperationsinCentralAmericain2005attherequestofgovern-mentsoftheregion.TheWaterCenterfortheHumidTropicsofLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(CATHALAC)basedinPanamahoststheregionalnode,andtherealsoisaSERVIRrapidprototypingandtestingfacilitylocatedattheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)MarshallSpaceFlightCenterinHuntsville,Alabama.
WithintwoyearsofSERVIR’sinitiation,theGrouponEarthObservation(GEO),apart-nership of governments and international organizations seeking to connect users toexistingdatabasesandportalstobetterexploitthegrowingpotentialofEarthobserva-tions,recognizedSERVIRanearlyachievementofGEO’svision.
GivenSERVIR’spromisingapproach,theUnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevel-opment(USAID)providedsupporttoNASAtoextendSERVIR’sgeographiccoveragetoAfrica.In2008,NASAandCATHALACpartneredwiththeRegionalCenterforMappingofResourcesforDevelopment(RCMRD)basedinNairobi,Kenya,andtogethertheybegansettingupSERVIR’sEastAfricanode. TheSERVIR-Africaproject isbuildinguponRCMRD’sexistingstrengths,andaugmentingRCMRD’sdatamanagementandtrainingcapability. EffortscomplementRCMRD’scoremissionandprovideaspring-board for thedevelopment of applications customized forRCMRD’smember states.SERVIR-Africaactivitiesare included in theGEOCapacityBuildingCommitteeworkplanfor2009-2011
About RCMRDEstablishedin1975,RCMRDisalong-standingfocalpointforbuildingcapacityinsur-veyingandmapping,remotesensing,geographicinformationsystems,andnaturalre-sourcesassessmentandmanagement.TheCenterissupportedbyits15contractingmemberstates:Botswana,Comoros,Ethiopia,Kenya,Lesotho,Malawi,Mauritius,Na-mibia,Somalia,SouthAfrica,Sudan,Swaziland,Tanzania,Uganda,andZambia.Withapproximately50staffmembers, theCenter trains400-500peopleperyear. Italso
SERVIR-Africa: south-south geospatial collaboration in action
ApproachSERVIR-Africawillhavethefollowingcorefunctions:
Integrationofearthobservationandothergeosciencesproductsinregionaldecisionsupportsystemsthataddressareasofsocietalbenefit, GISproductanalysisandapplicationdevelopment, Integrationofnationaldatasets(e.g.insitu,nationalmaps,etc.), Trainingandcapacitybuildingtoscientistsandresearchers,governmentandotherkeydecisionmakers,students,andthemedia, Communitybuildingamongstrategicsectors, DataarchivinganddistributiontoenablefullandopenaccesstoSERVIRregionalandnationalgeospatialdatasets.
Initially, SERVIR-Africa is placing emphasis on establishing a geospatial portal toprovide searchable and viewable earth observation data, geospatial services, datadocumentation(metadata),animations,visualization,analysisandreports.Thearchi-tecturewillbeopentoallowSERVIRdatatobeavailableaswebservicestootherap-plications.Socialnetworkingenhancementswillbeincorporatedtoenablecomment-ingonandrankingofcontentintheportal,communitylinkingofmultimediamaterialstolocations,andinteractionofresearcherstofindoneanotherandcollaboratedirectly.Theportalwillbeoperationalin2009.
Early highlightsSERVIRhasreleasedabetaversionofthe SERVIR Climate Mapper tool. TheClimateMapperisapluginforSERVIR-Viz,acustomizedversionofWorldWind,NASA’sfree,open-source,web-enabled,3Dearthexplorationtool.UsingtheCli-mate Mapper plug-in, users can zoomintospecificareaswithinAfricaandviewsummarized data in the form of chartsandgraphs.Climatedataarestoredontheuser’sharddriveanddonotrequireahighspeedinternetconnection.
TakingadvantageofNASA’srecentdecisiontoallowenduserstosubmittaskrequestsfortheEO-1satellite,SERVIRmadearrangementssothatRCMRDandCATHALACcanacquireHyperionandALIdataforspecificlocations,uponrequest.Theirrequestsarerankedagainstmultiplecriteria.Everyday,theEO-1sys-tempicksoneormoreofthehighest-rankingscenesforimaging.For recent flooding in EastAfrica, RCMRD submitted requestswhichtriggeredthetaskingprocess,andthedataweredeliveredtoRCMRD–demonstratingthatthiscapabilitynowisoperational.
SERVIR-Africaissteadilymakingprogressonitsfloodmappingapplication.UsingdatafrommultipleNASAmissions/sensors(SRTM,AMSR-E,TRMM,MODIS)andadaptingexistingNASAmodels,aprototypefloodpotentialproducthasbeendeveloped.RC-MRDcurrentlyisevaluatingtheproduct,aswellaspreparingpost-eventfloodmapswithnear-realtimeMODISdata.
implementsprojectsonbehalfofitsmemberStatesanddevelopmentpartners.TheCen-tercurrentlyhasanantennatoreceivedataandderivedproductsfromtheAdvancedSyn-theticApertureRadar(ASAR)andtheMEdiumResolutionImagingSpecrometer(MERIS)sensors,andaseparateGEONETcastantennaalsohasbeeninstalledtoreceiveaddi-tionalearthobservationproducts.TheCenterhasbeenactiveinspatialdatainfrastructuredevelopmentinAfricathroughitscontributionstoinitiativessuchastheAfricanGeodeticReferenceFrame(AFREF),MappingAfricaforAfrica(MAFA),andSDI-Africa.
SERVIR-Africa ImplementationImplementation is grouped into six components: needs assessments, regional systemimplementation, technicalsupport, training,governanceandfinancialsustainability,andcommunications/outreach(seeTable1).Scientistsand technicalstaff fromCATHALACand RCMRD are jointly developing the system,making SERVIR a strong example ofsouth-south,cross-continentalgeospatialcollaboration.
EquipmentprocurementandsysteminstallationfortheinitialsetupfortheSERVIR-EastAfricahasbeencompleted.CATHALACandRCMRDtogetheridentifiedequipment,pre-paredroomsfortheequipmentatRCMRD,configuredandinstalledequipment,anddevel-opedasecurityandback-upplan.Thehardwarefortheinitialset-upiscomprisedofthreehigh-endservers(forwebsite,applications,andservinggeospatial information),adiskarraytostorethegeospatialdatasets(rasterandvector),aswitchingsystemtoconnecttheservers,afirewall,anuninterruptedpowersupply,andarackmount.ThishardwareconfigurationisbasedontheexperienceofSERVIRimplementationinCentralAmerica.Itisfullyscalablesothatthesystemcanbeexpandedastheinitiativeprogresses.Theportal,nowunderdevelopment,willprovidesearchableandviewableearthobservationdata,animations,anddecision-supporttools.
Figure 1. Alexis Garcia (CATHALAC) and Lawrence Okello (RCMRD) jointly install SERVIR equipment.
Figure 2. Francisco Delgado (CATHALAC) lends expertise in geospatial web services development to RCMRD staff.
Figure 3. Climate Mapper, a plugin for SERVIR’s customized version of NASA’s WorldWind.
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