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Longonot Earth Satellite Station in Naivasha, Nakuru County, with Mount Longonot in the background. Satellite technology is helping governments map ecosystems and monitor progress towards Africa’s 30pc conservation target.. [File,Standard]
Governments across Eastern and Southern Africa are turning to satellite technology and shared geospatial data as fragmented environmental information threatens efforts to protect 30 per cent of land and water by 2030.
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) is using a cloud-based platform to bring together biodiversity, forest, protected-area and satellite data from 24 countries to help governments identify conservation priorities and track progress.
“Without integrated systems, countries cannot credibly track whether they’re protecting the ecosystems, their populations, economies and climate resilience depend on, let alone report that progress to the world,” said Ngugi Kimani, RCMRD’s Geospatial Data and Technologies Manager.
