The Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) is leading the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Wetlands Assessment and Monitoring Platform for Transboundary River Basins in Southern Africa (WeMAST) consortium. Having undertaken a stakeholder engagement and user needs assessment in Phase I of the programme, SASSCAL worked with consortium members to design the WeMAST Geoportal to ensure the provision of timely and spatially explicit products and services for wetlands monitoring and assessment.
The second phase of WEMAST aims to guarantee the automation and upscaling of the Geoportal and production of services useful to the end users and target groups, such as national water/environmental organizations and river basin commissions. To improve their integration into the decision-making processes in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and throughout the African continent, WeMAST EO-based services will be integrated with other GMES and Africa-related Earth Observation (EO)-based projects and programs.
The wetlands monitoring services provided by the geoportal are expected to attract a wider community of users including environmentalists, geoscientists, policymakers, river basin commissioners, water authorities, governmental ministries and departments, universities, and research institutions among other users, particularly during this second of WeMAST implementation. To ensure skills and technology transfer, SASSCAL has partnered with like-minded institutions and the private sector in realizing the Geoportal development. The WeMAST Phase II Geoportal focuses on the following:
- _hydrological and wetland models applicable to the selected basins across Southern Africa (Cuvelai Basin, Okavango River Basin, Limpopo River Basin and Zambezi River Basin)
- _in situ data gathered from the four basins: flood/inundation, wetland inventory and land use /land cover, vegetation dynamics (cover, density, and phenology), burnt areas and soil moisture.
- _weather and climate information from free and operational climate services
- _archived satellite-based EO data e.g., provided by the Copernicus missions, Landsat series, MODIS Aqua/Terra products.
SASSCAL is therefore pleased to announce a training course on the Validation of Earth Observation-based products for wetland monitoring and assessment. The course is designed to provide individuals, institutions and decision makers with cutting-edge knowledge and skills on the use of EO data and geospatial techniques in wetland monitoring and assessment. This training will contribute to the anticipated optimal use of the WeMAST consortium’s upscaled and operationalised geoportal. The course, informed by the broad users training needs assessment, is made possible with funding from the GMES and Africa Support Programme, a joint initiative of the African Union and the European Commission.
Expected outputs/Learning outcomes
By the end of the training, participants should be able to:
- Demonstrate an enhanced appreciation for the importance of validating Earth observation-based wetland products before utilization.
- Understand and apply different EO-based product validation methods, including various sampling procedures for obtaining data.
- Identify and select appropriate validation methods for specific wetland products derived from Earth observation data.
- Utilize a hybrid approach that combines field data and high-resolution satellite data for comprehensive validation.
Participants
The course is targeting:
- River Basin Organizations
- National Water/ Environmental Authorities
- Academic and Research institutions
- Private sector
- Local communities’ representatives
- Non-governmental organisations
- Women in natural and water resources management
Mode of Training
The training will take place in a classroom setting in. Participants must bring their own laptop computers capable of performing basic GIS and remote sensing analyses. During the training, participants will be given a training kit, which includes a set of documents. The training materials will also be freely available on the GMES and Africa digital learning platform. The training will be facilitated by Dr Kawawa Banda, University of Zambia, Zambia (and Dr Mfundisi from the University of Botswana who are both Technical Partners under SASSCAL consortium looking at Wetlands Monitoring and Assessment Platform for Transboundary Basins in Southern Africa (WeMAST)
Training dates
The three-day WeMAST training course on Validation of Earth Observation Based products for wetland monitoring and assessment will run from the 20th to the 22nd of August 2024, in Gaborone, Botswana.
Deadline for registration is 13 August 2024. Women’s participation is strongly encouraged.
To apply, please click here.
Contacts: albano.dossantos@sasscal.org
