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.