14 Jul 2014

The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism in collaboration with the SADC secretariat has launched the Monitoring of the Environment for Security in Africa (MESA) initiative in Botswana.

In his keynote address at the launch, the acting Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Kitso Mokaila said the MESA initiative would play a pivotal role in supporting environmental monitoring capabilities within the SADC region.

This initiative was being implemented by the Department of Meteorology and SADC Climate Services Centre on behalf of the SADC region and was meant to raise awareness about the potential of using satellite earth observations for monitoring of the environment and its role in planning for food security and disaster risk reduction in SADC member states.

The Monitoring of the Environment for Security in Africa initiative, he said “brings satellite technology and infrastructure to SADC member states, including Botswana to allow continuous monitoring of our environment for hazardous natural disasters such as; floods, wildfires and drought.”

He also added that the initiative was a beacon of hope to Botswana and the entire region to rise above these challenges, as it would also provide scientific applications for monitoring the status of crops rangelands for food security.

The overall objective of MESA, Mr Mokaila said was to support African decision-makers and planners in designing and implementing prices and development plans towards sustainable development, and thereby advancing the socio-economic progress and well-being of their people towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The expected results of the MESA SAD thematic actions; he said included improved access to earth observation data and information. Within the SADC region, he said this involved; upgrading of 38 satellite data reception stations across the region in the National Meteorological Services, Ministries of Agriculture and Ministries of Environment that were installed or upgraded during the African Monitoring of Environment for Sustainable a Development (AMESD) project in 2010.

In addition, he said this also involved; installing 15 reception stations across the region for the new flood monitoring service foreseen to be developed during MESA implementation phase and installing additional 13 satellite data reception stations to support universities to gain access to earth observation data and information to facilitate research and teaching activities.

Furthermore, he said the initiative would also consolidate and improve three geo-information monitoring services for drought, agriculture and fire- developed during the implementation phase of AMESD project. A new flood monitoring service is also foreseen to be developed and made operational in MESA.

The four MESA services are specifically relevant for agriculture, drought, fire and flood monitoring. The initiative would contribute to informed decision making for managing environment and agricultural resources, as it would help to monitor crop and rangeland development during the growing season.

It would also support the region to monitor drought, fire and flood risks by providing; a snap shot of the drought situation to facilitate government intervention where necessary, technology to access fire risk before the fire, to monitor active fire and to assess burnt area after a fire as well as flash flood forecasts before the flood, flood modeling during the event of floods and flood damage assessment after the floods.

In his statement, the head of delegation of the European Union to Botswana and SADC, Ambassador Gerard McGovern, said the launch was a true reflection of the EU’s commitment to support regional integration throughout the African continent. He said EU was fully committed to supporting the implementation of MESA and to ensuring its success.

The Monitoring of the Environment for Security in Africa project, Ambassador McGovern said focused on data and information products for environmental management and sustainable development.

To manage the environment, he said more adapted tools were needed. He also added that earth observation technology using satellite, was important for the modern world to function effectively, as these days accurate weather forecasting was essential.

For his part, SADC Climate Service Centre coordinator, Dr Bradwell Garaganga, said the MESA project was one of the pillars on strengthening of regional institutions, such as SADC Climate Service Centre.

The Centre together with Botswana Department of Meteorological Services, he said would play a central role in the implementation of MESA.

He said the SADC Secretariat was ensuring sustainable access to earth observations in the region by strengthening the Centre and long term plan to integrate the African Monitoring of Environment Sustainable Development (AMESD) and MESA know-how into the Centre’s operations.

The MESA initiative is a follow-up project to the AMESD project which was implemented in the region from 2009 to 2013. ENDS