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| African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment | |
|---|---|
| Name | African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment |
| Abbreviation | AARSE |
| Formation | 1980s |
| Type | Non-profit professional association |
| Headquarters | Africa |
| Region served | Africa |
| Membership | Scientists, practitioners, institutions |
| Language | English, French, Arabic |
African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment is a pan-African professional association that promotes the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for environmental management across Africa. The association connects researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and institutions from regions including North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa to advance applications in agriculture, water resources, forestry, urban planning, and disaster management. Founded to bridge gaps among continental bodies, national agencies, and international programs, the association interacts with universities, research centers, and multilateral organizations.
The association emerged amid growing interest in satellite applications linked to initiatives such as the Landsat program, the SPOT satellite series, and activities by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites during the late 20th century. Early meetings drew participants from institutions like University of Nairobi, University of Ibadan, Cairo University, Makerere University, and University of Cape Town, alongside agencies including United Nations Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, and African Union. Milestones included regional workshops influenced by projects such as Global Environment Facility grants, collaborations with European Space Agency, and coordinated work aligned with frameworks like the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Leadership over time has included figures from national remote sensing centers such as the Kenya Space Agency, South African National Space Agency, and the National Remote Sensing Centre (India) through knowledge exchanges. The association adapted with advances from missions like Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, MODIS, and ASTER.
The association’s mission aligns with continental strategies exemplified by the African Union Development Agency and aims to support sustainable development goals echoing the Sustainable Development Goals framework. Objectives include promoting operational adoption of satellite data from providers like NASA, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and China National Space Administration; enhancing data interoperability through standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium; and informing policy processes such as those under the African Union and United Nations. It seeks to strengthen capacities at institutions such as Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Morocco), and Ethiopian Space Science Society to address challenges highlighted in reports by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Membership spans individuals and institutions including national agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States, academic centers like Makerere University, University of Lagos, and research organizations such as International Institute for Tropical Agriculture and CIFOR. Governance structures reference models from associations like the Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and include an elected executive committee, regional chapters reflecting Southern African Development Community and Economic Community of Central African States boundaries, and technical committees modeled after panels from Group on Earth Observations. The association maintains links with funding bodies including World Bank, African Development Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and multilateral programs such as UNDP.
Programs target thematic areas addressed by institutions such as International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, World Agroforestry Centre, International Water Management Institute, and Wildlife Conservation Society. Activities include operational monitoring of land use and land cover change using datasets from Landsat, Sentinel, and Planet Labs; drought monitoring comparable to systems by Famine Early Warning Systems Network; mangrove and forest assessments akin to work by Global Forest Watch and REDD+ initiatives; and urban mapping in partnership with municipal authorities like City of Kigali and Cape Town Municipality. Technical working groups have produced guidance aligning with standards from ISO and best practices exemplified by Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network.
The association convenes biennial conferences attracting delegates from United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, World Meteorological Organization, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and universities including University of Ghana and Addis Ababa University. Proceedings and journals feature contributions comparable to those in Remote Sensing of Environment, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, and reports disseminated through networks such as AfricaOpenScience. Newsletters and technical bulletins highlight case studies from projects with Malawi Department of Disaster Management Affairs and Rwanda Space Agency and synthesize research from labs like NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
The association partners with multilateral agencies such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, African Development Bank, and World Bank Group; scientific consortia like the Committee on Space Research and International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing; and private sector firms including Airbus Defence and Space and Maxar Technologies. Collaborative projects span initiatives supported by Global Climate Observing System, data-sharing agreements with Copernicus Programme, and continental programs under the African Union Commission. Academic exchange involves institutions such as Imperial College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Twente.
Capacity activities emphasize training modeled after programs from Group on Earth Observations Capacity Development Committee and in partnership with regional centers like Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development and African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (English) to support professionals from ministries, research institutes, and NGOs such as Wildlife Conservation Society and Conservation International. Workshops cover tools including QGIS, ENVI, Google Earth Engine, and methods aligned with curricula from United Nations Institute for Training and Research and doctoral programs at University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University. Scholarship programs and exchange fellowships mirror schemes from Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, Fulbright Program, and regional funding by African Academy of Sciences.
Category:Non-profit organisations based in Africa