With support from trailblazing funders including The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Australian Government and Amazon Web Services, over six years DE Africa has grown to host over 6 petabytes of satellite data, deliver 7 continental-scale services, and build a thriving community of more than 29,000 active users, 6,500 developers, 35 plus partners and 1,300 trained professionals. These numbers reflect both the demand for open data and the trust that African institutions, researchers, and communities place in the platform.
The Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) hosts DE Africa data on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure in Cape Town, South Africa, helping to enable a secure and high-performing service for fast access and analysis of African geospatial data at unprecedented scale and speed.
Critical insights from continent-wide services
DE Africa has launched several unique continent-wide services, packaging decades of earth observation data to serve as foundational blocks for informed decision-making and policy formulation. Dr. Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Managing Director (acting) and Lead Scientist at Digital Earth Africa, says these accessible continent-wide services have now become the core of the programme. "Our goal is to empower African communities with knowledge and technology, equipping them with the tools to efficiently manage vital resources. Everything we've established, the infrastructure and data, allows us to create operational content. Each service acts as a building block, or offers decision-ready information.”
The continent-wide services provided by Digital Earth Africa include Coastlines, Water observations from Space, Cropland Extent Map, Fractional Cover, GeoMAD, Mean NDVI and Anomalies, and the Waterbodies Monitoring Service.
The Coastlines service leverages satellite data to monitor and map Africa's coastline over time. It provides insights into past changes and forecasts future concerns, crucial for managing and protecting coastal environments. By using data from 2000 onwards, it allows for the identification of coastline locations, monitoring of change rates, and detection of at-risk areas. The service combines satellite data with tidal modeling to map representative shoreline locations and average sea level tides annually.
In the aftermath of the April 2022 floods in Durban, South Africa, DEA's Coastlines data became instrumental in mapping the median shoreline position along the eThekwini coast, aiding strategic planning for coastal resilience against floods and storm surges. As sea levels continue to rise, and storms increase in frequency and intensity, this information becomes vital for developing proactive strategies, including the establishment of set-back lines. These lines help urban planners and policymakers anticipate and prepare for the inland movements of tides under different climate scenarios, ensuring the safety and sustainability of coastal cities like Durban.
The Water Observations from Space (WOfS) service offers comprehensive insights into water availability across Africa, translating decades of satellite imagery into accessible information regarding water presence and recurrence. This is vital for effective water resource management, governance, policy-making, and insurance risk assessment. For instance, researchers at the Okavango Research Institute used WOfS data to monitor Lake Ngami in Botswana, revealing significant water level changes crucial for sustainable management practices.
DE Africa's Cropland Extent Map provides a high-resolution view of cropland presence across Africa, empowering governments to assess food supply potential and plan supply chains efficiently. This service is vital in Africa, where agriculture is often small-scale. Its integration into platforms like Big Data Ghana’s GAIMS enables precise crop location analysis and supports agricultural monitoring and decision-making.
The Fractional Cover service classifies ground cover into bare, green, and non-green proportions, aiding in tracking changes in vegetation, environmental conditions, and agricultural activities. This service supports analyses such as erosion risk, soil carbon dynamics, and land management practices, offering long-term environmental change detection and comparisons.
The powerful GeoMAD service condenses satellite imagery into high-quality images that depict specific time periods, ideal for monitoring seasonal changes and analysing the impacts of extreme climate events. Its implementation in Mozambique, for instance, significantly assisted in assessing agricultural production and GDP impacts due to climate events.
The Mean NDVI and Anomalies service assesses vegetation health monthly, comparing current conditions with long-term averages to predict changes in agricultural production and provide early warning for droughts. This service is crucial for understanding vegetation patterns to support agricultural strategies or manage wildlife.
For example, M.A.P. Scientific Services (MAPSS) leverages Digital Earth Africa's expansive geospatial data alongside ESRI's powerful tools to drive impactful wildlife conservation efforts across Africa. Sophisticated spatial analysis empowers MAPSS to create predictive models that forecast land cover transformations and assess habitat suitability to enable the design of wildlife corridors for animals like elephants. MAPSS is able to provide conservation organisations with the spatial context needed for informed decision-making and effective resource management.
Finally, the Waterbodies Monitoring Service tracks over 700,000 water bodies across Africa, offering timely and detailed statistics that support planning, risk mitigation, and water management. Unlike other global datasets, this service provides detailed statistics for each water body, including surface extent and wet surface area as a time series, offering timely and interpretable information for decision-makers. The applications of this service are vast, empowering users with the tools to understand surface water availability, manage dry season water access, monitor changes in water body sizes, and assess potential flood risks.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), working with the Limpopo Basin Water Authority, has integrated the Waterbodies Monitoring Service into creating a digital twin for the Limpopo basin.
Developing workflows
DE Africa has further developed sophisticated workflows, crucial in transforming raw geospatial data into actionable insights at a national level.
National-scale workflows, such as the Crop Type Mapping Workflow and the Wetlands Monitoring Workflow can be replicated and scaled with relevant data. As Dr. Rebelo explains, "Our continental-scale infrastructure allows us to prototype workflows for one country and then scale them across the continent. This enables countries to implement and adapt these solutions to their specific needs, rather than starting from scratch."
This strategic approach empowers African nations to effectively harness DEA's resources, ensuring that their unique challenges in resource management and sustainable development are met with precision and adaptability.
Beyond providing data DE Africa fosters collaboration and builds capacity among African nations and global partners. “As African countries navigate the complexities of climate change and resource management, DE Africa is a vital ally, ensuring the continent is well-equipped to thrive,” says Dr. Rebelo.
Visit www.digitalearthafrica.org for more insights.