the South African Earth Observation Strategy and the South African
Environmental Observation Network Egagasini Node
29 November 2007
Master of Proceedings
Commissioner of the European Commission
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Research Foundation
(NRF)
President and CEO of the Council for scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR)
Scientists and Researchers
Distinguished guests
Delegates to the 2007 Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Summit
Ladies and gentlemen
South Africa is proud to be the Co-Chair of the Group on Earth Observations.
The GEO brings governments together at a high level to work towards a future in
which our decisions and actions, for the benefit of the whole of humankind, are
informed by co-ordinated, comprehensive and sustained earth observations and
information.
As you know, we look to GEO to develop and institute a worldwide "system of
systems" for in situ and space-based observations of the earth, which will
provide information to national and international decision-makers. While the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) focuses on issues of
regional and global scale and cross-sector applications, South Africa is
delighted to launch its own Earth Observation Strategy (SAEOS), which is our
contribution to the integrated global system.
Since the approval of the strategy by Cabinet in May last year, awareness of
the importance of a system of a geospatial infrastructure to co-ordinate the
collection, assimilation and dissemination of earth observation data to support
decision-making processes in South Africa is gaining momentum.
At the same time, as a part of the launch of our national EO Strategy, we
are also pleased to be launching the Egagasini Node of the South African
Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), which will advance the seamless
integration of environmental observation by government departments, science
councils, universities, research institutes and industrial partners in South
Africa.
In 2002, my department assumed a leadership role in the development of this
Network, which was proposed jointly by the research community and several
government departments. The Network was established as an in situ earth
observation network supporting the various mandates of the participating
organisations. These organisations range from government departments with
environmental concerns to the science councils, universities and large
commercial and parastatals.
The SAEON design is continuously being refined to respond to emerging
environmental issues, and corresponds with the GEO societal benefit areas. The
current SAEON themes are Water, Soil, Nutrient Cycling, Biodiversity,
Disturbance Regimes and Climate Change. The SAEON is relatively unique in the
southern hemisphere and is the first in Africa. There is currently no other
comprehensively planned earth observation network of linked observation
platforms. In addition, its innovative, integrated information management
systems will strengthen scientific research and inform policy-making for many
years to come.
Further a field, ladies and gentlemen, this network has played a crucial
role in the formation of a network of environmental observatories for Southern
Africa. The Environmental Long-Term Observatories of Southern Africa network
(ELTOSA), launched in 2003, and creates synergy among the observation networks
of the Southern African countries. It also has the effect of building
sufficient critical mass in human and infrastructural capacity building for in
situ earth observation in the region. The ELTOSA countries have since been
collaborating to increase the effectiveness of regional earth observations and
information.
The SAEON trades in long-term environmental information; information which
will improve societal well-being and support our national priorities. My
department has recently identified global change as one of five grand
challenges requiring particular attention in the next 10 years, and the SAEON
will play a key role in addressing this challenge. This brings me to the SAEON
Egagasini Node for marine-offshore systems, on which the international
spotlight rightly falls tonight.
The Egagasini Node is hosted by the Marine and Coastal Management branch of
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism here in Cape Town. Along with
science councils, universities and research organisations, the South African
Data Centre for Oceanography and the African Node for the Ocean Bio-geographic
Information System will be prominent participants in the SAEON Egagasini Node.
Dr Juliet Hermes, the manager of Egagasini, claims the Node, in keeping with
its name, will be making waves in international marine science. It will use
South Africa's geographical advantage in the southern oceans to garner
information to inform climate change studies across the globe, and for marine
resources management in the region.
We are also pleased to recognise the contributions made by the Committee on
Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) to international earth observation. As most
of you know, the committee is charged with the co-ordination of international
civil space borne missions designed to observe and study our planet. CEOS has
25 members, most of which are space agencies, and 20 national and international
organisations as associates. It is recognised as the major international forum
for the coordination of earth observation satellite programmes and their
interaction with users of satellite data worldwide.
CEOS is one of the main contributors of space-based derived products and
services to the GEOSS Implementation Plan, playing a significant role in the
Group on Earth Observation processes and the Satellite Applications Centre of
the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been an
associate member of CEOS since 1998.
At the annual CEOS plenary meeting in London on 16 November 2005, the CSIR
offered to become the "host organisation" for the CEOS from November 2007 to
November 2008. The opportunity to Chair and host the Committee on Earth
Observation Satellites will provide South Africa's current and future space
activities with global exposure in the space community and access to
world-class technologies in the area of satellite earth observation.
It will also provide an opportunity to foster partnerships with
international space agencies and their partners to promote technology skills
transfer and access to international research funding instruments. This is
further evidence of our country's commitment to contribute toward the global
sustainable development agenda. The main responsibilities of the CEOS are to
oversee the coordination of civil space borne earth observation, address
critical scientific questions and minimise the duplication of efforts in the
planning of satellite missions by participating members.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is why ministers from so many countries and
environmental scientists from all over the world have converged on Cape Town
this week. They have come to reflect together on major environmental and social
challenges faced individually and collectively by nations. These challenges
range from sustainable development to climate change and accurate and timely
information is required for success in addressing them.
SAEOS and SAEON, with partners such as CEOS and GEO have critical roles to
play. Earth observations enable us to understand our planet better. This
enables us to make smarter decisions, and deploy our resources more
effectively. Our international partners, in turn, enable us to put our small
individual resources together into a powerful global force for good. We are
proud to formally launch both the South African Earth Observation Strategy and
the Egagasini Node of the South African Environmental Observation Network. We
hope our humble contributions to the global endeavours help to steer our planet
towards a sustainable future.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
29 November 2007
Source: Department of Science and Technology (hhtp://www.dst.gov.za)
