Abstract
Freshwater, aquaculture, fisheries, biodiversity, forests, and agricultural land have high economic and social value throughout the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region; but they can also be over‐exploited, with damaging consequences for local economies, long term stability and for the Earth system as a whole – especially the climate system. The ACP's fast growing population puts growing pressure on the environment to provide food, water and fibre, on the regions’ urban centres and transport networks, and on energy sources. Information on the location, condition and evolution of resources is an important step towards sustainability, but unfortunately such information can be hard to get. Earth observing satellite technology combined with geographical information management can help fill the information gap. In this objective, and because of its unique position to support the implementation of advanced interoperable geospatial technologies, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) is setting‐up of an “Observatory for sustainable development” as single portal to support decision‐making for development in the fields of natural resource and food security. The African Union and European Union recognise the importance of this service and are beginning to develop this capacity as part of the AU EU joint strategic partnership. This paper describes the needs, and presents the first steps taken by the JRC and by the joint partnership in harnessing space technologies to help meet Millennium Development Goals, in particular eradication of poverty, and environmental sustainability. Santrauka Gėlasis vanduo, akvakultūra, žuvininkystė, biologinė įvairovė, miškų ir žemės ūkio paskirties žemė turi didėlę ekonominę ir socialinę vertę visoje Afrikoje, Karibų ir Ramiojo vandenyno (AKR) valstybių regione, bet šie veiksniai gali būti per daug eksploatuojami ir tureti žalingų padarinių vietinei ekonomikai, ilgalaikiam stabilumui ir visai Žemės sistemai, ypač klimato sistemai. Dėl greitai augančio AKR gyventojų skaičiaus regionų miestų centruose transporto tinklų ir energijos šaltinių vietose dideja aplinkos naudojimo mastas, siekiant gyventojus aprūpinti maistu, vandeniu ir lasteliena. Informacija apie vietoves išteklius, išteklių būklę ir raidą yra svarbus žingsnis siekiant darnos, bet, dėja, tokia informacija sunku surinkti. Žemės stebejimo palydovais technologija, sujungta su geografines informacijos valdymu, gali padėti užpildyti šios informacijos spragą. Dėl šio tikslo ir dėl unikalios padėties, siekiant diegti pažangias tarpusavyje saveikaujančias geoerdvines technologijas, Europos Komisijos (EK) jungtinis tyrimu centras (JTC) yra įkūręs Darnaus vystymosi observatorijas kaip viena portalą, kad palaikytų sprendimų priemimo plėtote gamtinių išteklių ir maisto saugumo srityse. Afrikos Sąjunga (AS) ir Europos Sąjunga (ES) pripažįsta šios paslaugos svarbą ir pradėjo plėtoti šiuos pajėgumus kaip dali strateginės AS ir ES partnerystės. Straipsnyje pristatomi pirmieji žingsniai, žengti AKR valstybių, plėtojant jungtinę partnerystę kosminių technologijų srityje, siekiant spręsti tūkstantmečio tikslus – mažinti skurdą ir tobulinti darnų aplinkos vystymą.
Highlights
Water, forests, agricultural/grazing land, resources such as fish stocks and the biological diversity encompassed by such domains have high economic and social value, yet they are being over-exploited in many parts of the ACP, increasing poverty and vulnerability of a large proportion of the population
Using the delineation of Protected Areas in Africa, we have identified and ranked PAs based on their habitat similarity, and we have created an indicator of the habitat irreplaceability (HI) of the PA (Hartley et al 2007)
The permanent dialogue with Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries, via National services, Regional Economic Communities and the ACP Secretariat, as well as the AU-EU Strategic Partnership set up the general framework of collaboration between Africa and Europe and contributes to foster the role of the AUC as continental organization with an overall responsibility of African development, poverty alleviation and general improvement towards the attainment of the MDGs
Summary
Forests, agricultural/grazing land, resources such as fish stocks and the biological diversity encompassed by such domains have high economic and social value, yet they are being over-exploited in many parts of the ACP, increasing poverty and vulnerability of a large proportion of the population. Better Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) (EC 2007) can best be provided if various thematic issues are addressed in a combined fashion In this objective and given the strategic importance of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region for Community development co-operation, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) has set-up an ACP Observatory for Sustainable Development, aiming at supporting development policies of the EC and of the beneficiary countries and regions, through the provision of sound scientific information tailored on partner needs and formatted to allow further exploitation by users The lack of baseline reference data, of environmental indicators duly recognized and of particular relevance for meaningful country assessments and the insufficient capacity to systematically monitor changes of situations (permanent observation systems) is a major shortcut in addressing natural resources management and climate change challenges in the frame of development cooperation.
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