10 - 12 June 2009
Background
This workshop has been held in Dakar, Senegal on 10 - 12 June 2009, to present
and discuss the results of the land cover mapping and change analysis
activities conducted in collaboration with the Centre de Suivi
Ecologique de Dakar (CSE).
Agenda
The workshop has been organized in two sessions:
- a morning session opened by Dr. Assize Touré, D.G. of CSE with a
welcome speech, followed by a general introduction to GLCN activities
made by Gianni Pinucci, FAO's consultant, and
- an afternoon session with the overview of the land cover mapping and
change analysis results made by Ugo Leonardi.
24 experts from a remarkable number of national services have participated
at the workshop, showing true interest on the results of the study. Here is
the list of the organizations:
- ANSD/MEF - Services Régionaux de Statistiques et de Démographie
- CSE - Centre Suivi Ecologique
- DA/MAP - Direction de l'Aménagement du Territoire
- DGPRE/MH
- DPN - Directeur des Parcs Nationaux. Ministère de l'Environnement et de la. Protection de la Nature
- INP - Institut National de Pédologie
- IREF/DEFCCS - Inspection Régionale des Eaux et Forets et de la Conervation des Sols
- ISE - Institut des Sciences de l'Environnement
- ISMRR - Institut Supérieur des Métiers et Réseaux Ruraux
- ISRA/LERG Institut Sénégalais de Recherche Agricole
- PASDUNE/MUHA - Plan de Développement et d'Aménagement pour la Sauvegarde des Zones Humides et Zones Vertes de Dakar
- PROGERT - Groundnut Basin Soil Management and Regeneration Project
- FAO/LADA (Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands)
Results
All participants have been provided with a folder containing:
- a DVD with the land cover data in aggregated format, the technical
report and the GLCN software and tutorials;
- the FAO Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) and change analysis publications, and
- copy of the LCCS land cover report translated in French by CSE.
During the same workshop, the FAO consultants have provided CSE experts
with a two-day training on Mad-Cat, the new software of
image processing for land cover mapping developed by GLCN, and on the entire GLCN tools box.
Concurrent goal of the workshop has also been the transfer from GLCN
to CSE of the project equipment ownership.
Conclusions
Future funding sources have been explored based on the great interest
that the results of this initiative have raised.
A good opportunity can be represented, at least for the West Africa countries, by
the UEMOA - Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine- based in Ouagadougou, where
the new Director General of Environment, M. Melik Diallo is a forest specialist and
seems to be very efficient and active in funding environmental projects.
Some activities of CSE are currently financed by the
FAO/LADA project.
Given the presence at the workshop of Hubert George (FAO/LADA) who
has expressed interest for the results of the study and satisfaction for the
efficiency of the new software, a possibility to undertake a new and more
comprehensive training on the GLCN methodologies and tools for CSE and other
services staff will be investigated.
