Unlocking Africa’s full EO potential with EU Space synergies
The Europe-Africa Space Earth Observation High-Level Forum held earlier in June examined the evolving roadmap for enhancing EU-Africa cooperation in satellite-based Earth Observation; the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa was there to highlight the role of the agency in unlocking the full potential of EO in Africa through EU Space synergies.
Africa is a vast continent with a diverse geomorphology, a rapidly growing population and a home to a broad range of ecosystems. Experts have been looking into space-based solutions over the past decades, and in particular Earth Observation (EO) data, enabling solutions that help manage natural resources and better assess the impact of human activities on natural habitats.
Africa’s EO community is blossoming, benefitting from geospatial data (EO and GNSS) deriving from regional space infrastructures but also relying on international cooperation initiatives. It was within this context that EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, joined the “Europe-Africa Space Earth Observation High-Level Forum” earlier in June, to speak about the role of the Agency and how the EU Space Programme can help Africa unlock its full potential.
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EU Space Programme Synergies to the front
While talking about the role of the Agency in fostering applications and the use of EO and navigation data, da Costa emphasized “the need to involve users in the design of sustainable solutions,” to enhance EU-Africa cooperation from a space point of view”, adding that EO combined with satellite navigation and telecommunication offers a huge potential to develop innovative space products based on synergies between these. “Just to give you one example, Copernicus can provide soil moisture and fertility information on a given piece of land. With the accuracy provided by Galileo, farmers everywhere – and of course also in Africa - can seed precisely where the soil is the most fertile, and that contributes to a more sustainable farming”, he concluded.
The session gathered high-level space actors such as Mahama Ouedraogo from the African Union Council who set the tone by saying that Africa-Europe EO cooperation should go further and consider the new paradigm brought by New Space. The European Commission was represented by DG INTPA Director General Koen Doens, Patrick Child Deputy Director General of DG RTD and Augusto Gonzales, Advisor to the DG DEFIS Director General all of which presented the latest developments and work of their respective DGs in the field of EO. The panel was completed by EUMETSAT Director General Phil Evans who noted that EUMETSAT had been collaborating for more than 20 years with the European Commission and multiple African institutions to ensure access to satellite data and strengthen African capacities to exploit these data and provide added-value services to various socio-economic sectors.
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EUSPA successfully linking users’ needs in Africa
As regards the role of EUSPA, he said that the Agency, with the support of the European Commission, could help Africa accelerate its EO downstream industry. “EUSPA has a successful track record of working with stakeholders in Africa and more specifically with the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA). Together we are developing the “SBAS for Africa and Indian Ocean” based on EGNOS technology. This was a first step to make African airports more accessible and create more commercial opportunities for airlines and new flight routes at a regional and international level, with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance,” he said.
EU leaders and policy makers are ready to strengthen cooperation between the European EO and Africa, and are looking forward to making use of the infinite opportunities offered by the EU Space Programme, all under the same sky.
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