Informing & Persuading

Maps have always played an important role in informing and persuading the public and decision-makers about environmental justice issues by visualizing trends that are nearly impossible to understand in a spreadsheet. Accurate information is the foundation of this use case, enabling people to take action and advocate for the most affected communities.

Geohazard Risk Mapping

The Geohazard Risk Mapping Initiative (GRMI), a youth-led nonprofit organization, utilizes the Africa Geoportal provided by Esri to create vital geospatial tools for managing flood risks in Nigeria. The GRMI team, comprising volunteers skilled in GIS and satellite imagery analysis, develops real-time flood reporting tools, interactive flood maps, web applications, and a comprehensive flood event database.

Nigeria faces recurring flooding events exacerbated by climate change, which alters rainfall patterns and increases the severity and frequency of floods. The need for effective flood prediction and management tools is crucial to minimize the impact on communities.

Solution

Using the open GIS community data and mapping platform from Esri, GRMI developed:

• Real-time flood reporting tools that enable swift responses to emerging flood events.

• Interactive flood maps that help predict flood-prone areas.

• Web applications that provide accessible and user-friendly interfaces for non-experts to understand flood risks.

• A detailed flood event database that records historical flood data to inform future planning.

Impact

The tools and applications developed by GRMI have significantly enhanced the local communities' ability to prepare for and respond to floods. Governments, emergency management organizations, and citizens now have access to detailed maps showing flood susceptibility of critical areas such as farmlands, schools, and marketplaces. This data is crucial for initiating preventive measures, thereby mitigating the damage caused by floods and reducing loss of life, property, and livelihoods.

Future Prospects

With continued support and resources, GRMI aims to extend its impact, further harnessing geospatial technology to address climate change-related challenges in Nigeria and other African countries. The initiative serves as a model of how young volunteers can leverage modern technology to make significant contributions to disaster management and community resilience.

Via Esri

Food Insecurity

At the Garbal call center, agents operate seven days a week providing vital, tailored information services to Sahelian herders, a community significantly impacted by a range of challenges including warfare and climate change. Utilizing satellite data, the center offers real-time updates on weather forecasts, water levels, and vegetation conditions along herding routes, as well as essential information on brushfires, overgrazed areas, market prices, and veterinary services. This innovative approach not only aids in daily herding activities but also aims to preserve an ancient culture that is crucial for the region's economy.

The initiative, named Garbal after the Fulani word for livestock market, is led by insights from Alex Orenstein, a 37-year-old American data scientist who advocates for the practical application of existing technologies to support the predominantly livestock-dependent population of Niger. Orenstein emphasizes the importance of not just collecting data from herders but ensuring it is accessible to them, enhancing their ability to foresee and mitigate potential crises such as droughts. This shift towards empowering local communities with data they contribute to and rely on represents a transformative approach to technology use in traditional economic activities.

Via Technology Review

Land Rights

In Borneo, nonprofit organizations are empowering Indigenous communities to secure their native land rights to safeguard their territories from illegal logging and plantation encroachments. By utilizing advanced mapping technologies such as GPS, GIS, and drone photography, these communities are able to formally demarcate and document their land. This crucial step allows them to apply for legal recognition of their lands as protected native areas, providing them the legal standing needed to contest and prevent unauthorized incursions. Without such protections, these communities risk displacement, destruction of their homes, and loss of cultural identity.

Internationally, similar initiatives are underway to support Indigenous claims through geospatial technologies. For example, in Canada, the Native Land project employs interactive maps to illustrate the traditional territories and languages of Indigenous peoples globally. In South America, the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG) maps territories and resources crucial to Indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin. These efforts underscore the critical role of traditional knowledge and modern technology in defending Indigenous rights and managing natural resources sustainably according to customary practices known as adat, which govern land use, resource management, and community social structures. Via Rest of World