First African monitoring of environment for sustainable development (AMESD) forum

KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) November 25, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — First African monitoring of environment for sustainable development (AMESD) forum

Theme: “Towards a Pan African Partnership and Networking for the Monitoring of the Environment by Satellite in Africa”

INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

WHEN 1 – 4 December, 2009

WHERE Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

WHO Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (REA) of the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the European Commission (EC), hosted by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

WHY

To facilitate regional and continental vision for environmental management through AMESD program. The African Union program of AMESD aims to increase the information management capacity of African regional and national institutions in support of decision makers by facilitating sustainable access to Africa-wide environmental information derived from Earth Observation (EO) technologies. The 1st AMESD Forum will therefore gather representatives of African countries and international entities to exchange experience on the use of EO products and services and in the implementation of AMESD, towards improved environmental governance and policy making process.

Objectives

General Objective of AMESD

The objective of AMSED is to provide all African nations with the resources they need to manage their environment more effectively and ensure long-term sustainable development in the region. Most importantly, AMESD aims to improve the lives and prospects of the 350 million disadvantaged people in Africa currently enduring poverty and hardship, and whose livelihoods depend heavily on their environment.

Objectives of the Forum

The primary objective of the Forum is to allow putting in place the necessary and adequate networks within African and in between international and African institutions for the effective development of the use of earth observation data for a better management and monitoring of the African environment. Apart from that the forum has the following operational objectives:

To consolidate the continental dimension of the project

To position AMESD at the international level in respect to major EO related projects

To make possible AMESD linking policies and activities at continental, regional and national level

To inform the user’s community on AMESD implementation agenda

Participants will include:

AU Commission, UN institutions, International and Intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, Research Institutions and Universities, among others.

Background

The African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) initiative takes the preparation for use of MSG in Africa (PUMA) project a stage further by extending the operational use of Earth Observation (EO) technologies and data to environmental and climate monitoring applications. It will also be the precursor of the extension of Europe’s Global Monitoring of the Environment and Security initiative to Africa (GMES Africa).

Launched in 2007, AMESD is scheduled to run to 2012 and receives funding of 21 million euro from the European Commission through the European Development Fund. The program is managed by the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A steering committee, composed by the main AMESD stakeholders: five RECs (ECOWAS, SADC, CEMAC, IGAD, IOC) and the ACP secretariat, is providing guidance to the program.

AMESD aims to provide decision makers in the RECs, AUC and at national level with full access to the environmental data and products they need to improve national and regional policy and decision-making processes.

Journalists are invited to cover the event as per the attached program.

+CONTACT PERSONS:*

Engr. Etienne F.P. KAISIN

AMESD TA Team Leader

African Union Commission

Tel. +251(0)114163227

Mob: +251(0)913 293393

etienne.kaisin@amesd.org or

www.amesd.org

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke

Division of Communication and Information (DCI)

African Union Commission