About the Program on Environment Information Systems in Sub-Saharan
Africa
Purpose and Objective
The Program on Environment Information Systems (EIS) in Sub-Saharan
Africa was initiated by the World Bank in conjunction with other
donors and international agencies in earlier 1990.
The term "environment information system" (EIS) is used
in the context of this Program to cover any organized system for
environmental data management, including geographic information
systems (GIS) containing environmental data sets.
The objective of the Program is to promote the implementation
of effective environmental information systems (EIS) to support
the process of sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Program supports African countries as they assess their priority
needs in terms of environment and land information systems, and
analyze the technical, institutional, legal and economic issues
hampering their possibilities of meeting these needs. It assists
them in finding adequate, sustainable and long-term solutions
to deal with these issues.
The Program is an international forum of donors and professionals
involved in EIS development in sub-Saharan Africa who:
- develop principles and practices for EIS development,
- facilitate the coordination of national and international
programs related to EIS,
- provide a forum for sharing information on EIS activities,
development and lessons learned in Africa, through workshops,
publications and newsletters,
- provide an annual "State of EIS Development in sub-Sahara
Africa" report as an input for debates on EIS policy
and implementation,
- reinforce and work with complimentary initiatives (e.g. AFRICAGIS,
OSS/UNSO/UNITAR, NESDA, MDS, FAO, AFRICACOVER,etc.).
SCOPE
Among the countries which have participated in the Program by
sharing relevant information are: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso,
Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Several bilateral and
multilateral agencies, including the Bank, are supporting the
Program, and others are expected to join in.
The implementation of the Program is coordinated by an international
Advisory Committee of 30 members, from Africa and international
institutions, which meets twice a year.
A series of meetings have been held in Africa, Europe and in the
US to discuss the future, funding issues for the Program, the
Advisory Committee's action plan, links with similar organizations,
collaboration with related programs and the importance of information
for global resource management. A meeting was held November 9-13,
1992 in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss, elaborate and plan on-going
EIS activities in Africa. A sub-committee meeting was held on
April 20, 1993 in Enschede, The Netherlands in conjunction with
the International Symposium on "Operationalization of Remote
Sensing", April 19-23, 1993. The following meeting was held
in Harare, Zimbabwe April 5-9, 1994 and subsequent sub-committee
meeting was held in Arendal, Norway, August 31-September 2, 1994.
The next Committee meeting is scheduled to take place in Abidjan,
Côte d'Ivoire on March 3-5, 1995 before the UNITAR/AFRICAGIS'95
sponsored meeting.
A Program Secretariat has been established in Environmentally
Sustainable Development Division (AFTES) in Washington, D.C. It
has the technical support of the Bank's Environment Department.
It is intended to act as an information center on environment
information systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Program is building
a network of institutions, organizations, groups and people interested
in EIS activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. A newsletter is circulated
4 times a year.
Within the World Bank's Africa Technical Department, Environmentally
Sustainable Development Division, François Falloux is the
Environment Advisor responsible for the Program. The
Program has established a secretariat in Pretoria, South Africa, since September
'95 to help strengthen African participation.
Last Updated 22/03/99 by Webmaster
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