The uLwazi Node of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) is dedicated to hosting and providing online tools for research data infrastructure and associated decision making. Our tools can be used by a range of stakeholders and interest groups, from local and national government, to academics, to NGOs, who wish to better understand the geographic relationships between resources, people and potential risks. We are dedicated to providing useful geographic information to those making South Africa a better place.
The Learning Event is an opportunity to engage with stakeholders and interest groups regarding our online geographic tools, demonstrating how the tools may be used, but also receiving feedback as to what information is most useful to various groups. This is also a unique opportunity for government and the private sector to interact in an environment dedicated to problem-solving using geographic information. Furthermore, we hope to engage with South Africans around the country, to ensure municipalities and interest groups have an opportunity to learn to use these tools and engage with the team.
Image from https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/dec/25/south-africa-acid-rivers-pollution-in-pictures
The South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (SARVA) is one of the flagship projects under the Department of Science and Technology’s 10 year Global Change Grand Challenge and is meant to bridge the gap between science and policy, by providing information on risk, vulnerability and impacts of global change from a municipal to a national scale. This tool is intended to be used by decision makers, municipalities, researchers, consultants and national departments as they plan around risk and vulnerability.
SARVA, through online, web-based services and applications directly supports the access to and visualization of different data sets dealing with or highlighting drivers, pressures, risk, vulnerability, resilience, and mitigation or adaptation within various themes on global change; and with the impacts of global change on human and natural environments. SARVA, through a series of case studies uploaded on the portal, showcases how global change plays out in selected key sectors, assisting not only in the understanding of global change vulnerability but in the likely responses to these changes as well.
The BioEnergy Atlas incorporates information on the basic factors involved in the production of biomass, potentials and yields for a variety of biomass resources, and assesses the techno-economic feasibility of energy products from these resources. The Atlas indicates potential bio-energy resources, their geographic spread, proximity to infrastructure, socio-economic impact, relevant conversion technologies and feasible end use applications. It also gives a scientific understanding of their potential to be converted into transport fuels in support of the bio-fuel industries. It looks at different categories of resources, including lignocellulose, organic waste, and purposefully cultivated biomass, among others.
The web-based Bioenergy Atlas will assist government by making available information on potential energy resources, their geographic spread, their proximity to infrastructure, and potential end users.
The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure EMC is established as the national technical, institutional and policy framework to facilitate the capture, management, maintenance, integration, distribution and use of spatial information. The portal enables researchers, government agencies and departments, and state-owned enterprises to publish and reference or optionally deposit spatial datasets.
Wim Hugo
Leo Chiloane
Amelia Hilgart
Hayden Wilson
Genevieve Berold
Kerryn Warren
1. Arrivals, registration and tea
2. Welcome
3. Project Overview (SARVA, BEA and SASDI)
4. Working session: Risk and Vulnerability Overview
Practical session with data sets applicable to the municipalities and NGOs. Mitigation and Adaptation options identified from NCCRD. Options for sharing and publishing data via the Open Data Platform.
Tea break
5. Working Session: BioEnergy Atlas Overview
Detailed review of mitigation and adaptation options, with a focus on renewable energy projects.
Lunch
6. Working Session: GIS Technicians, Planners, and Service Providers
Using SASDI Electronic Metadata Catalogue and contributing metadata in conformance with the SASDI Act
8h30-09h00
09h00-09h10
09h10-09h40
09h40-11h00
11h00-11h20
11h20-13h00
13h00-14h00
14h00-15h30