On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey

In 2007, at the 2nd Africa-EU Summit, the development and implementation of earth observation based services to support sustainable development in Africa was agreed. A joint Africa-EU strategy created a framework for cooperation to this end called GMES & Africa. This cooperation aims to produce...

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Main Authors: Christophe Lavaysse, Philippe Roudier, Vijay Venkatachalam, Jurriaan Van’t Klooster, Marco Clerici
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/258
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author Christophe Lavaysse
Philippe Roudier
Vijay Venkatachalam
Jurriaan Van’t Klooster
Marco Clerici
author_facet Christophe Lavaysse
Philippe Roudier
Vijay Venkatachalam
Jurriaan Van’t Klooster
Marco Clerici
author_sort Christophe Lavaysse
collection DOAJ
description In 2007, at the 2nd Africa-EU Summit, the development and implementation of earth observation based services to support sustainable development in Africa was agreed. A joint Africa-EU strategy created a framework for cooperation to this end called GMES & Africa. This cooperation aims to produce products and services relevant to the needs of Africans and implemented by African institutions. It is based in particular on the European Copernicus program. The themes covered by the cooperation include natural resource management, marine and coastal areas, water resource management, climate variability and change, disaster risk reduction and food security. Building on its early involvement in the previous projects, the Joint Research Centre has developed an operational and distributable open-source data processing tool, called eStation. One year before the end of the first phase of the project, a full survey of eStation users was conducted. The objective of the survey was to get a full overview of the use, strength, weakness and way to improve the eStation in an operational context. This study presents the main results of the survey. It identifies who are the users, what their operational tasks are and how they communicate the information to decision makers. In addition, the use of the station is described, its strengths and weaknesses are identified as well as the technical and thematic difficulties encountered. The survey underlines the importance of maintaining a constant dialogue between users and developers in order to offer technical and thematic supports to improve the efficiency of the use of the tools. This can be done by organising training and workshops and is essential for the proper use of the tools and products.
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spelling doaj.art-6b3b4cc0864a43eab642b1c5fd143ee32023-12-11T17:09:58ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332021-02-0112225810.3390/atmos12020258On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User SurveyChristophe Lavaysse0Philippe Roudier1Vijay Venkatachalam2Jurriaan Van’t Klooster3Marco Clerici4European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyAgence Française de Développement, 75012 Paris, FranceEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyIn 2007, at the 2nd Africa-EU Summit, the development and implementation of earth observation based services to support sustainable development in Africa was agreed. A joint Africa-EU strategy created a framework for cooperation to this end called GMES & Africa. This cooperation aims to produce products and services relevant to the needs of Africans and implemented by African institutions. It is based in particular on the European Copernicus program. The themes covered by the cooperation include natural resource management, marine and coastal areas, water resource management, climate variability and change, disaster risk reduction and food security. Building on its early involvement in the previous projects, the Joint Research Centre has developed an operational and distributable open-source data processing tool, called eStation. One year before the end of the first phase of the project, a full survey of eStation users was conducted. The objective of the survey was to get a full overview of the use, strength, weakness and way to improve the eStation in an operational context. This study presents the main results of the survey. It identifies who are the users, what their operational tasks are and how they communicate the information to decision makers. In addition, the use of the station is described, its strengths and weaknesses are identified as well as the technical and thematic difficulties encountered. The survey underlines the importance of maintaining a constant dialogue between users and developers in order to offer technical and thematic supports to improve the efficiency of the use of the tools. This can be done by organising training and workshops and is essential for the proper use of the tools and products.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/258earth observationclimate serviceAfrica
spellingShingle Christophe Lavaysse
Philippe Roudier
Vijay Venkatachalam
Jurriaan Van’t Klooster
Marco Clerici
On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
Atmosphere
earth observation
climate service
Africa
title On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
title_full On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
title_fullStr On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
title_full_unstemmed On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
title_short On the Use of the eStation Developed in the GMES & Africa EU Project: Results from the User Survey
title_sort on the use of the estation developed in the gmes africa eu project results from the user survey
topic earth observation
climate service
Africa
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/258
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