The Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) is preparing to host a technical partner’s workshop to review the progress of activities and deliverables of its wetlands monitoring and assessment (WeMAST) Phase II project.
The workshop is scheduled for June 27 and 28, 2024 at the Protea Fürstenhof Hotel in Windhoek, Namibia. The event will bring together the organisation’s project team, technical partners and private sector to discuss the advancements of the project.
The WeMAST project, funded under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) and Africa Support Programme, is a key priority under the EU-Africa partnership. It focuses on wetlands in four basins – Cuvelai, Zambezi, Okavango and Limpopo – located in six Southern African countries: Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These wetlands play a crucial role in providing various ecosystem services and functions, such as water and pasture for livestock production, irrigation activities, and sources of food and income for local communities.
SASSCAL stated that the workshop will serve as a platform for stakeholders to assess their progress, realign the roles of technical partners, and ensure a common understanding of the project objectives, tasks, and deliverables. Additionally, the meeting will showcase the enhanced WeMAST geoportal and gather feedback from technical partners. The WeMAST geoportal is an online platform designed to provide effective wetlands assessment and monitoring tools based on Earth Observation (EO) technology.
The WeMAST project involves collaboration with technical partners from various academic institutions and organisations to enhance the products and services of the geoportal. Furthermore, within the southern African region, the GMES and Africa Programme includes other organisations such as the Commission for the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS), Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and several others.
