February 2017 to April 2017 – Earth Observation for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Horn of Africa
Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s International Development Innovation and Impact Fund, this three months scoping project explored the earth observation (EO), early warning system (EWS) and Sendai nexus for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Horn of Africa, specifically in Kenya and Uganda. The long-term objective of this research project was to ‘improve disaster risk reduction (DRR) for Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries by integrating space based Earth Observation data, particularly focusing on the Horn of Africa’.
As part of this project, Dr Nibedita Ray-Bennett (Associate Professor of Risk Management at the School of Business at the University of Leicester and the ADN’s Founding President) and Dr Sophie Hebden (Project Scientist at the National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Leicester and the ADN’s Regional Coordinator), in assistance of Mrs Denise Corsel (Research Assistant for this project and the ADN’s Operations Manager), undertook content analysis of the ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’ and a two-day Disaster Risk Reduction User Needs Workshop to identify scopes for EO to improve EWS for disaster risk management.
The two-day workshop was held on the 22nd and 23rd of March 2017 at the College Court in Leicester. The workshop focused on Early Warning Systems for Disaster Risk Resilience. The workshop was attended by key stakeholders, such as UNDP-Nairobi, the Kenyan Government, Environment Systems, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edge, Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, British Geological Survey and colleagues from Leicester’s School of Business, Geography, Media and Communication. It was fascinating to see the way geoscientists are reaping the advantage of earth observation for weather forecasting, modelling, prediction, response and the like.
Resulting from this project, the following outputs were developed:
- An Information Brief on Earth Observation in the Context of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction;
- A Review of the ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030’ for Scoping Disaster Risk Reduction for Earth Observation;
- A Review of the National Disaster Management Policies and Plans of Kenya and Uganda for Scoping Disaster Risk Reduction for Earth Observation; and
- A Conference Poster on Earth Observation, Early Warning System and Sendai Nexus for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Horn of Africa.