The Full Picture

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Earth observation in South Africa –

an increasingly pivotal function

Department of Science and Technology

aving failed to persuade the voters of the United States to

elect him as their president, losing candidate Al Gore there-

after focused his attention on the subject of climate change

and global warming. His subsequent efforts, and his film

Inconvenient Truth

did much to publicize the parlous state of our

planet and the recklessness with which many of us are dealing

with its fragile environment. Gore has become a successful publi-

cist for some of the disciplines of earth observation, and for this

reason the GEO family are much beholden to him.

As has been so ably demonstrated at Sterkfontein, South Africa’s history

of earth observation dates back several million years. But now, with

access to an increasing variety of satellites, and the addition of the latest

remote sensing technologies, earth observation is poised to play a

pivotal role in the nation’s growth plans.

Yet research reveals that many interested South Africans have not

grasped the distinction between ‘earth observation’, and ‘remote

sensing’, so it’s as well to clarify this. Earth observation is something that

humans have been doing since they first stepped out of caves. Our

ancestors noted the climatic and environmental conditions around

them, and, with the changing of the seasons, began to observe a pattern

which had an effect on their lifestyles. Today we do precisely the same

thing, but much more effectively, with ground stations, communica-

tions infrastructure, personal observations, and, more recently, a virtual

plethora of satellites equipped with increasingly sophisticated sensing

and monitoring equipment. We employ additional techniques that

include classic photography, water-vapour recognition, infra-red, and

radar. Thus remote sensing is but one element in modern earth-obser-

vation techniques.

For several years now, South Africa has had the good fortune to share

in the remarkable capabilities of a number of high-tech satellites from

various sources, and at extremely economical rates, (we have had access

to some systems at no charge). Programmes initiated through America’s

Landsat series have made a conspicuous contribution; the NASA

System’s Modis has been of enormous help; and the European second-

generation MeteoSat has been equally beneficial. Now, significantly,

South Africa is to be invited to share access to a satellite which will

soon be launched by a partnership of Chinese and Brazilian interests.

So what exactly have South Africa’s observers been up to? The good

news is that earth observation in South Africa has started to cover a

remarkably broad field of activity.

Current activities range from gathering information to aid the devel-

opment of effective health systems, to imagery designed to assist

agricultural policy. Some groups are using the technologies to study

desertification and deforestation, while others are engaging with the

systems to deepen their understanding of biodiversity.

Increasing numbers of interest groups are recognizing the

capabilities of the technologies, but significantly, many

who might benefit are not yet aware of the potential.

Science manager Alex Fortescue reveals that during the

past year the whole of South Africa has been

photographed from space at a resolution of 2.5 metres.

This means the observer can identify an area as small as

your house, and there are numerous applications for this.

A similar operation will take place annually, for compar-

ative purposes, over the next few years. This data also

aids the latest developments in the National Land Cover

project, which was set up to determine the composition

of the country in terms of forests, deserts, agricultural

development, urban spread, etc, and to measure the

changes that are occurring.

National electricity parastatal Eskom is using the tech-

nology for their electrification distribution plan. It’s part of

the National Electricity Plan, under which government

aims to supply electricity to all of South Africa’s people by

2014. But where are the people? Eskom can now access

pictures that show where they are, and in what numbers,

and this leads to better-informed decisions on priority

projects.

Another good example followed the recent devastating

bush fires in Mpumulanga province. Naturally, National

Disaster Management immediately wanted to know what

areas, homes and businesses had been affected. The

national mosaic, (photograph) provided them with an

instant answer, so that they were quickly able to marshal

their resources for an effective response. At the same time

the system answered the questions of the insurance

companies who had extended cover in affected areas, and

reassured the electricity-supplier that the fire was not

sparked by faulty Eskom power lines.

Local municipalities are also starting to use these

systems to speed up service delivery in terms of spatial

development planning. Here the stress is on delivery of

bulk service infrastructure to low income areas, and again

the earth observation technologies are effective in deter-

mining where the people and the informal settlements are

located, and, more importantly, whether, and how quickly

they are spreading.

In a curious twist of events, earth observation tech-

nologies can also be used to monitor the behaviour of tax

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