Global Information for Sustainable Development

Introduction

It is a great pleasure to be here with you at this important gathering in Johannesburg to discuss critical issues related to sustainable development.

GISD Statements

My role this evening is to: 1) describe the data and technical expertise the United States has made available for use in the GISD project areas, as well as 2) discuss the partnerships that have made this possible.

Over the past 30 years, the United States has spent billions of dollars on space technology, which enables us to collect environmental data and information on a global scale. Advances in information technology now allow us to make wide use of these data to support of activities (such as sustainable agriculture, forestry, management of coastal and ocean resources, urban development flood and drought monitoring).

Additional advances in information technology, including the Internet, allow data to be shared around the world.

GISD represents a success of the public-private partnership because it is comprised of a collection of U.S. government agencies, the academic community, non-governmental organizations and businesses. None of these individual entities could have done this alone.

GISD highlights science as the basis for decision-making with delivery of specific data sets available to practitioners, who will develop tools that are useful to solve challenges at regional and local levels.

GISD takes an interdisciplinary approach to addressing critical issues: applying data and information obtained from remote sensing to the issues facing farmers, foresters, fishers, and coastal and urban planners, among others This project serves to connect remote sensing specialists with the people and sectors that can benefit from the use of the data.

GISD highlights these applications using Africa as a showcase, with opportunities for similar activities in other regions.

The United States is committed to bilateral, regional and global partnerships to address critical issues to sustainable development. GISD is but one example of this.

United States deliverables to GISD and the Global Community
Through GISD, the United States has made data available from operational civil satellites, research satellites, specific Space Shuttle missions and military satellites. These satellite resources are managed by a range of agencies within the United States Government, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Imaging and Mapping Agency.

My colleagues have already given you an overview of the GISD project. I have been asked to give you some highlights of the technical aspects of the project:

NIMA in conjunction with NASA is providing terrain elevation data of several areas of Africa (i.e., Niger Basin, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya/Tanzania Coastal Zone, and the Four Corners/Limpopo Basin). This data is at 90-meter spatial resolution (i.e., for the selected areas, an elevation data point is provided every 90 meters), the best resolution available to date.
This data is a result of a cooperative flight of the NASA Space Shuttle, known as the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission in February 2000. The GISD project will demonstrate the application of this data.
By 2004, processing of all of the 90-meter post spacing data collected during this flight will be completed and available to the public through the USGS. This will be the first time that terrain elevation data will be available worldwide. This data will prove invaluable in sustainable development programs, including water flow analysis and modeling, disaster response/mitigation planning, and transportation and infrastructure initiatives.
NASA will provide global Landsat data sets from the mid 1970’s (at 79 meter spatial resolution) circa 1990 (at 30 meter spatial resolution) and 2000 (at 30 meter spatial resolution). These three global data sets will provide an almost 30 year record of land cover and allow researchers to study changes in land cover over that time period and use that information to support sustainable development.
NASA has also made available to the global community products developed from MODIS and ASTER research missions, as well as some commercial data products through the Science Data Buy.
NOAA continues to make its geostationary and polar orbiting data (i.e., AVHRR) available to the global community on a full, open and free basis.
On August 23rd, NOAA and U.S. Department of Defense -- in partnership with NASA -- announced a $4.5 billion award to TRW of California to develop the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) through 2018.
These actions represent a strong commitment from the United States to share technological advances in environmental observations from satellites with the global community.

II. Sharing our Scientific and Technical Expertise is a Two-way Street.

The fact that this information is available to us today is a result of decades of international cooperation and partnerships among governments, academia, regional organizations and individuals, working together to develop the tools to understand the world in which we live. It is the full and open exchange of information and expertise that has made this project possible.

In order to improve these observations, as well as our ability to use this information to address the challenges facing us, we must continue to work with our partners internationally and within our own governments. This is a priority we must all address.

In addition to the hundreds of activities on going worldwide with our partners, there are a few in Africa that illustrate the types of technical partnerships in which the United States is engaged with local partners:

Miombo Network and MODIS Rapid Fire Response (NASA, NOAA, academia)
East Africa Sustainable Forests and Biodiversity (USFS and academia)
FEWS.net to safeguard food security (NASA, NOAA, academia)
Weather and climate activities (NOAA)

In November, NOAA (on behalf of the United States) will assume chair of the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites.

Along with the Japanese, French, Europeans, the United States is committed to ensuring the availability of data to support sustainable development.

In Closing:

The GISD project demonstrates a success of international collaboration and the use of the best scientific data and analyses to support decision-making.

It will demonstrate the value of maximizing global partnerships to develop and deploy an integrated global observing strategy to collect data needed to solve global issues that have regional and local effects, and developing strong working relationships to address the global issues we face and together seek solutions.

It will also demonstrate the value of fostering public-private arrangements to support activities that get us to the solution we need as quickly as possible.

I encourage you to visit the GISD booth located in the United States exhibit area at the Ubuntu Village and I hope that you have had the chance to attend the training sessions at the Institute.

If you have any questions, I will be happy to direct you to the representatives from the various U.S. partners available to answer questions you may have regarding the data, applications and availability.

Thank you.