Namibia

News

Flooding in Namibia part of the first data acquisition from Sentinel-1

Sentinel -1 first images received

The Sentinel-1 satellite of the European Space Agency delivered its first images. As UN-SPIDER reported, the satellite was launched successfully on 3 April. The mission is the first of ESA’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme.

Though not yet fully operational, first images are offering a glimpse into the satellites capabilities. After conclusion of the calibration phase, Sentinel-1 will start its operational phase in the next couple of months.

The Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, Volker Liebig, commented, “We are in very early days of the satellite’s life in orbit and ground segment operations, but these images certainly demonstrate the caliber of data this advanced radar mission will bring from its different imaging modes, and how it will provide essential data for Copernicus services to benefit us all.”

One of the first... read more

Publishing Date: 17/04/2014

Namibia's satellite centre to warn of disaster threats

A new satellite data centre in Namibia will help farmers prepare for droughts, floods, bushfires and pests. The Earth Observation and Satellite Applications Research and Training Centre (EOSA-RTC), was launched this month (6 July) in collaboration with the African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development programme (AMESD). It is located at the Polytechnic of Namibia and comprises a satellite data receiving station and data centre, which will provide data useful for agriculture. The data, which will be provided free to farmers' associations and government departments, will include water indices, rainfall estimates, and maps of soil moisture content. Reliable data is essential to preparing for natural disasters. Earlier this year Namibia was hit by record floods, although rainfall is generally scarce. Wildfires are expected to wreak havoc in the current dry season.

"Rain is important for Namibia. Mistakes based on wrong information can be costly. For... read more

Publishing Date: 28/07/2011

Observation Department Launched

This week, the Department of Land Management at the Polytechnic of Namibia launched its Earth Observation and Satellite Applications Research and Training Centre (EOSA-RTC). The satellite earth observation department could help boost food security in the country.

The centre's main objective will be to enhance the base of information from which farmers, government and researchers can draw upon. The data beamed to the centre will provide various resources for the agricultural industry, including providing information on ground vegetation, soil moisture, rainfall estimates and information on the timing, extent and frequency of veld fires.

According to the head of Land Management, Charl-Thom Bayer, the ultimate goal of the centre, aside from providing improved opportunities for students and teachers, is to provide interested parties in Namibia access to a wide variety of information that will boost agriculture. According to Bayer, the centre has been "technically... read more

Publishing Date: 12/07/2011

UN-SPIDER SpaceAid: Charter activated for floods in Namibia

The International Charter Space and Major Disasters accepted the activation request by UNOOSA on behalf of UNDP on 1 April 2011. The Project Manager for this event is the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC).

UN-SPIDER is updating a dedicated website with information about available space-based resources. CLICK HERE to go to the SpaceAid Updates page.

 

International Charter - Description of the Event:

Namibia declares a state of emergency after severe flooding in the north claiming 62 lives since January 2011. Floodwaves peaked on 28 March 2011 and a new flood wave is anticipated from upstream (Angola), peaking in the first week of April.

The flood has exceeded the 2009 flood, which had been considered to be the highest known in history. Reports from Angola indicate that more water is expected and the Namibian Meteorological... read more

Publishing Date: 04/04/2011

Technical Expert Meeting in Bonn

UN-SPIDER hosted a Technical Expert Meeting in Bonn, Germany, to further develop the “Namibian SensorWeb Pilot project on integrated flood management and water- and vector-borne disease modelling’. This meeting brought together about thirty persons, among them a delegation from the Department of Water Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF) in Namibia, representatives from the German Space Agency (DLR), NASA, NOAA, Ukraine Space Research Institute (SRI), City University of New York, Johns Hopkins University – Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as colleagues from other UN organisations located in Bonn such as UNU-EHS, UNISDR-PPEW and UNW-DPC.

A delegation of the expert group presented the pilot project initiative to the Namibian ambassador in Germany, Excellency Neville Gertze, visiting the UN-Campus in Bonn.

The pilot is envisaged to combining high resolution satellite imagery with in-situ data and modelling approaches in order to derive... read more

Publishing Date: 15/09/2009

Advisory Support

Namibia - Institutional Strengthening Mission

As a follow-up to the Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) conducted in 2009 and in the context of the Namibian SensorWeb Pilot Project, this mission was carried out by UN-SPIDER in coordination with the Department of Water Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. The goal of the mission was to promote access and use of space-based technologies and solutions for disaster management and emergency response within relevant communities. The mission included a visit to the Northern regions Caprivi and Oshana that were affected by the flood in 2009 and a technical meeting with stakeholders.

Mission dates: 19/01/2010 to 02/02/2010

Namibia - Technical Advisory Mission

Namibia is characterized by recurrent droughts. However, in January 2009 some of the worst floods ever recorded affected northern Namibia, to the extent that the Namibian government declared a state of emergency. UN-SPIDER facilitated the activation of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" as well as the access to data. Following this event, the Government of Namibia requested UN-SPIDER to conduct a Technical Advisory Mission and to propose recommendations how to improve Namibia’s access to and use of space-based technology and information.

Mission dates: 27/01/2009 to 02/02/2009

Event

Applied Geoinformatics for Society and Environment

  AGSE – Applied Geoinformatics for Society and Environment- was initiated in 2009 by Prof. Franz-Josef Behr. Taking place on a yearly basis, the conference is being held in different places all over the world. The overall scope of this conferences is to offer an interdisciplinary, international forum for sharing knowledge about the science and application of Geoinformatics with focus on developing countries.   AGSE 2018 THEME is Mother Earth: Geoscience for Crisis Management ,Disaster Management, Human Food Security, Land Management, Contribution of Geospatial Science and Technologies.   Registration is open here and you and click here for more information   

Mother Earth: Contribution of Geospatial Science and Technology

The 9th AGSE conference/summer school, with a focus on "Crisis and Disaster Management", will take place in Windhoek, Namibia from 12 to 16 November 2018.

The main topics will be the contribution of geoinformatics, remote sensing, and planning for preparation, response, recovery, and mitigation of disasters. In addition it will try to cover aspects of a related field: the contribution of geospatial science and technology to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference is organized by the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Windhoek, Namibia and Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, Stuttgart, Germany, and co-organized by the ICA Commission on... read more

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