The Copernicus Earth Observation Ecosystem: Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Resource Management in Africa
On 16 October 2024, the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) hosted an online webinar with the GMES community to share recent developments, review product status, and strengthen dialogue between Copernicus and GMES Africa. The meeting explored new collaboration opportunities and discussed organizing future technical webinars tailored to user needs.
Major advances have been made in data production and validation, and services are accessible via dedicated portals. These products are particularly valuable for the beneficiaries of the GMES and Africa Support Programme, as well as for the African community as a whole. They provide solutions for environmental monitoring, sustainable management of water resources and adaptation to climate change, while strengthening local capacities through training and strategic collaboration.
This system for monitoring the biogeophysical variables of vegetation on a global scale generates 12 products providing accurate and validated information on the state and evolution of the Earth's surface. The data is derived from medium-resolution satellites such as SPOT VGT, PROBA V and Sentinel 3, with long-term archives available.
This product provides detailed information on key parameters such as turbidity, suspended solids, and trophic status with chlorophyll-a. It also includes water surface temperature, a crucial indicator for understanding the effects of climate change.
The water level product uses altimetric measurements to track variations, while the extent product maps the surface of water bodies, whether permanent or ephemeral, with resolutions of 300 m and 100 m.
For what purpose?
These products are used for several crucial applications: flood forecasting, irrigation planning and hydroelectric power management. They also help to understand and manage the impact of environmental change on water resources, providing valuable information for the sustainable management of land and water resources.
Their plus :
A. Andral, CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), https://www.cls.fr/
GBOV involves collecting ground-based observations over long periods from global networks. GBOV distributes reference measurements (RMs) and ground-based products (LPs) that are comparable with Copernicus EO data, thereby helping to validate product quality.
For what purpose?
GBOV is mainly used for quality control of Copernicus Global Land Service products. These data are essential for validating and refining remote sensing products, thereby guaranteeing their accuracy. The activity is also valuable for other scientific and environmental applications, such as natural resource management and climate research.
Plus points :
C. Lerebourg
The GLCFM is designed to improve the existing land cover time series, initially produced at 100m resolution for the years 2015 to 2019, by increasing the accuracy to 10m. It is based on lessons learned from ESA's World Cover project and will include monthly updates for better monitoring.
For what purpose?
The GLCFM is designed for a wide range of applications, such as forest monitoring, crop monitoring, biodiversity conservation and climate modelling. It is particularly relevant for supporting the EU regulation on deforestation with high-resolution data on tropical forests, and will provide the basis for downstream services and applications, such as hotspot monitoring.
Their plus :
R. Van de Kerchove, VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek): https://vito.be
The high-resolution biodiversity hotspot monitoring activity creates detailed maps of land cover and changes in specific areas of interest, using high or very high resolution satellite images (from 1 m to 30 m).
For what purpose?
The aim of this activity is to meet the needs of sustainable management of natural resources. It supports EU projects and policies, particularly in the areas of biodiversity conservation and rural/social development. The maps and indicators are useful for wildlife departments and park managers, providing critical data for protecting and managing sensitive ecosystems.
Their plus :
A. Brink, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
Launched in 2020, the high-resolution Agriculture hotspot monitoring activity, called Copernicus4GEOGLAM, provides key agricultural variables, including the distribution of crop types and the extent of cultivated areas, in order to monitor and understand agricultural dynamics.
For what purpose?
Copernicus4GEOGLAM is used to produce accurate maps that help national governments compile agricultural statistics. This meets specific needs such as those of the "sustainable cocoa" initiative in Côte d'Ivoire. Maps are already available for countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen, covering several agricultural seasons. The programme also supports agricultural biodiversity through capacity-building initiatives, workshops and collaboration with organisations such as the FAO.
Their plus :
I. Palumbo, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
The CLMS portal, redesigned in June 2024, serves as a single point of entry for all CLMS products. The CDSE is an open ecosystem offering free, instant access to Copernicus Sentinel mission data and associated services.
For what purpose?
M. Clerici and P. Marasco, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
Certain processing tools are designed to facilitate the analysis and use of Copernicus products. NatStats is a web-based visualisation and analysis tool, capable of extracting global information to produce statistics and detect anomalies. eStation 3.0 is an automated system that processes, displays and analyses environmental and climatic parameters derived from remote sensing data.
For what purpose?
A. Argyridis and M. Clerici, DG JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
Current service status
CLMS has evolved, now offering a wide range of products based on satellite Earth observation technologies. These include cloud-free global mosaics and biophysical variables for monitoring vegetation, water and soil. These tools have become essential for the sustainable management of natural resources, ecosystem monitoring and food security.Major advances have been made in data production and validation, and services are accessible via dedicated portals. These products are particularly valuable for the beneficiaries of the GMES and Africa Support Programme, as well as for the African community as a whole. They provide solutions for environmental monitoring, sustainable management of water resources and adaptation to climate change, while strengthening local capacities through training and strategic collaboration.
Products of interest for the African community
The products below were presented:
S2GM | Biophysical vegetation variables | Water Quality | Water level | GBOV | GLCFM | Biodiversity hotspots | COPERNICUS4GEOGLAM | CLMS and CDSE | NATSTATS and ESTATION 3.0
More details further in the text.
Sentinel 2 Global Mosaics
What is S2GM?
S2GM is a service that generates cloud-free mosaics from Sentinel 2 data. These mosaics are composed by selecting the best pixels to create optimal scenes, available for composition periods ranging from one day to one year.
What is it used for?
S2GM is designed for the sustainable management of natural resources, particularly in the forestry sector. Analysis Ready Data (ARD) helps users in environmental monitoring, forest management planning and natural resource assessment.
Their plus:
S2GM is a service that generates cloud-free mosaics from Sentinel 2 data. These mosaics are composed by selecting the best pixels to create optimal scenes, available for composition periods ranging from one day to one year.
What is it used for?
S2GM is designed for the sustainable management of natural resources, particularly in the forestry sector. Analysis Ready Data (ARD) helps users in environmental monitoring, forest management planning and natural resource assessment.
Their plus:
- The S2GM service is fully customisable: users can customise mosaics by choosing the area of interest, the composition period, the data bands and the file format. What's more, S2GM is available worldwide, for all regions, including North Africa.
- Predefined mosaics exist for several REDD countries, but users can easily build new ones online for countries not covered. Temporal resolution and aggregation can be defined as required, providing a flexible system.
- Finally, S2GM is a service independent of the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE) or DUNIA, and everything is accessible free of charge via the interactive portal.
Biophysical vegetation variables
What is it?This system for monitoring the biogeophysical variables of vegetation on a global scale generates 12 products providing accurate and validated information on the state and evolution of the Earth's surface. The data is derived from medium-resolution satellites such as SPOT VGT, PROBA V and Sentinel 3, with long-term archives available.
For what purpose?
These products are essential for a range of environmental applications, including vegetation monitoring, agricultural crop management, water cycle monitoring and energy balance analysis. They help to manage biomass for livestock, monitor droughts, and ensure sustainable management of water resources. In addition, the new Evapo-Transpiration (ETA) product, expected to be available in near-real time by the end of 2025, is crucial for monitoring agricultural water use.
Their plus:
Contact:
R. Lacaze, HYGEOS, https://hygeos.com/
These products are essential for a range of environmental applications, including vegetation monitoring, agricultural crop management, water cycle monitoring and energy balance analysis. They help to manage biomass for livestock, monitor droughts, and ensure sustainable management of water resources. In addition, the new Evapo-Transpiration (ETA) product, expected to be available in near-real time by the end of 2025, is crucial for monitoring agricultural water use.
Their plus:
- Full documentation: All the information you need is available on the CLMS portal (https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products).
- Rigorous validation: Variables are validated via the GBOV activity, which relies on terrestrial stations, and, for most of them, produced on a ten-year basis. Products are validated in Africa in particular, with plans to expand this network.
- Potential partnerships with existing monitoring programmes (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA), SAEON – South African Environmental Observation Network, Knowledge and climate services from an African observation and Data research Infrastructure (KADI)) are envisaged to improve data collection capabilities.
Contact:
R. Lacaze, HYGEOS, https://hygeos.com/
Water quality
What is it?This product provides detailed information on key parameters such as turbidity, suspended solids, and trophic status with chlorophyll-a. It also includes water surface temperature, a crucial indicator for understanding the effects of climate change.
For what purpose?
This product helps to assess the ecological health of water bodies and their suitability for uses such as drinking. Surface temperature data also helps monitor the impacts of climate change and predict weather conditions. This information is crucial for water resource management, environmental monitoring, and analysis of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.3.1 on water quality.
Their plus :
Contact:
K. Stelzer, Brockmann Consult, https://www.brockmann-consult.de/
This product helps to assess the ecological health of water bodies and their suitability for uses such as drinking. Surface temperature data also helps monitor the impacts of climate change and predict weather conditions. This information is crucial for water resource management, environmental monitoring, and analysis of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.3.1 on water quality.
Their plus :
- High resolution: Products are supplied with a resolution of 300 m, and for some lakes, up to 100 m, with updates every ten days.
- Accessibility and visualization: A visualization dashboard is available to facilitate interpretation of the data, accessible via the CLMS portal (https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products).
- Units and accuracy: Turbidity is measured in NTU (nephelometric turbidity units), and future extensions will include water volume. Although estuaries are not covered, the product takes into account the extent of the water. Applications for aquaculture are not yet developed, but the potential for extension remains an interesting prospect.
Contact:
K. Stelzer, Brockmann Consult, https://www.brockmann-consult.de/
Water level
What is it?The water level product uses altimetric measurements to track variations, while the extent product maps the surface of water bodies, whether permanent or ephemeral, with resolutions of 300 m and 100 m.
For what purpose?
These products are used for several crucial applications: flood forecasting, irrigation planning and hydroelectric power management. They also help to understand and manage the impact of environmental change on water resources, providing valuable information for the sustainable management of land and water resources.
Their plus :
- Wide coverage: More than 20,000 virtual water level stations are active worldwide, with around 3,200 in Africa, enabling extensive monitoring of the continent's main water resources.
- Data access : Variables can be accessed via the CLMS portal and the HYDRO Wen THEIA portal (https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products/water-bodies).
- Cutting-edge technology: Small lakes can be monitored using altimeters, including those on the SWOT satellite. Although the depth of lakes cannot be estimated, variations in their volume can be measured, providing useful information for various analyses.
A. Andral, CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), https://www.cls.fr/
Ground Based Observation for Validation
What is it?GBOV involves collecting ground-based observations over long periods from global networks. GBOV distributes reference measurements (RMs) and ground-based products (LPs) that are comparable with Copernicus EO data, thereby helping to validate product quality.
For what purpose?
GBOV is mainly used for quality control of Copernicus Global Land Service products. These data are essential for validating and refining remote sensing products, thereby guaranteeing their accuracy. The activity is also valuable for other scientific and environmental applications, such as natural resource management and climate research.
Plus points :
- Free access: All GBOV data is available free of charge, encouraging its widespread adoption and use.
- Continuous improvement: GBOV currently comprises 139 sites worldwide, with efforts to fill the gaps in Africa. Seven sites are already supported through local partnerships, and plans to expand the network are underway.
- Advanced instrumentation: The project has instrumentation to improve existing sites or create new ones to meet geographical or thematic needs. Data can be accessed via https://gbov.land.copernicus.eu.
C. Lerebourg
Global Land Cover and Forest Monitoring
What is it?The GLCFM is designed to improve the existing land cover time series, initially produced at 100m resolution for the years 2015 to 2019, by increasing the accuracy to 10m. It is based on lessons learned from ESA's World Cover project and will include monthly updates for better monitoring.
For what purpose?
The GLCFM is designed for a wide range of applications, such as forest monitoring, crop monitoring, biodiversity conservation and climate modelling. It is particularly relevant for supporting the EU regulation on deforestation with high-resolution data on tropical forests, and will provide the basis for downstream services and applications, such as hotspot monitoring.
Their plus :
- High accuracy: The product aims for 80% accuracy, with improvements in the density of the tree cover class.
- Rigorous methodology: Validation data is derived from photo-interpretation, and several annotators examine the samples, followed by quality checks to ensure accuracy. Questionable segments are reviewed by experts.
- Availability and accessibility: The product will be available after a prototyping phase, with the first data expected in 2025, and will be accessible via https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products/global-dynamic-land-cover.
R. Van de Kerchove, VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek): https://vito.be
Biodiversity hotspots
What is it?The high-resolution biodiversity hotspot monitoring activity creates detailed maps of land cover and changes in specific areas of interest, using high or very high resolution satellite images (from 1 m to 30 m).
For what purpose?
The aim of this activity is to meet the needs of sustainable management of natural resources. It supports EU projects and policies, particularly in the areas of biodiversity conservation and rural/social development. The maps and indicators are useful for wildlife departments and park managers, providing critical data for protecting and managing sensitive ecosystems.
Their plus :
- Targeted support: 19 sites covering around 1.3 million km² have already been mapped, including notable examples such as Virunga in Eastern Congo and Selous in Tanzania.
- Training and capacity building: The activity offers workshops and specific training courses to strengthen local skills in biodiversity management.
- Product accessibility: Maps and data can be accessed online at https://hsm.land.copernicus.eu, enabling users to easily consult the information they need for their projects.
A. Brink, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
Copernicus4GEOGLAM
What is it?Launched in 2020, the high-resolution Agriculture hotspot monitoring activity, called Copernicus4GEOGLAM, provides key agricultural variables, including the distribution of crop types and the extent of cultivated areas, in order to monitor and understand agricultural dynamics.
For what purpose?
Copernicus4GEOGLAM is used to produce accurate maps that help national governments compile agricultural statistics. This meets specific needs such as those of the "sustainable cocoa" initiative in Côte d'Ivoire. Maps are already available for countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen, covering several agricultural seasons. The programme also supports agricultural biodiversity through capacity-building initiatives, workshops and collaboration with organisations such as the FAO.
Their plus :
- Rigorous validation: A robust validation component guarantees the accuracy of the maps, with algorithms described in detailed reports.
- Capacity building: The programme offers technical support and training to strengthen local skills in sustainable agriculture.
- Ongoing evolution: A new phase of activity is underway, with the potential addition of new countries and expanded support capabilities.
- Products and information are available online at https://land.copernicus.eu/global/hsm, giving users easy access to a wide range of agricultural and environmental projects.
I. Palumbo, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
CLMS and CDSE distribution platforms
What is it?The CLMS portal, redesigned in June 2024, serves as a single point of entry for all CLMS products. The CDSE is an open ecosystem offering free, instant access to Copernicus Sentinel mission data and associated services.
For what purpose?
- CLMS Portal: Discover, view and download CLMS products, with resources such as use cases and a dedicated helpdesk. Ideal for users who want a simple, comprehensive interface for their analyses.
- CDSE: Provides broad access to environmental data (land, ocean, atmosphere) with visualisation capabilities. CDSE is particularly useful for users who need to process large quantities of data directly on the platform, simplifying complex analytical operations.
- Improved interface: The CLMS portal, redesigned in 2024, offers an intuitive user experience with easy viewing and downloading capabilities.
- Free access and processing power: The CDSE guarantees free access to data while offering extensive on-site processing capacity, enabling large quantities of information to be managed efficiently.
- Ease of use: Both platforms are designed to provide rapid access to the resources needed, with an open architecture that supports environmental research and applications. They are available at https://land.copernicus.eu/en and https://dataspace.copernicus.eu.
M. Clerici and P. Marasco, DG JRC (European Commission Joint Research Centre): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
NatStats and leStation 3.0
What is it?Certain processing tools are designed to facilitate the analysis and use of Copernicus products. NatStats is a web-based visualisation and analysis tool, capable of extracting global information to produce statistics and detect anomalies. eStation 3.0 is an automated system that processes, displays and analyses environmental and climatic parameters derived from remote sensing data.
For what purpose?
- NatStats: Designed to analyse CLMS products, it enables users to generate global statistics and detect abnormal trends, useful for environmental studies and natural resource management.
- eStation 3.0: Distributed to numerous centres in sub-Saharan Africa, it automates data processing to produce thematic environmental indicators. The tool is crucial for institutions wishing to monitor climate change or manage natural resources effectively.
- Advanced customisation: eStation offers a highly adaptable web client, allowing users to create ad hoc products and indicators according to their specific needs.
- Accessibility and training: The tools are available for testing and use via https://natstats-demo.cgls.dev and https://estation.jrc.ec.europa.eu/eStation3/.
- Regular training sessions are organised to support users, and a newsletter module is integrated into the eStation to facilitate the analysis and dissemination of information.
- Development phase: NatStats is still under development and can be freely tested, opening up opportunities for feedback to improve the tool.
A. Argyridis and M. Clerici, DG JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission): https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/
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