BRAGMA Project 8th and Final Newsletter with an overview of the GMES (Copernicus) and Africa process and context.

1. BRAGMA
Bridging Actions
for GMES & Africa
NEWSLETTER 8 | DECEMBER 2013
The BRAGMA project, coordinated by IICT is a Coordination and Support Action to GMES and
Africa, supported by the European Commission. Copernicus, formerly GMES (Global Monitoring
for Environment and Security) is the European Programme for the establishment of a European
capacity for Earth Observation: http://www.copernicus.eu
This final BRAGMA newsletter focuses on presenting the context in which the project developed its activities during the two years of its duration
(2012-2013), revising BRAGMA’s main achievements, in connection with those of the GMES & Africa process and its future.
Origins of GMES and Africa
The BRAGMA Project was launched in January 2012 with the
object of supporting the GMES & Africa process.
The GMES & Africa process emerged in 2007 in response to
the request from African Stakeholders to extend GMES to Africa
GMES & Africa, GAAP and BRAGMA Timeline
2nd Africa-EU Summit
Lisbon
December 2007
8th Partnership of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy
Lisbon Declaration
PROMOTE
AWARENESS
Lisbon
December 2007
Accra
October 2008
Ispra
March 2009
May
2010
Addis
August 2010
Coordination Team establishment
Terms of Reference for GAAP draft
Start of GAAP baseline Study
GAAP Frameworks and
Thematic Areas validation
Hammamet High Level Document
Brussels
November 2010
Submission of BRAGMA proposal
Lybia
November 2010
3rd Africa-EU Summit
Brussels
July 2011
Lisbon
January 2012
2012/2013
Brussels
April 2014
At the Africa-EU Summit in 2007 a consensus was reached
on the need to define a common programmatic view for Earth
Observation (EO) activities in Africa, calling upon the extension
of Copernicus (formerly GMES) to Africa. The Lisbon Declaration
on “GMES and Africa” and the Lisbon Process proposed the
guidelines to launch the partnership and described the actions
to be undertaken to produce the “GMES & Africa Action Plan”
(GAAP).
COPERNICUS/GMES
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES),
now called Copernicus, is the European Earth Observation
Programme which aims to provide reliable and up-to-date
information on how our planet and its climate are changing.
GAAP Baseline study e-consultation
Hammamet
November 2010
(Maputo Declaration, 2006) and as an important constituent of
the Space component of the 8th Africa-EU Partnership, “Science,
Information Society and Space”. The Joint Africa-EU Strategy
(JAES) aims to build long-term cooperation on the jointly identified,
mutual and complementary interests of Africa and Europe.
As an essential part of the Space component of the 8th JAES
Partnership on Science, Information Society, and Space, GMES
& Africa contributes to the fulfilment of the objectives of the JAES
Action Plan.
Figure 1 summarises the main steps taken since the launch of the
process in December 2007 until the next Africa-EU Summit in
April 2014.
Implementation of Space Troika
BRAGMA project is launched
Development and endorsment of 3 thematic
areas chapters of the GAAP (Marine and
Coastal Areas, Water Resources and Long Term
management of Natural Resources) and plenary
discussion on Infrastructure and Governance
4th Africa-EU Summit
Figure 1
A baseline study for the GMES & Africa Action Plan was drafted
in 2009, following the composition of a Coordination Team
in 2008 that established the terms of reference for this Action
Plan. In 2010 the themes and cross-cutting issues of the Action
Plan (Figure 2) were validated, and the guidelines and roadmap
to finalise the Action Plan were drafted and endorsed at the
Hammamet side event to the 3rd EU-Africa Summit.

2. NEWSLETTER 8 | DECEMBER 2013
Figure 2
|
Marine and
Coastal Areas
THEMATIC
AREAS
Conflicts and
Political Crises
Water Resources
Management
l
ia
Natural
Disasters
Impacts of Climate
Variability Change
pac
ity Building
|
Food Security and
Rural Development
Ca
|
Monito
Health
Management Issues
|
Fi
na
nc
Amongst its objectives the BRAGMA Project aimed to
support the development of the GAAP by organising
workshops in Africa to endorse each of the three thematic
chapters identified as early deliverables (Fig. 2).
Long-Term
Management of
Natural Resources
Infras
truc
ture
The BRAGMA Project was launched in January 2012,
following the adoption of the new roadmap for the
development and validation of the GMES & Africa
Action Plan.
Infrastructure
and Territorial
Development
|
ri n g a n d E
valu
atio
n
|
ce
nan
ver
BRAGMA
TTING ISS
SS C U
UE S
Go
In 2011, the Space Troika proposed a modular
approach to pave the way to validating the overall
GMES & Africa Action Plan. Three thematic areas
were identified as ‘early deliverables’, and were to be
addressed through pan-Africa workshops, where the
thematic chapters would be discussed and endorsed by
experts in the thematic field, as well as EO specialists.
The three thematic areas chosen as early deliverables
are highlighted in Figure 2.
O
CR
BRAGMA Main Objectives
Figure 3
1. Support the development and
endorsement of the GMES & Africa
Action Plan (GAAP)
Endorse priority chapters of the GAAP through a
pan-African consultation process
Invest on the connection with governance:
> Space Troika
> Joint Expert Group of the 8th Partnership (JEG8)
> GMES & Africa Coordination Team
• Organise key meetings and facilitate the participation
of key stakeholders
•
2. Support the Coordination of the
GMES & Africa Process
Build synergies between GMES & Africa related
projects
• Identify possible contributions of GMES services to
GMES & Africa
•
3. Support a coherent joint strategy
between Europe and Africa
This objective was steadily achieved with the organising of 3 PanAfrican Thematic Workshops: Marine and Coastal Areas Workshop
in Mombasa, Kenya, October 2012; Water Resources Management
Workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, May 2013; Long-Term Management
of Natural Resources in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, June 2013.
These workshops were a combined effort involving the EC and AUC,
with the support of BRAGMA. These Workshops were carried out in
the framework of the JAES Support Mechanism, and co-financed by
the European Commission under the 10th European Development
Fund (EDF) to contribute to the 2010-2013 JAES Action Plan.
BRAGMA’s two other main objectives are linked to supporting
the coordination of the GMES & Africa process, in which several
entities and organisations are involved (Figure 4), and supporting
a coherent overall strategy between Europe and Africa. This
last objective gave rise to different deliverables of the BRAGMA
project for building synergies with related projects, such as a
newsletter dedicated to this theme, a deliverable on synergies with
other projects, and a survey to international cooperation project
coordinators. The projects DevCoCast, EAMNet, GARNET-E,
MALAREO, MESA-AMESD, Recover, REDDAF, REDD-FLAME,
SAGA-EO, TIGER and WATPLAN participated in this survey and
BRAGMA consortium is thankful for their valuable collaboration.

3. NEWSLETTER 8 | DECEMBER 2013
The following diagram illustrates the GMES & Africa mechanism,
where the BRAGMA Project has had an important role over 20122013, albeit a transient one.
The Coordination Team was established in 2008 and the Space
Troika in 2011. The Consultation Team of experts were involved in
the thematic workshops that took place throughout the BRAGMA
project, being the major contributors to the content of the chapter, as
well as leading the consultation process through the establishment
of working groups at the workshops, and compiling the outputs of
these. Funding mechanisms available to the GMES & Africa process
include European Development Funds (EDF), Horizon 2020, the
JAES Support Mechanism, the European Space Agency, as well as
African funding programmes.
Space Component
of the 8th Partnership
of the JAES
Figure 4
Space Troika
DG ENTR /DG DEVCO /AUC-HRST & Stakeholders
GMES & Africa Coordination Team
African and EU Member States
AUC (HRST, REA, PS, IE), UNECA, AMCOST, AMCOW, AMCEN
EC (ENTR, DEVCO, JRC, EEAS), ESA, EUMETSAT
BRAGMA Project
5 African and 5 European Member States
Consultation Team
Experts on Thematic Areas & Cross Cutting Issues
Funding Mechanisms
EDF, Horizon 2020, JAES SM, JRC, ESA, African Programmes...
Outputs of the BRAGMA Project (2012-2013)
Figure 5
3Thematic Workshops and 1 Consolidation-Validation Workshop
Support to the GAAP
Provided Support to the Coordination of GMES & Africa
Organising and participating in Key Meetings
• 3 Coordination Team Meetings
• 2 Space Troikas, 3 JEG8, 3 EU-AUC Task Force Meetings
Supported a Coherent Joint Strategy Between EU and Africa
•
•
•
•
•
Identification of Focal Points
Recommendations on relevant synergies of initiatives /projects
Recommendations on how GMES could fulfill “GMES and Africa”
Contributions and Long-Term strategy of Cross Cutting Issues Working Groups and Thematic Working Groups
Analysis of successful projects and benchmarking
Promoted Awarness
Bragma Portal www.bragma.eu
• E-Platform http://bragma.mixxt.eu
• Capacity4dev http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu/africa-eu-part.gmes
• Organised 2 GMES & AFRICA Roundtables at AARSE Conference and AFRICAGIS
• 8 Newsletters http://www.bragma.eu/home/default.asp?page=newsletters
• Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6B6GvXlQek&feature=youtu.be
• Publication http://www.research-europe.com/magazine/ENVIRONMENT/ENV17/index.html
•
The GMES & Africa workshops were the basis to derive the information which was essential to fulfilling the main objectives of the project and
producing the foreseen deliverables.
Four GMES & Africa workshops took place in total. These included the three thematic workshops on the themes identified as early deliverables,
as well as a fourth Consolidation-Validation workshop, where the final validation of the three thematic chapters took place and where the cross
cutting issues Governance and Infrastructure were discussed in a plenary for the first time.

4. NEWSLETTER 8 | DECEMBER 2013
BRAGMA Deliverables
The BRAGMA Project is composed of four Work Packages (WP), with WP1 composing the Project Management work package. While
WP 2 focused on organising the main GMES & Africa events, which took place between 2012 and 2013, WP 3 (Joint Cooperation
Platform) and WP 4 (Support to the Development of the Action Plan) contributed with analyses on GMES & Africa networks, synergies
between projects, and the issue of implementation. Most of the results obtained in the deliverables of these two Work Packages were
directly derived from the experience and outcomes obtained at the workshops.
Work Package 3
Work Package 4
Deliverable 3.1: List of Focal Points
Deliverable 3.2: Report on synergies and linkages of GMES &
Africa and similar initiatives along the BRAGMA thematic areas
Deliverable 3.3: Reports on how GMES fulfils GMES & Africa
Deliverable 3.4: Contributions and Long-Term Strategy of Crosscutting issues working groups (CCIWG) and Thematic Working
Groups (TWG) to the Initiative
Deliverable 4.1: Contributions to GAAP priorities and
their implementation and dissemination
Deliverable 4.2: Database End-User Forum
Resources for 2014 and beyond
BRAGMA web site:
www.bragma.eu
News + Events
8th Africa – EU Strategic Partnership overview with Space Priority and 2nd Action Plan
Library
BRAGMA project and partners description
Project E-platform: http://bragma.mixxt.eu/
Design by Tiago Ribeiro - Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical
Information for the Workshops and Thematic Documention
Thematic groups and generic information
Discusion forums
Expert Member’s list and messaging / networking functions
Files repository (extended library with BRAGMA public DLs and background information)
Overview of Copernicus/GMES Projects, particularly FP7cooperation projects related
with Africa
Capacity4dev web site:
http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu/africa-eu-part.gmes/
Central Workshop repository documentation
Hosting of the 4 Workshop web minisites
Blog and members list
List of focal points – GMES & Africa Experts
GIS tool with mapping and contacts of experts
Current database lists experts in Marine & Coastal environment, Water
and Natural Resources, and Validation experts

5. NEWSLETTER 8 | DECEMBER 2013
Marine and Coastal Area: GMES and Africa Priority Products
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Operational coastal sea level, coastal circulation and coastal sea state
Operational biological productivity (data, analysis, imagery and mapping)
Coastal sensitivity and vulnerability Atlases and state of environment reporting
Ship traffic situation and maps
Regional weather forecast systems
Real-time Disaster Warning Systems
Mapping of coastal Land use and nearshore coastal and marine habitats
Mapping marine and coastal ecosystem services
Water Resources Management: GMES and Africa Priority Products
First priority is the continental scale level:
• Provision of a core set of continental scale EO-derived products covering different components of
the water cycle at low spatial (approx. 1 km) but higher temporal resolution (once per day) e.g.:
• Precipitation, potential and actual Evaporation, Soil moisture, Rivers
and (ephemeral) stole water levels
• Basic meteorological products and short-medium range outlooks;
• Water quality monitoring in large lakes:
• Temperature, suspended sediments, chlorophyll;
• Integration of some products to:
• Derive regional scale water balances;
• Facilitate regional scale hydrological modelling.
Management of Natural Resources: GMES and Africa Priority Products
•
Land Cover & LCC maps for Africa (Standardised format/different scales)
DSS for long-term NRM strategies in Africa (Integrated approach (satellite, in-situ); GIS-based system for
biodiversity monitoring management and environmental law enforcement (habitats maps, LC/LCC maps,
environmental gradients, disturbance assessment, resource zonation etc.)
•
Consolidation – Validation Workshop
The consolidation-validation Workshop closed this cycle of 3 thematic workshops to provide the final
outputs related with the 8th Partnership of the JAES Action Plan (2012-2013). This workshops endorsed
the priority actions, discussed during the thematic worksops and provided the opportunity to elaborate for
a first time in a plenerary on two main cross cutting issues essential for the future implementation of the
GMES & Africa: Insfrastructure and Governance. At the end of the workshop a “Call for the Implementation of GMES and Africa” was discussed and adopted by all present (see below). This document outlines
the basis for future actions for the GMES & Africa process as well for Earth Observation in Africa and will
be submitted at the EU-Africa Summit in 2014, in order to encourage and strengthen cooperation in the
framework of the GMES & Africa Initiative.

6. The outputs of the first three GMES & Africa thematic workshops influenced the Call for Implementation, as well as BRAGMA deliverables. The Call for Implementation is shown below.
CALL FOR IMPLEMENTATIONof GMES and Africa
Johannesburg, 24th - 25th October 2013
Delegates from the African Member States, the African Union Commission, the European Commission and specialised organisations
present at the GMES and Africa Consolidation-Validation Workshop, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 24th to 25th October
hereby:
. Recognise the strategic role that Earth Observation (EO) can play in supporting national, regional and continental policies for
sustainable socio-economic development, and its importance in providing services and products that will help attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa and other socio-economic objectives.
. Reiterate Africa’s Commitment to the GMES & Africa initiative as a framework to take into account African EO initiatives and activities, and recognise the added value of EO for the sustainable development of the continent.
. Acknowledge the strategic importance of the “Maputo Declaration” (2006), the “Lisbon Declaration” (2007) and the “Hammamet High Level Strategic Document” (2010), all calling for increased cooperation between Europe and Africa and in particular
the development of the “GMES and Africa” initiative, which is a fundamental element of the JAES.
. Adopt the three thematic chapters (marine, water and natural resources) endorsed by the thematic and validation workshops,
as they succeed in capturing the priority actions in each of these areas for Africa, and call upon the AUC to take the necessary action for implementation of the initiatives.
. Underline the need for GMES & Africa to build on existing infrastructure and to concentrate on facilitating access to existing
and future European, African and Global EO data.
. Request the AUC to put in place an institutional arrangement, involving RECs for the present coordination of GMES & Africa initiative
and EO projects, while developing the final AU governance of the African Space Policy and Strategy to be adopted by AMCOST.
. Call upon Member States and RECs to participate in the GMES & Africa Process and to nominate their Focal Points.
. Further Call upon the African Union Commission and European Commission to seek the necessary financial, technical resources and partnerships for the implementation of the priority actions identified and capacity development.
. Note the importance to finalize, validate and set in place implementation mechanisms for the overall GMES and Africa
Action Plan through an adequate participatory, multi-stakeholder consultation process.
. Call upon the next EU-Africa Summit in 2014, to highlight the long term cooperation on Earth Observation between Europe
and Africa, and to encourage and strengthen this cooperation in the framework of the GMES & Africa initiative which forms part
of Africa’s contribution to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO).
Relevant Events - 2014
4th EU-Africa Summit , 2-3 April, Belgium
11th EUMETSAT Forum, 8-12 September, Tunisia
AARSE 2014, 27-31 October, South Africa
Links:
http://www.bragma.eu
http://bragma.mixxt.eu/
http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu/africa-eu-part.gmes/