Original article in its format is published here.
Digital Earth Pacific is being co-developed with Pacific countries across the region, and recently, the team worked with the Government of Tonga and technical teams to develop tools that help the country access data on land cover and land use.
This includes understanding deforestation, mineral resources, and land use and how these impact upon water security, food security, economic activity and the biodiversity of Tonga's rich ecosystems.
Using Digital Earth Pacific allows an understanding of these changes over time and provides access to this data to decision-makers in Tonga.
The week-long workshop on remote sensing Land Cover Assessment Skills (LCAST) was identified as an area of priority in Tonga in the 2021 Needs Assessment Report by Tonga Government focused on earth observation and remote sensing services.
A total of 22 people attended this workshop, of which 70% are women, from line ministries and the Government of Tonga, along with SPC technical teams. The sessions included coding, machine learning and in-the-field mapping and data collection applied by the participants.
The Digital Earth Pacific (DEP) is an operational earth observation system that uses decades of satellite data to show how local environments are changing over time. This includes changes to landcover and land use to better target humanitarian assistance after disasters, mapping of changing coastlines caused by climate change or storm events, and understanding how mangrove growth has changed without having to map this manually.
Digital Earth Pacific provides decision-makers with the information needed to make sound decisions addressing the Pacific's challenges, most notably climate change, food security and disaster.
The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Mr Solomone Fifita, supported this work and said: “SPC is honoured to conduct its first Digital Earth Pacific national workshop in the Kingdom of Tonga and see Tonga and its leadership championing the adoption of earth observation technologies and digital transformation in general across the region”.
Mr Fifita continues: ”This workshop will focus on one of the most critical datasets used for decision-making in the disaster, climate, environment, food security, land-use and urban planning space; and our efforts towards planning, co-creating and taking ownership of an updated national landcover dataset, with its ability to monitor changes in the past and plan for the future, will benefit our nation for years to come”.
SPC’s Director General, Dr Stuart Minchin, praised the work and stressed the importance of this platform for the Pacific.
“We are working on how to leverage this further to use drone technology to increase the value and accuracy while reducing the cost for our members, but I am proud the tools will have an immediate impact on our Pacific Island countries and territories”Dr Stuart Minchin.
How is this useful at a national level?
Colleagues from the Government of Tonga talked about the immediate impact Digital Earth is providing at national levels.
Ms Lesieli Huihahau, Agriculture Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in Tonga, when talking about the workshop: “We gain more data on settlements and crops, and then we can compare previous years to this current year and see how Tonga is changing. From this accurate data collection, the decisions will take will be effective”.
Ms Angahiki Fifita, GIS Officer from the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources in Tonga, said:” This workshop gives me the skills and knowledge to analyse data and make it more efficient for others to see our findings. It also provides us with the opportunity to do more for our country. We need this accurate data for our decision-makers!”
Ms Sela Kioa from the Ministry of Fisheries explained:” This programme will help our teams to see best where marine habitats are most suitable for marine resources and wildlife sustainability. Our Ministry is working on providing opportunities for communities to govern their coastal areas, and this programme [DEP] intertwines with our objectives.”
Ms Susan Tuitavake from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forest in Tonga said:” I’m hoping to get the capacity to share it with my colleagues in Forestry to monitor the land cover better. This will enable us to collect more data, see the changes, and how we can assist. It’s important to us to know what’s happening in our lands, how we can conserve it, and the coverage of endemic species and changing forest coverage for us and future generations”.
The DEP offers a new, accurate way of working. It’s a new, powerful tool that gives ministries an edge in their planning and mapping.
Mr Titie Kaufusi, the GIS coordinator with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, expressed:” I wish, from this day onwards, to introduce the use of this application to my colleagues and plan on conducting the same training. Our decision-making wouldn’t be accurate if we can't have the most up-to-date data, but with this app, we can update the information to the current state of the Kingdom of Tonga.”
Mr Hemaloto Paea Moliteka, a Computer Programmer with the Tonga Statistics Department, said:” After this workshop, I will pass on the knowledge I gained to my department and discuss the importance of including the DEP programme in our next surveys or activities. If we don’t have the correct data or numbers, the decision-makers are not on the right path. It is essential for our government to discuss using the correct numbers as results we provide them”.
Ms Laise Harris from the Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research expressed:” In the Pacific, it’s not always been as simple as downloading a dataset or accessing information, and it takes experience, equipment, and infrastructure. DEP is taking those problems away and creating an easy pathway for people to access the richness of information.”
SPC is thrilled to lead the development of the public digital infrastructure that is Digital Earth Pacific. To achieve the ambitious goals, we invite you to join us. Given our demand-driven approach, partnerships are an essential and major element of DEP. We seek mutually beneficial partnerships to deliver the programme, amplify the benefits, and ensure sustainability.
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