Accurate data collection is one of the most crucial elements of research and the North-West University (NWU) has always prided itself on the excellent quality of its research.
Fittingly, the NWU was chosen to host this year’s Collect Earth workshop, presented by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the European Union (EU) and the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).
Nineteen local and international participants attended the workshop from 21 to 24 May 2019. Participants included two EU delegates from Italy and Mozambique respectively, three representatives from the Lesotho government, directors and managers from the DEA, and PhD students and supervisors from the NWU’s campuses in Mahikeng and Potchefstroom.
Prof Klaus Kellner, NWU land degradation and desertification expert, facilitated the workshop at the university’s campus in Potchefstroom. He says the NWU’s academic programmes and facilities are highly regarded.
“They chose us for this reason and it is clear that they regard our expertise in field management and land use, which includes data collection, processing and interpretation, as highly reputable.”
Hands-on exercises empower participants
It is important for researchers to fully understand land use because global climate change is driving changes in land cover, use and management.
The purpose of the workshop was to teach the participants to use Collect Earth, a software tool that enables data collection through Google Earth and the augmented visual interpretation approach.
Participants looked at images taken of sites in South Africa, Mozambique and Lesotho at a specific time and collected data related to land use, land cover and any disturbances of the land. They then classified these sites according to the system proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Prof Klaus says the participants got to grips with Collect Earth by doing detailed hands-on exercises in the different software components. These entail survey design, data management and grid generation, among others.
The next FAO Collect Earth workshop, for experts from all Southern African Development Community countries, is scheduled to take place in Botswana later this year. However, it is possible that the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom might again be the workshop host, as this is what the organisers are proposing.
Delegates attended the four-day FAO Collect Earth Workshop at the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom.
