TIGER Workshop 2013
2014-01
Ten years after the launch of the Initiative, TIGER partners met in Tunis on 21 - 22 October 2013 to review its status, its latest findings and to plan for the years to come. With more than 100 participants coming from 21 different African nations, representing 16 national ministries, 5 river basin authorities as well as 16 international stakeholders and development agencies, the event reflected the wide partnership and involvement of the African community, on which the TIGER initiative builds its strength and success.
The event was organized with the professional support of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory, OSS as local host.
The workshop was followed by a 3-day training session on Application of EO for Water management, for which UNESCO assisted in identifying participants from African river basin organizations.
On the first day, presentations were given by the representatives of ESA, river basin organizations, international EO community and donors. On the second day, the researchers or their delegates presented the major findings of their projects. The workshop was finalized by a roundtable discussion where the views of the different partners involved in the TIGER initiative were discussed. This allowed to analyse major drivers important for the impact of Earth Observation technologies within IWRM, ensuring at the same time the sustainability of the African community and expertise built around the TIGER initiative. Panellists of the round table discussion clearly stated that in order to achieve long-term impact, additionally to capacity building, service-oriented activities as well as strengthened collaboration between partners should take place. Furthermore, mobilisation of resources should take place at country level involving national and regional water authorities in close partnership with UNESCO and development agencies such as the World Bank. The training activities addressing policy makers should be enforced, since the awareness by national and inter-governmental bodies should be enhanced regarding EO capabilities in water management. In those trainings, the emphasis should be on best practices and 'showcases'. The summary of the roundtable can be found by following this link.
Continued political support for the TIGER initiative by the African Ministers. Council On Water (AMCOW) will facilitate the increased uptake of EO technology for water resource management within its African member states.
Outcomes of the formal and informal discussions in these 2 days will be used to formulate programme ideas for the years to come.
The complete programme and the presentations of the workshop are accessible on the ESA Tiger web site.
A web story highlighting the outcome of the event is available at the address.
