Cost Benefit Analysis in using the Africa Regional Data Cube (ARDC) to report on SDGs in Ghana
Abstract
Earth Observation (EO) update by public and private sector to inform decisions towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sendai Framework and related impacts from Climate Change have become increasingly relevant. The challenge has often been the consistent update of EO datasets, products and applications because of the data quality, standardisation and ease of access and use for policymakers. Notwithstanding, EO data, products and applications fill a critical knowledge gap in developing countries especially Ghana where data such as land use changes vis-à-vis climate information is often difficult to obtain on large scales or even not existent, a reserve for few individuals and organizations. The Africa Regional Data Cube (ARDC) program offers an opportunity to provide both open source tools and data and products to leverage the opportunity for governments to get informed and further leverage their existing resources to accelerate their growth towards achieving the SDGs and addressing local development agendas. In addition, governments also get information to aid decision makers to better develop mitigation and adaptation strategies towards achieving a self-resilient and transparent economy capable of resisting shocks from environmental hazards such as flooding, sea-level rise and droughts. The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data has been able to institutionalise the ARDC in Ghana through capacity building and data ecosystems with the support of the Ghana Statistical Service and University of Energy and Natural Resources, working closely with the government, academia and civil society organisations. This paper briefly looks at the trade-offs for the use of ARDC, integration of the ARDC with other EO portals and strategies for sustaining such a system, to promote transparent governance and accountability and support reporting on SDGs in Ghana. Further, this will inform the transition of the ARDC into the Digital Earth Africa.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMSY009..07K
- Keywords:
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- 0815 Informal education;
- EDUCATION;
- 9399 General or miscellaneous;
- GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION;
- 1640 Remote sensing;
- GLOBAL CHANGE;
- 6630 Workforce;
- POLICY SCIENCES & PUBLIC ISSUES