Esther Githae is a final-year Geospatial Engineering student at the University of Nairobi, with a passion for applying mapping science to real-world challenges. Growing up in Ongata Rongai, she witnessed first-hand how fast the area transformed from open spaces to dense urban development. That experience, coupled with her love for geography and math, inspired her to study urban expansion using Earth Observation tools. Using Digital Earth Africa’s Sandbox, she tracked the growth of built-up areas in Kajiado North from 2014 to 2024, turning personal curiosity into mapped evidence.
In a pioneering move to strengthen national water security, Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) has begun harnessing the capabilities of Digital Earth Africa to monitor and manage its coastal zones. This initiative, led by His Excellency Professor Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, forms a central component of Egypt’s 2050 Water Resources Strategy, specifically under the Irrigation System 2.0 plan.
When faced with technical constraints in data processing, Joel Rhine, a former World Bank consultant, created an innovative solution that has been able to optimise flood risk analysis on a national scale. Joel's application, which he has named the DE Africa Mosaic Builder, overcomes the space limitations of Digital Earth Africa’s (DEA) sandbox environment.
Over the last few decades, coastlines in Kenya, Tanzania and Senegal have undergone significant shifts, shaped by climate pressures and human development. Important heritage sites that include Swahili mosques, late stone age sites, ancient coastal trading settlements, and colonial-era buildings that once stood firm on solid ground are now threatened by erosion, rising seas, or burial under layers of silt. Some have already disappeared. For the communities living in these coastal areas, changing coastal conditions present clear risks to livelihoods and settlements.
Using Digital Earth Africa to Support Climate Resilience and Community-Led Conservation
Chris Mesiku, a research fellow at the ANU School of Cybernetics and a visiting scientist at CSIRO’s Environment – Collaborative and Adaptive Futures Team in Canberra, Australia initially had some reservations about Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa), questioning whether it was truly an African-driven solution tailored to the continent’s unique challenges.
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), supported by Digital Earth Africa, have completed a groundbreaking field mission to monitor and mitigate coastal erosion in Comoros. This initiative is a crucial step toward safeguarding Comoros' fragile coastline while addressing environmental challenges impacting local communities and industries.
In the course of our work at Digital Earth Africa we are always delighted when unexpected, positive outcomes present themselves to us. For Senior Science Advisor and PDDT lead, Dr Meghan Halabisky, such a serendipitous episode occurred when she found that our datasets extended into a tiny corner of Southern Spain, and presented new opportunities.
Priscah Lakane is an environmental scientist currently pursuing her PhD (2nd year) in estuarine water quality research at Nelson Mandela University. Her work focuses on the impacts of anthropogenic activities on water quality and the ecological health of coastal environments. She is dedicated to understanding these challenges and exploring effective management strategies to mitigate adverse effects. Priscah actively monitors estuarine environments to assess changes over time and inform management interventions.
Niger, located in the Sahel region, is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, droughts and sandstorms. These events are exacerbated by climate change, which increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events .