By:
Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) has convened
the Regional Geospatial Forum for Inclusive Biodiversity Action, bringing
together stakeholders from across Eastern and Southern Africa to strengthen
participation in environmental decision-making through geospatial technology.
The
forum, hosted through the Regional Centre of Excellence (RCoE), has attracted
representatives from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Women Caucus,
as well as youth groups and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)
from 24 countries across the region.
According
to RCMRD, the initiative is aimed at addressing long-standing gaps in
representation by equipping marginalized groups with geospatial tools and
enabling them to contribute directly to biodiversity monitoring, environmental
protection, and natural resource governance.
The
institution noted that women, youth, and indigenous communities play a critical
role on the frontlines of protecting forests, wetlands, and ecosystems that
support millions of livelihoods, yet their perspectives have often been
excluded from formal decision-making processes.
Through
the forum, participants are being trained and engaged in the application of
geospatial data systems to document environmental changes and strengthen
evidence-based advocacy for sustainable ecosystem management.
RCMRD
emphasized that the initiative forms part of broader regional efforts to
integrate inclusive approaches into biodiversity action, while enhancing the
use of spatial data technologies in addressing environmental challenges across
Africa.
