Monitoring Africa’s Forests and Resources: Can EO Reduce Deforestation & Illegal Resource Extraction?
DATE & TIME:
April 21, 2026 3:35 pm - 4:25 pm
LOCATION:
| This session examines how African governments, resource managers, and technology providers are deploying EO data to monitor deforestation, illegal mining, logging, and land-use change in near real-time. Panellists will explore the technical realities, such as what current satellite constellations can and cannot see, how often coverage is available, and what resolution is required to distinguish legal from illegal activity. But more critically, they will address the governance gap, the space between having data and using it enforce laws, revoke licenses, or redirect enforcement resources. The discussion will also confront hard questions about data sovereignty and capacity. Who controls the data being used to monitor African forests and resources, if African institutions are building the in-house expertise to process, interpret, and act on satellite imagery independently, or if they are perpetually dependent on foreign providers and consultants. It will also examine how African companies move beyond data consumption to build commercial analytics and advisory services that support enforcement agencies, conservation organisations, and responsible resource operators. |
speakers
