Nabilah S
Mapping technology advancement is a valuable tool for any firm in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS).
Drone mapping is one form of GIS data collection technology. It collects high-quality real-time ground data for spatial analysis to help us maintain, conserve, and safeguard our beautiful, fragile ecosystem.
Through the Environmental Monitoring and Governance (EMG) program, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) held a two-day Drone Training and Mapping workshop with key national environment stakeholders from the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure (MWTI) and InfrastructureSamoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE)
In his opening remarks, Director EMG Mr Jope Davetanivalu said, “The training was the result of talanoa sessions and discussions on the need for capacity building on GIS technology skills for data management, which led to today’s gathering for drone training and mapping as part of outreach initiatives inside MNRE and across sectors.
The SPREP EMG and MNRE worked together to plan the two-day workshop. It took place on November 17 and 18 at the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC). The mapping workshop and drone training were also part of the 2022 Global GIS Week event at SPREP, which was put on by the GIS unit and had the theme “Inspiring Spatial Citizens.”
SkyEye Pacific set up the drone training because they are the only company in Samoa with a remote pilot licensed (RPL) officer who can fly a drone. There were both theoretical and practical parts to the drone training.
The goals of the training were to teach people the basics about drones, the rules for flying them, how to do a risk assessment, how to put together a drone in real life, how to plan a flight, how to fly them manually, and how to use the Drone Software for exporting and processing images.
Participants in the workshop participated in the theory component on day one and the drone flight practical on day two. A certificate was provided at the end of the course for completing both sessions.
Drone imagery’s ability to get real-time ground data for GIS analysis has been used as a monitoring and decision-making tool in different fields, such as disaster management, forest resources management, landslide risk assessment, mining, flood control, and hazardous waste considerations.
Assessing the risk of landslides, mining, controlling flooding, thinking about hazardous waste, doing an Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), and managing natural resources are all ways to ensure sustainable development. With a drone, you can do topographic surveys that are just as accurate as those done with traditional methods but in much less time.
At the end of the workshop, DEMG, Mr Jope Davetanivalu, thanked the stakeholders for participating in the training. SPREP looks forward to continuing to work with our national counterparts to master the technology and use it to further our shared goals of making decisions based on accurate information.
SPREP received financing for the workshop from the EU/UNEP ACP/MEA 3 and GEF/UNEP Inform Projects.
Please get in touch with Vani Koroisamanunu at [email protected] or Kasaqa Tora at [email protected] for more information on GIS Training.
Please get in touch with MsAnastacia Stowers ([email protected]) for more information on the ACP/MEA 3 project and the Inform Team ([email protected]) for more details about the Inform project.
