During the week of 24th– 28th June 2019, ICPAC staff, on request from the Ministry of Land, Water and Environment in Eritrea, conducted a five day training to build the capacity at National level in Eritrea on System Administration and Thematic Application of MESA Stations.
MESA stations are satellite data receiving and processing systems installed in national institutions mandated with environmental monitoring across the Africa continent. The stations were provided between 2011 and 2017 by AMESD and MESA programmes to increase access to Earth Observation (EO) data in the continent. The training was divided into two components; system administration and thematic application. The System Administration component was aimed at building the capacity of Eritrea to monitor and maintain the MESA station to ensure continuous operation. The Thematic Application component was aimed at creating awareness of EO data available for environmental monitoring and to build the capacity of Eritrea in the analysis of these EO data for environmental monitoring to support decision and policy makers for more sustainable environment.
The training received support from high level government participation through a speech by the Minister of Land, Water and Environment, Honorable Mr. Tesfai Sabhatu during the closing session on the 28th June 2019. The media were present during the last session of the training and the closing ceremony, the footage was aired on Eritrea main television channel EriTV during the Friday Evening News segment. The news coverage is available on YouTube. Youtube link
The training provided an opportunity for ICPAC to meet and enhance goodwill among several of Eritrean ministries on a technical level. The team was able to meet with the Minister of Land, Water and Environment, Minister of Agriculture, Director General of Environment, General Manager of Asmara International Airport Authority (Meteorology Office is under him) and they promised to participate in the ICPAC activities e.g. GHACOFs.
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