GMES & Africa Phase 2 Continental Forum: Assessing Impact and Charting the Future of Earth Observation in Africa
The Second GMES & Africa Phase 2 Continental Forum, taking place in Cairo, Egypt, commenced on Monday, December 1, 2025, with a focus on reviewing progress and charting the future of the African Earth Observation (EO) landscape. This high-level event continues to host African and international stakeholders to review the progress of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) & Africa Programme and to define the strategic direction for EO and space initiatives across the continent.
Forum Structure and Objectives
The three-day event will convene representatives from the African Union Commission, European Commission, African Space Agency, regional consortia, and earth observation networks. In addition, the agenda balances retrospective assessment with planning, dedicating the first two days to presentations on achievements and challenges from the eight implementing consortia, followed by panel discussions on developing Africa’s earth observation roadmap and exploring partnerships. The final day focuses on working group deliberations addressing governance, thematic priorities, and sustainability mechanisms.
Forum Agenda Highlights
Day 1: Review of Phase 2 Achievements and Networks
Day 1 of the Forum focused on reviewing the performance of the GMES & Africa Phase 2 programme, with attention to operational results, institutional constraints, and long-term sustainability considerations.
- Opening Session: Proceedings began with a presentation of the GMES & Africa video dashboard, followed by opening statements from the GMES & Africa Coordinator, a representative of the European Commission, the leadership of the African Space Agency (AfSA), and Egypt’s Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research and of Foreign Affairs.
- Programme Review: The main segment of the day featured technical presentations by the implementing consortia outlining key achievements, persistent challenges, and sustainability prospects. Additional presentations were delivered by CSIR, UG, OSS, ICPAC, and CSE, after which a panel discussion brought the presenters together to examine cross-cutting issues.
- The day concluded with presentations and a Q&A session on the programme’s associated networks, including Women in GMES & Africa, GMES and Africa Incubation and Acceleration (GAIA) initiative, and African Women in Evaluation Network (AfWEN), highlighting their roles within the broader programme structure.
Day 2: Focus on Africa’s EO Roadmap
Today, Day 2, shifts the focus from reviewing current performance to a forward-looking discussion on the development of Africa’s EO Roadmap and strategy. Furthermore, the day will have several presentations from stakeholders and a panel discussion on achievements, challenges, and sustainability by the consortia: International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS), Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) and Southern Africa Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL).
The second day’s programme centres on Session 3: Development of the Africa Earth Observation (EO) Roadmap, a pivotal segment of the event. The session will feature a keynote address by H.E. Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the African Space Council, who will provide a comprehensive assessment of the continent’s EO landscape. In addition, the keynote will outline the current state of EO capabilities in Africa, examine the sector’s economic and strategic value, present forward-looking projections, and discuss the structural and operational challenges that continue to shape EO development across the continent.
The morning programme proceeds with Panel Discussion 1, which examines EO Development Strategies and Resource Mobilisation. The panel brings together representatives from the European Commission (EC), African Space Agency (AfSA), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to explore policy approaches, financing models, and institutional roles required to advance EO capabilities across the continent.
In addition, the afternoon segment continues Session 3, focusing on Partnerships, Synergies, and Complementarities. This session features technical and institutional presentations from key partners, including EO R&D, ArcX (Mercator, TAT), the Intra‑ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme (ClimSA), the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), and the Africa‑EU Space Partnership Programme (AESPP).
The day concludes with Panel Discussion 2, which brings together these contributors to examine practical mechanisms for strengthening coordination, aligning programme objectives, and ensuring complementary operations across the broader African space and EO ecosystem. The insights generated throughout the day are expected to shape the emerging structure, governance considerations, and priority areas of the continental EO programme, topics that will form the core of tomorrow’s discussions.
What to Expect on Day 3: The Future of GMES & Africa
The final day of the Forum will be dedicated to Session 4: The Future of GMES & Africa. The session will kick off with an introductory presentation exploring the question, “What should the next Earth Observation programme for the continent look like?”, followed by focused group working sessions. These working groups will examine key structural components, including Governance, Policy, Strategy, Thematic Priorities, Capacity Building, Partnerships, and Sustainability. The outcomes of these discussions will feed into a comprehensive Synthesis, which will precede the Closing Ceremony, marking the conclusion of the Forum.
What is the GMES & Africa Programme?
Launched in December 2007 during the second EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon, the GMES & Africa Support Programme represents a joint initiative between the European Union and the African Union. The programme operates across 47 African countries, delivering EO data and services through regional centres and institutional consortia.
Phase 1 received EUR 30 million in funding and ran from December 2016 to December 2021, engaging 12 consortia and 122 institutions. Phase 2, which commenced in January 2022 with EUR 24.65 million from the European Commission, reduced the number of consortia to eight while maintaining comprehensive continental coverage.
The eight Phase 2 consortia include:
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa
- University of Ghana (UG)
- Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS), Tunisie
- IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), Kenya
- Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE), Sénégal
- International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS)
- Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), Kenya
- Southern Africa Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), Namibia
Operational Framework and Technical Infrastructure
The programme addresses two primary thematic areas: water and natural resources management, covering agriculture, food security, land use, wetlands monitoring, and forest resources; and marine and coastal areas, covering coastal monitoring, ship traffic and pollution tracking, fisheries, and oceanographic monitoring.
Technical delivery relies on a network of eStations: ground facilities equipped with software maintained by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre since 2009. These stations process earth observation data from satellites, including SPOT/PROBAV, SEVIRI/MSG, TERRA-AQUA/MODIS, and Copernicus Sentinel 2 and 3. The infrastructure enables acquisition, processing, visualisation, and analysis of environmental parameters derived from remote sensing data.
Capacity Development Record
The programme conducted approximately 100 training courses during Phase 1, reaching 4,932 participants across users, trainers, and administrators. These trainings were delivered by 30 institutions operating across the continent. The programme also established a digital training platform with 103 courses divided into four categories: data and infrastructure, service design and delivery, earth observation services communication, and management.
Strategic Significance for Africa’s Earth Observation Community
The GMES & Africa programme addresses a fundamental requirement for Africa’s EO ecosystem: coordinated access to satellite data and analytical capacity for environmental monitoring and resource management. The continent faces climate-related challenges, including droughts, floods, and ecosystem degradation, that require systematic observation and data-driven responses.
Furthermore, the programme’s value extends beyond immediate service delivery. By establishing a regional consortia structure, GMES & Africa created institutional frameworks for sustained earth observation capacity in each African region. These consortia have signed memoranda of understanding to coordinate activities, share knowledge, and develop joint products, establishing networks that can outlast individual funding cycles.
For national and regional institutions, participation in GMES & Africa provides access to Copernicus programme data and services adapted for African contexts. This connection to European earth observation infrastructure reduces the capital-intensive barriers that often limit African institutions’ ability to deploy satellite-based monitoring systems independently.