Building the Gambia Webportal

In many African governments, data scarcity isn’t the problem — data access is. By creating the Gambia Webportal, a data-sharing Google Earth Engine application, multiple existing datasets can be shared and new ones can be easily created. Making valuable information easily accessible for different governmental departments can make their work more efficient and gives them the possibility to respond effectively.

Weather Impact developed a GEE application -which gives access to a wide range of geo-information -for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) of the Gambian. We then transferred the tool to this department and trained the users in their operation and maintenance of the tool.

The web platform combines all environmental and socio-economic data gathered in the project, while also allowing access to satellite data and other datasets available on GEE, such as rainfall products and other climate data. Datasets contain information about 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 such as flooding, 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 data such as areas of sorghum, maize and rice production, and 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 data such as Human settlement. Datasets can also easily be combined, resulting in new analysis to be possible.

Users of the portal stated that making data sharing more open and accessible in The Gambia is one of the biggest challenges noticed there, but also an important step forward.