Mak students launch climate change project

There is growing concern over global climate change. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • The results will be shared with government to address natural disasters. 

The Regional Centre for Mapping Resources for Development (RCMRD) has launched a four-month climate change project where Makerere University students will be compiling the latest satellite data for government.

The maiden Remote Sensing Earth Observation (RSEO) project brings together students undertaking Geomatics and Land Survey courses at the College of Engineering Design Art and Technology to collect satellite information by mapping out areas always hit by flooding and food insecurity.

The results will be shared with government to address natural disasters. 
“This project is going to catapult your training into a career. You are going to learn advocacy, create jobs, get work experience, how to run a full blown project, how to manage people and you can even add this in your curriculum vitae,” Mr James Nyaga Wanjohi, a remote sensing technician at RCMRD, told students during the launch of the project in Kampala last Friday .

Dr Ronald Ssengendoa, a lecturer at the Department of Geomatics, Land Surveys and Management, said the project equips students with the latest skills of using satellite information, also known as Earth Observation or Geo-mapping, to collect data on how roads are planned, how garbage is generated and dumped, and identifying areas affected by natural disasters.

The information is used by urban authorities for planning.
“A lot of work has been done in the divisions of Kampala and much work is still in progress,” he said.

Asked where else this technology is working, he said USAID has engaged a group of former students named Youth Mappers to zone Lira City in terms of where to dump rubbish and build roads.

Mr Kenneth Kasera, the user engagement lead at RCMRC, said: “We are building a holistic person so that they are fit for the industry. At the end of the project, we expect them to derive information on urban flooding and food insecurity in the country.”

About the centre

The Regional Centre for Mapping Resources for Development is an inter-governmental organisation founded in 1975 to generate, apply and disseminate geo-information and allied technologies for sustainable development.