Today’s guest is Tulu Besha Bedada (Ph.D.), a Director-General of the Ethiopian Geospatial Information Institute. In 2013- 2018, Dr. Tulu worked at a rank of an Assistant Professor of Geodesy and led the development of Geodesy and Remote Sensing programs, serving as a Head of Earth Observation Division as well as Director of Geodesy and Geodynamics Research and Development Directorate at Entoto Observatory and Research Center under the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute.
Dr. Tulu received B.Sc. in Applied Physics (2003) and M.Sc. in Geophysics (2008) from Addis Ababa University, and his major contribution includes the quantification of internal re-circulation of water mass flux for the Nile Basin using remotely sensed Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) time-varying gravity data. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in November 2010 from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. His Ph.D. research involves the task of combining gravity data from satellite missions and airborne gravity surveys with Global Navigation Satellite System technology to determine an absolute geopotential height system for Ethiopia.
From 2011 to 2020, he was offering Geodesy, Remote Sensing and Geomatics courses at different institutions: Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute, Adama Science and Technology University and Bahir Dar University. To date, he has successfully supervised more than 40 masters and 4 Ph.D. students. Also, he has advised many consultancy companies and involved in development-oriented geospatial researches. And he has published more than 15 peer-reviewed articles.
Furthermore, Dr. Tulu is a member of:
• The Ethiopian Space Science Society;
• The Ethiopian Space Society’s Education and Research Committee
• The Governing Board of the Ethiopian Space Science Society,
• Board of Trustee of the Water and Land Resource Center;
• Advisory board member of the Responsible and Innovative Land Administration (REILA) project;
• Governing board member of the Land bank and Development Corporation;
• Founding Member of the Houston Section of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Ethiopian Space Science Society Sister Sections;
• Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management;
• Governing Council of the Regional Center for Mapping of Natural
• Governing Council of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and
• Advisory Board Member of the YouthMappers-Ethiopian Chapter
Currently, Dr. Tulu is working on the implementation of the integrated geospatial information framework that aims to realize effective data sharing among muti-stakeholders. The impact of this initiative is to enhance the power of geospatial data and information to meet national development goals and respond to disasters that may arise including COVID-19. He also interested in the implementation of street addressing platform that will provide logistic services in support of homegrown digital economic transformation agenda.
The Ethiopian Herald has made a short stay with him. Excerpts:
Herald: For how many years, have you been leading the Geospatial Information Institute?
Dr. Tulu: I have been leading it since October 2018.
Herald: Would you brief us on the mission of the institute? Date of its establishment? How does it serve the national needs for information?
Dr. Tulu: The institute was initially established in 1954 G.C/1946 E.C. By then it was named the Institute of Photogrammetry and Geography and it was established to provide fundamental geospatial datasets and information needed to meet socio-economic demands of the country as well as for environmental management. In the early 1950’s the institute has conducted several mega projects in cooperation with the United States Department of Commerce and Geodetic Survey. Major achievements in the 1950’s and 1960’s include the realization of the first local geodetic positioning infrastructure that provides a 3-dimensional geographic coordinates (easting, northing, and up or height above mean sea level) that are very essential to locate where things or resources are or answers the question where am I on the earth’s surface.
This positioning system serves as a base for the production of any geospatial information. The second major achievement was the successful acquisition of aerial photos across many development corridors with a tie to the geodetic positioning system and successive production of orthorectified images and small scale topographic maps Most aerial surveying until the late 1980’s is focused on major river basins such as the Awash River basin and the Blue Nile river basin. Since the 1980’s the institute has made major technological shifts in the positioning system. It has replaced the classical horizontal positioning system (easting and northing) by satellite positioning system being developed by the United States of America while the vertical positioning is still based on classical technology and we are in a process to modernize it.
The Geospatial Information Institute is re-established in 2018 (proc. 1097/2018) by merging the Ethiopian Geospatial Information Agency (former Ethiopian Mapping Agency) and the geospatial duties and responsibilities vested to the Information Network Security Agency (Proc. 808/2006). The institute is responsible for the acquisition, production and dissemination of geospatial data, products and services for government institutions, private sectors and users. The mission of the institute is to conduct airborne surveying, photogrammetric processing, remote sensing data analysis, geodetic and topographic surveying, geospatial analysis, cartographic production, administering spatial data infrastructure of the country, research and development, and innovation in the fields of geospatial science and technologies. The institute is highly involved in adapting to the latest geospatial technologies in the market such as large format airborne photogrammetric surveying cameras and powerful processing software and workstations. Now, the institute is in a process of procuring Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor to build new data collection capabilities that will position us to provide data that can directly BE used for detailed engineering design of mega projects such as dam construction, roads and railways, irrigation and urban landscaping and development, etc.
By 2020 the institute has created new Ground Penetrating Radar surveying capability that ensures effective mapping of the underground key infrastructures such as telecommunication optical fiber network, water distribution network, etc. One of the recent major achievements of the institute is the acquisition and processing of photogrammetric data covering 45 percents of the country’s landmass, nationwide coverage of topographic maps and land use land cover maps, and piloting the operationalization of the national spatial data infrastructure. Since its establishment, the institute has been working in close cooperation with almost all government institutions as well as private sectors and provided various spatial data and products to meet national demands such as rural and urban land registration and certification, infrastructure planning and development, tourism, resource management, etc.
Key institutions benefiting from the geospatial sector include the ministry of agriculture; the ministry of urban development and construction; the ministry of water irrigation and energy; regional bureaus of land administration; environment, forest and climate change commission; central statistical agency; land bank and development corporation; Ethiopian roads authority; Addis Ababa city administration; Ethiopian authority for research and conservation of cultural heritage; universities; engineering consultants, etc.
Herald: How much data have the institute produced and made available to the wider community?
Dr. Tulu: We have accomplished the following in this regard. First, fundamental datasets: i) nationwide geodetic positioning infrastructure; ii) aerial photos or orthorectified images (45% national coverage); topographic maps 1: 10,000 for specific development corridors; topographic maps at scales of 1:25,000; 1:50,00 1:250,000; 1: 1,000,000 with national coverage; land use land cover map with geographic completeness of national coverage for the years 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018; national Basemap; Geonames; Digital Elevation Model; Digital terrain Model; satellite data from ground receiving stations to support national environment monitoring and security.
Second, technologies: i) geospatial policy and technology ecosystem that enables effective management and sharing of data and products among stakeholders. This ecosystem is called National Spatial Data Infrastructure; ii) street addressing (ongoing); iii) stock management system;
Third, thematic maps: road network map, tourist map, archaeological and heritage sites maps, parcel maps, etc. And lastly, various data for emergency responses.
Herald: Would you share some achievements you have been accomplishing since you started working for the institute? Any projects you have implemented?
Dr. Tulu: Major achievements under my leadership include the development of a new institutional structure that can enable the geospatial sector to be competitive, pilot operationalization of the national spatial data infrastructure under the implementation framework of the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework, launching of street addressing project that aims to support the national digital economic transformation specifically e-commerce, postal services, and logistics, as well as height modernization program to support civil engineering works, mapping and charting activities, and re-orienting the institute to focus on industrial research and development as well as innovation in geospatial analytics.
Herald: We have learned that you are currently working on the implementation of the integrated geospatial information framework? What is its purpose? How does the nation benefit from this initiation?
Dr. Tulu: The purpose of the integrated geospatial information framework is to realize a well-functioning governance model, standardization and harmonization of datasets and partnership and cooperation among stakeholders and users to ensure effective data sharing and utilization. Currently, we are developing a baseline document as well as drafting a country-level-action plan to implement the framework. Ethiopia is among six countries globally that are implementing the framework and we are getting technical support from the United Nations Secretariat office.
This initiative is expected to solve challenges related to data access, data quality, data interoperability, gaps in leadership, governance and institutional mandates, policy and legal framework, and ensures standardization and harmonization of datasets as well as creates synergy among stakeholders and users. The framework will be implemented using nine strategic pathways and ensures a cooperative data sharing environment from a single platform. It also enhances data utilization and strengthens multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral cooperation needed to address national development agendas and sustainable development goals.
Herald: How do you measure the progress of the institute towards its goals? How much has it been serving the needs of citizens and the nation since its establishment? Would you mention any organization that has been benefiting from your services and contributing to the national development endeavor?
Dr. Tulu: The institute is an enabler. It produces fundamental geospatial datasets that can be used by almost all sectors. For example, all institutions relay on the national geodetic positioning infrastructure to produce their sector-specific geospatial datasets. Technically, no institution can produce usable geospatial information without being connected to the geodetic positioning infrastructure. In this sense, the institute serves as a backbone for all sectors.
Besides, the institute is works contractually with various government institutions to meet the specific demands of each sector. The main beneficiaries include the ministry of agriculture; the ministry of urban development and construction; the ministry of transport; Ethiopian roads authority; the ministry of culture and tourism; Ethiopian aviation authority; land bureaus of regional states such as Oromia regional states, Amhara regional states, Tigray regional states, SNNPR and Beneshnagul Gumuz; Addis Ababa City Administration; Diredawa city administration; engineering consulting firms; geospatial private industries; universities; NGOs, etc.
Herald: As a leader, what have you been doing to improve the performance of the institute? How much have you been established proper communication with the partner organizations? How do you discern the relevance of information?
Dr. Tulu: Except in response to disasters, the institute collects geospatial data by itself. And we only gather socioeconomic data from CSA for analytical research.
The institute has well-established cooperation with many stakeholders. The existing cooperation was only limited to the provision of specific geospatial data and information for each sector. Under my leadership, I am strategically working to enhance the leadership and visibility of the institute in the geospatial sector. One such initiative aims to realize multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral partnerships and cooperation. In this regard, I am striving to realize a country-level implementation of an integrated geospatial ecosystem that will enable multi-sectoral partnership and cooperation. This initiative is expected to create a new robust geospatial industry base and fosters the implementation good governance model, policy and legal framework, standardization and harmonization of geospatial data sets.
It will also boost innovation and analytical research as well as create new capacity and capabilities in data acquisition, production and usage. Besides, we also drafted a high level ten years of strategic document as well as launched a spatial data sharing platform (www.ethionsdi.gov.et) and strategically working to establish a well-functioning data center. Also, I established strong cooperation with key international partners and created various opportunities such as capacity building, technical consultations in advanced system development and high-level advice in strategy and policy implementation, acquired integrated solutions/software, and IT hardware/servers (in the process), and technological piloting and adaptation.
Herald: What are the challenges you are currently facing in the course of maximizing your services? And what are available opportunities in the nation to improve the institute?
Dr. Tulu: Our major challenges are related to creating strong technological capabilities that are necessary to provide accurate, up-to-date, and authoritative geospatial data and information that are highly demanding to meet the national development plan and sustainable development goals. From the procurement perspective, the sector is confronting with two distinct challenges. It has become difficult to purchase a robust and quality geospatial sensor, receivers or equipment due to legal aspects of the procurement directives and regulations. Least bidders do always provide less quality stuff and the quality of the sensors has a direct implication on the quality of the data we produce.
The second challenge is difficult to get priority for the foreign currency/Letter of Credit/ to procure technologies that can make big difference in the development of key infrastructures (e.g. roads, railways, dams, bridges, tunnels); construction sector; irrigation; urban landscaping and development planning, zonal and master planning; forest monitoring and management; surveying, precise positioning and navigation, etc.
Another challenge is related to data sharing. Effective data sharing among institutions (government, private, NGOs) requires reliable access to electricity and high-speed internet connection at a national level. The homegrown economic reform is expected to solve challenges related to data access and sharing.
On the contrary, there are untapped opportunities in the geospatial sector as the national demand for geospatial information and services will extraordinary increases with the pace of the country’s socio-economic development. Specifically, the homegrown economic agenda needs a vast variety and volume of geospatial information to ensure national prosperity and digital economic transformation.
Herald: Recently, you have launched a roadmap in which you would support the national campaign in fighting Coronavirus. How much has been accomplished in this regard as the virus is rapidly spreading? In other words, are you working to the degree that can curb the spread of the virus?
Dr. Tulu: In response to COVID-19, the Geospatial Information Institute is working in close cooperation with key first-line respondent institutions. The institute is leading the technical production of geospatial information and system development under the guidance of the national COVID-19 response geospatial taskforce. The national geospatial taskforce includes higher officials from Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Urban Development and Construction, Addis Ababa City Administration, Federal Transport Authority, Federal Cooperative Agency, National Disaster Risk Management Commission, Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute, and Geospatial Information Institute.
The institute has produced more than 20 geospatial products and developed 3 integrated solutions (systems) to support various sectors to fight the spread of the virus as well to reduce the impact of the virus on socioeconomic and humanity. Our products and solutions are very useful to respond to COVID-19 spread and management of the crisis observed in the health sector, the supply of essential items (food, stabilizers), logistics, trade and industry, construction sector, national security, social aspects such as mapping of vulnerable sites and societies. Most of our products have national coverage and hence instrumental to support national efforts to fight the pandemic.
And we are working hand-in-hand with federal government institutions and regional states to help them monitor the spread of the case daily; continual identification and mapping of vulnerable sites and populations; analysis the situation; plan the response; take action; monitor the situation; communicate authoritative information, predicting their needs.
Herald: To what extent would you make the data available for managers or decision-makers during the COVID -19 pandemic? How do the beneficiaries get authentic information timely?
Dr. Tulu: We provide information and services for focal persons of the organizations or decision-makers by providing them access rights to our data-sharing platform. Users can view and download maps from the geoportal platform. The stock management system is designed to provide online services for interested institutions. The street addressing platform and the COVID-19 case reporter web-based and the mobile app can be used by all citizens who have access to mobile phones.
Herald: Lastly, any message you would like to convey?
Dr. Tulu: I thank all members of the national task force for their guidance as well as the Geospatial Information Institute’s COVID-19 response management and technical task force for their commitment and efforts, institutions and individual who helped us in data provision. At last, I call upon government institutions, private sectors, NGOs and citizens to cooperate with the Geospatial Information Institute in fighting the spread of COVID-19. “Geospatial for prosperity”
The Ethiopian Herald June 16, 2021
BY WAKUMA KUDAMA
