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Remote Sensing activities at national level can be classified into two categories, namely:
(a) activities which are ''Imports', consequent upon implementation of specific projects under
technical assistance, be it bilateral or multi-lateral; and
(b) undertakings by African nationals themselves.
Under category (a), initially experiemnets were carried out to demonstrate the suitability of
remote sensing on certain projects. Examples that readily come to mind are the following:
(i) Landchad project in Chad, and
(ii) The ERTS prjects in Zaire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria,
Morocco, Benin, Mozambique, etc.
Let us consider (examine) what actiivities went on during the life of two of these technical
co-operation projects.
In the Republic of Benin, a national centre in remote sensing finally emerged as a result of a
forestry project initiated in 1975 following the Stokholm Conterence of 1972. Four such pro-
jects were conceived for Africa — the other three at the Cameroon, Nigeria and Togo. These pilot
projects were to provide a map of the forest cover on a scale 1: 500,000, using satellite imager ies
for the compilation and supplementing these with radar photography where cloud cover might
be a menase, Both in Benin and Nigeria, the pilot projects succeded yeilding maps of the forest
cover in these countries. In the case of the Republic of Benin, the Food and Agriculture Organi-
zation of the United Nations collaborated in the implementation of specific projects of interest
to it, particularly in the areas of animal husbandry — identification and control of pastoral areas
for liverstock grazing. Another example is that of the externaily-funded project in Mozambique
which used satellite imageries in preparing land use maps on scales 1:250,000 and 1:500,000
covering almost the entire land area of the country. These activities were undertaking by consul-
tants and a few nationals who had to learn on-the-job.
The second category of activities at national level are those undertaken by the nationals in
the course of their day to day pre-occupations. These nationals have either been exposed to train-
ing in remote sensing applications aborad or have had the benefit of such training in any of the
subregional centres aforementioned or in institutions of higher learning during their research
programmes. Some examples are:
(a) Inventory of the natural resources of the Sikasso areas by Malian engineers;
(b) Study of the forest area, using side looking airborne radar recordings in Nigeria;
(c) Studies on aspects of geomorphology, vegetation and geological structures in Tanzania;
(d) environmental and resources monitoring in Egypt; and
(e) preparation of soils maps in Zambia.
These examples can be multipleied but are only limited to countries where the foundation
for the applications of the technology have previously been laid.
It is relevant to mention that many African countries have started to establish national
committees/commissions in response to the implementation of one of the resolutions of the
African Remote Sensing Council in that regard. It is worth mentioning also that many on-going
projects funded/financed under technical co-operation agreements with remote sensing compo-
nents in them have not been inventioned for lack of necessary mechanisms to do so. This is a
