Combating desertification, restoring land, building resilience
OSS works to curb desertification, restore degraded land, and strengthen the resilience of States to drought and pressures linked to human activities. In support of major initiatives such as the Great Green Wall and Land Degradation Neutrality programs, OSS develops and provides monitoring and planning tools that combine satellite data with field observations.
Through this strategic axis, OSS actively contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3, which aims for land degradation neutrality by 2030.
Current projects
Copernicea
The Regional Cooperation Project for New Indicators of Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounting in Africa
aims to strengthen regional capacities in ecosystem accounting across six Francophone countries (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, and Tunisia). Its overall objective is to promote the progressive institutionalization of Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounting (ENCA).
To this end, it establishes a national and regional network for the exchange and dissemination of essential data and information, necessary for the development and regular updating of ecosystem accounts.
GMES&Africa
The GMES&Africa Program "support for the sustainable management of water and natural resources through the development of Earth Observation data and technologies" project is financed by the European Union through the African Union Commission and aims to support decision-making in the field of sustainable management of water and natural resources through the provision of products and services developed out of Earth Observation data and techniques
Project detail
COPAR
AFD Partnerships Committee
Is an initiative that fosters dialogue and reflection on environmental challenges. After a first phase focused on the Maghreb and Sahel, it is now expanding to mobilize the scientific and policy community around three priorities: sustainable land management, climate change adaptation, and natural resource governance in Africa. Its goal is to promote strong advocacy, protect ecosystems, and strengthen community resilience.
UNCCD Reporting
Support to Countries for Improving Reporting Systems to the UNCCD
This initiative helps UNCCD Parties strengthen their reporting systems to achieve global environmental goals. By providing a structured framework, it enables countries to track progress, identify gaps, and guide strategic decisions with reliable data.
Beyond monitoring, the program supports international commitments to protect terrestrial ecosystems, with a strong focus on building capacities in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve indicator assessment and the use of geospatial data in environmental planning and management.
Project detail