Land Cover Mapping in West Africa: A Collaborative Process

Mensah, F and Mushtaq, F and Bartel, P and Abramowitz, J and Cherrington, E and Mahamane, M and Mamane, B and Dieye, A M and Sanou, P and Enaruvbe, G and Mar, N F (2024) Land Cover Mapping in West Africa: A Collaborative Process. Land (TSI), 13 (10). pp. 1-15. ISSN 2073-445X

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Abstract

The availability of current land cover and land use (LCLU) information for monitoring the status of land resources has considerable value in ensuring sustainable land use planning and development. Similarly, the need to provide updated information on the extent of LCLU change in West Africa has become apparent, given the increasing demand for land resources driven by rapid population growth. Over the past decade, multiple projects have been undertaken to produce regional and national land cover maps. However, using different classification systems and legends has made updating and sharing land cover information challenging. This has resulted in the inefficient use of human and financial resources. The development of the Land Cover Meta Language (LCML) based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards offers an opportunity to create a standardized classification system. This system would enable easier integration of regional and national data, efficient management of information, and better resource utilization in West Africa. This article emphasizes the process and the need for multistakeholder collaboration in developing a standardized land cover classification system for West Africa, which is currently nonexistent. It presents the survey data collected to evaluate historical, current, and future land cover mapping projects in the region and provides relevant use cases as examples for operationalizing a standardized land cover classification legend for West Africa.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	land cover classification, data harmonization, semantic interoperability, land cover meta language, West Africa, geospatial
Subjects:	Others > Land Degradation Others > West Africa
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2025 10:29
Last Modified:	08 Apr 2025 10:29
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13025
Official URL:	https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/10/1712
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	FAO, USAID, NASA, University of Alabama in Huntsville
Acknowledgement:	The authors would like to thank FAO, USAID, and SCO-NASA for the funding and technical support and the reviewers’ comments, which helped improve the manuscript.
Links:	Google Scholar

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