Managing vegetation from space Europe possesses the technology to monitor and manage its ecosystems from space. It has now turned to assisting African nations in exploiting this technology to help support agriculture and environment. Digital Economy © Shutterstock VGT generally refers to vegetation studied from space, as reflected in the EU-funded project ' VGT work How space helps to manage ecosystems' (VGT WORK). The project worked on training for exploiting research related to monitoring and managing terrestrial ecosystems. VGT WORK reinforced the capabilities of African project partners to monitor their vegetation from space by creating tools to manage agriculture, land use and rangelands. It built on past initiatives related to the 'Global monitoring for environment and security' (GMES) European programme, educating experts in target countries on transmitting new data to policymakers and stakeholders. The project achieved its aims by identifying target audiences and information needs. It then trained involved African scientists to use specific VGT software and arranged for many scientists to train both in Europe and in participating African organisations. This allowed the scientists to gather information on vegetation in their countries through the eyes of satellites on a continuous basis and feed this information to key stakeholders. Apart from scientists, the project trained other end users and developed necessary documentation and software to assist all stakeholders. It ensured that these efforts continue after the project's end, encouraging the exploitation of data for many years to come. The results of VGT WORK continue to foster the expert use of remote sensing data to monitor and manage vegetation.
