Watch a Recording of the Event and Read the Chat

December 21, 2011 ― Looking at mining concessions in Africa on a map and being able to determine where they are in relation to forest protection services. Using an online tool to observe Ghana’s oil, gas and mining locations, its contracts and where revenue is being spent. Using feedback from citizens using social networking tools to report on mining and other activities in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These are some of the innovative technologies that are helping resource managers, scientists and policy makers understand where and how extractives industries are present, how they interact with natural resource activities and how much citizens and others know about these activities.

Several organizations have recently been using interactive mapping tools to promote transparency in natural resource sectors. “This is a field that intersects mapping gurus, extractives industries practitioners and technology experts who don’t always have opportunities to share experiences and learn from each other,” said Michael Jarvis, Senior Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank Institute (WBI).

To give these diverse experts an opportunity to share experiences, WBI organized a workshop on December 6. The workshop began with presentations on the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Map of Ghana,  the World Resources Institute’s Forest Transparency Initiative and Interactive Forest Atlases and the World Wildlife Fund’s Moabi platform. Marinke van Riet of Publish What You Pay, Alex Barth from Development Seed and Peter Van Acker from Development Cooperation, Embassy of Belgium were discussants providing feedback and observations on these tools and the new possibilities they present.

Mapping can help citizens to hold their governments accountable. Peter Van Acker, from Development Cooperation, Embassy of Belgium
The presentations were followed by an interactive “BarCamp” – a chance for the different experts to devise strategies on how to better use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to increase awareness and transparency while engaging citizens around specific challenges. The topics explored included strengthening community monitoring of mineral sourcing through harnessing SMS technology and designing ways to make data made available from new global transparency requirements more easily accessible and intuitive to citizens in natural resource exporting countries.

Sharing Technological Advances

“We didn't only map mines and oil, we linked many data sources together,” said James Duncan who works on Extractives Industries in WBI. “The Ghana map allows customization and visualization of this data for the first time.” Duncan also showed how the Ghana extractives map allows for customization – users can chose what data to map together, ranging from the locations of mineral, oil and gas deposits, active mines, oil and gas wells, socioeconomic indicators such as unemployment and malnutrition rates, government revenues, and donor-funded projects. The goal of this mapping tool is to help advocates and policy-makers to better understand real time contexts and governance issues in the extractive industries and advocate for solutions.

WRI is trying to bring usable data in the forest sector in six Central African countries into the public sphere. “Today there is much forest information available and of far better quality,” said Matthew Steil, from WRI. “There has even been measured reduction in illegal logging as compared to 10 years ago.” They use the Forest Atlas Platform that brings together spatial and non-spatial information in one place to help users visualize and quickly understand the data.

The work on the atlas with the public sector made WRI realize that there was a lot of information from the private sector that was not publicly available. To help catalyze the private sector to disclose this information they created the Forest Transparency Initiative, where information is voluntarily disclosed.

Leo Bottrill from WWF helped explain how the Moabi tool helps track the future of forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), providing critical data for predicting deforestation. It also allows users to update and share spatial information on new projects proposed by the government, banks, companies or other organizations. “The result is a constantly updated map of projects ranging from new roads and hydroelectric dams to logging and mining concessions,” Bottrill said.

Sharing Insights 

“Mapping can help citizens to hold their governments accountable,” said Peter Van Acker, from Development Cooperation, Embassy of Belgium. The discussants applauded the visual impact of the maps and their ability to catalyze conversations by reframing information. “An expert analysis is not as valuable as its readability and usability,” said Jed Miller, from Revenue Watch.

The discussants stressed that it was crucial for citizens accessing these mapping tools to be able to check and improve information and feel free to share insights on the data being recorded and mapped. The Moabi platform already includes some facility for individuals to upload additional data and comment.  There is a clear ambition to build feedback loops into the next generation of maps.

Marinke van Riet from Publish What You Pay said that it was important to come up with the right combination of technology, keeping in mind local constraints and make more use of SMS and mobile technology in getting feedback from citizens.