Background

According to the United Nations: Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), a high-level panel was convened by the President of the Assembly General Assembly in 2022 to develop a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI). The most vulnerable countries often find themselves on the front lines of multiple crises, including climate change and the vagaries of international markets and trade. SIDS, for example, whose vulnerabilities are attributable to their structural characteristics such as small size, remoteness, low production capacities, and insufficient infrastructure, are highly exposed to negative external shocks such as natural hazards and business disruptions, despite their income levels. SIDS are not necessarily more resilient.

Although there is generally a negative relationship between income and vulnerability, many countries, notably SIDS, are much more vulnerable than their income levels suggest, particularly due to the costs associated with distance from international markets, such as high import/export costs and irregular international traffic volumes, as well as diseconomies of scale. This vulnerability hampers their ability to overcome external economic, environmental, and social shocks and stressors and can also suddenly reverse decades of development progress.

Objective

The main objective of this program is to provide specific, targeted training and capacity building to women and local organizations from underrepresented high-risk geographies (small islands). The program aims to impact women who are systematically underrepresented in island countries at high risk of humanitarian crises and multidimensional poverty, enabling them to experience improved well-being and increased agency and resilience in responding to crises through the creation, accessibility, and use of open geographic data.

Methodology

The project relies on the OpenStreetMap Senegal community for the implementation of field activities under the supervision of the WNAH and REFPAS. Activities include the collection of existing geospatial data at the target villages of the Saloum Islands, as well as their mapping for better visualization and understanding. The mapping will also identify areas of activity at the village level, as well as the spatial distribution of basic infrastructure where there are data gaps or insufficiently covered needs.

Expected results

The expected results of the WC-DR-SIDS / ÎLES DU SALOUM project are, among other things, better knowledge of existing geospatial data on the production and processing areas of fishery products, but also of basic infrastructure on these islands. , identification of gaps and obstacles to the use of new information and communication technologies at the level of target women's groups, definition of data collection methodologies and shared data models, and awareness raising among stakeholders in the use of spatial data for decision-making, in addition to the use of new information and communication technologies in the sales process of their products.