The African Data Drive
- Wits University
New interactive tool to bridge Africa's critical data gap for sustainable development.
The Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme (FEFA) at Wits University, in partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation, is proud to announce the launch of the African Data Drive (ADD), an interactive tool designed to enable sustainable development across Africa through robust data integration and innovative spatial planning.
Mining, agriculture and industry are expanding rapidly across Africa, yet current tools to quantify and minimise the cost of this expansion to biodiversity and natural resources are limited. The African Data Drive changes this paradigm by providing accessible, quality-assured spatial data that empowers decision-makers to balance development needs with conservation priorities.
“We aim to provide practical, African-appropriate screening tools that are recognised and used across a range of socio-economic contexts to drive better decision making,” says Wits Professor Sally Archibald.
The African Data Drive will enable users to explore how much biodiversity is conserved in their region of interest, assess potential risks to biodiversity as industrial, mining, and agricultural activities expand, access the most appropriate and up-to-date information on risks and pathways to achieve sustainable development, and drive local policy that aligns with African realities and priorities.
The Africa Data Drive addresses a fundamental challenge that has long hindered evidence-based decision-making on the continent: while the data exists to make good decisions about land use in Africa, it is often unavailable, unrecognised, or misinterpreted, resulting in inappropriate interventions and policies that fail to align with African realities.
"In a time where there is much uncertainty and the continent is quickly developing, the ADD is a much-needed innovation. Through the ADD, FEFA pre-empts the needs and pressures that will emerge in coming decades, ensuring locally relevant solutions that secure a sustainable future for Africa across its people, wildlife, and landscapes,” explains Head of Research and Conservation at Oppenheimer Generations, Dr Duncan MacFayden.
The Africa Data Drive is an Earth Engine application that integrates carefully curated spatial datasets covering biodiversity, biodiversity intactness and potential mining, agricultural and industrial expansion across Africa. What sets this tool apart is its rigorous quality assessment process: each dataset has been screened and assigned a quality rating to help users evaluate reliability and relevance to African ecological and social dynamics.
The African Data Drive provides:
- A Quality Flag system that enables users to assess dataset reliability, with particular attention to appropriateness for African contexts,
- A way to evaluate critical trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and development needs in any region of interest,
- The ability to visualise and complex spatial data, and
- Access to regional and local-scale African data products often overlooked in global analyses.
“By leveraging the expansive network of partners within the Future Ecosystems for Africa team and incorporating unique insights about the mechanisms that allow biodiversity to thrive, we can help fill in the gaps and produce more informative spatial products,” adds Archibald. The development of the platform has been supported through strategic collaborations with partners including Rewild Capital and Conservation International.
This platform will be further developed in consultation with policy partners to provide screening and land-use planning tools. The team is actively seeking user feedback and pursuing additional research funding through the International Science Partnerships Fund to support rollout in selected countries and inform government policy.
About the collaboration
The African Data Drive is produced through collaboration between Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation and the Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme based at Wits University. The Platform was developed in partnership with Kartoza to enhance a web interface that enables ADD to be broadly accessible through the FEFA website.
Access the tool
The African Data Drive is now available for use at: https://wits-gee-add.projects.earthengine.app/view/fefa-add
For more information, feedback, or media inquiries, please contact:
Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme
Email: info@futureecosystemsafrica.org
Website: https://futureecosystemsafrica.org/
About Future Ecosystems for Africa
Future Ecosystems for Africa supports research on conservation and development issues across the continent. We manage a portfolio of projects that work together to:
- Promote strong voices coming from within Africa creating diverse, African-led futures that are just and sustainable.
- Support multidisciplinary science that taps the wealth of knowledge and data existing on the continent.
- Empower African citizens to drive and respond to global change by providing useful tools and mechanisms for decision making and action.
Funded by Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation, FEFA is a flagship initiative of Wits University’s Global Change Institute and School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences. We unite experts and partners across Africa and beyond to build resilient ecosystems, conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable resource management across the continent.