A cutting-edge South African-developed application that detects fires from space will soon help combat Angola's high incidence of wild fire. The technology is called the Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS) and was developed at CSIR Meraka Institute. The implementation of AFIS in Angola forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the CSIR and the National Technology Center of the Angolan Ministry of Science and Technology. It is one of the early initiatives under the auspices of the South African-Angolan science bi-lateral relations put in place by the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Angola is the most fire prone country in Africa and AFIS aims to help the Angolan government address the problem. It is a real-time, wide area wild fire detection, monitoring and alerting system that utilises satellite imaging. An advanced geo-spatial information processing system detects fires and consequently alerts infrastructure owners, land managers, disaster management and fire protection personnel to fires in their areas. Capacity development in geo-spatial systems and research into fire danger forecasting and burn area assessment will be undertaken as part of the implementation project.

The CSIR’s Lee Annamalai says that negotiations to implement AFIS in several other countries are at an advanced state, with the system in pilot operations already in 6 countries. The success of AFIS is an indication of the potentially significant contribution that Earth Observation can make to the South African economy. “And”, adds Annamalai, “of the robust Earth Observation technology capability that is alive and well in the country”.

For more information:
Lee Annamalai
(012) 841 4546
lannamalai@csir.co.za