Water and Disasters Thematic Lead Interview -- Issaka Lona

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Name/Title
Issaka Lona, Hydrology and Water-Related Natural Disasters / Weather and Climate for Food Security and Natural Resource Management Thematic Lead

What is your educational background?
I have two degrees from the University Abdou Moumouni in Niamey, Niger:  Diploma of Advanced Studies in Planning and Management of Natural Resources; and a PhD in Geography (Climatology).

What do you do in your current position? What are you working on now?
I am the thematic lead on food security, water resources, agriculture and natural disasters related to water and climate. I also work closely with the Science and Data and User Engagement leads in the identification and design of services focused on user requests related to my thematic area.

What are the biggest water/disaster challenges in Niger and West Africa? How can GIS and remote sensing technologies help address these problems?
Flooding and drought are the biggest challenges in both Niger and across West Africa.

GIS and remote sensing technologies can help address these problems by mapping the locations most likely to be flooded, and mapping/monitoring damage in current disaster areas.

What specific tools and technologies are you using to solve these problems?
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, Google Earth Engine (times series), satellite images, and data gathered on the ground.

What do you find unique about your work with SERVIR?
The service planning approach is unique in my work with SERVIR – a very innovative way to design and deliver services to users, involving stakeholders at the very beginning of the process.

How will SERVIR and the wider GIS community benefit from the new services and applications you are developing?
By capitalizing and scaling-up the services and applications being developed from across West Africa and at other SERVIR hubs.

What are some of the main achievements of your work so far in this thematic area?
First, I want to clarify that I have only recently taken over this thematic area (just 2 months), but have been working on the following services:

• SERVIR-West Africa started implementing the service “Development and Management of a System to Produce and Disseminate Information on Groundwater in Maradi and Zinder (Niger),” by signing a MOU and a data sharing document with our partner, Mercy Corps.
• SERVIR-West Africa is initiating two other services with the AGRHYMET Regional Centre:
  • Improvement and dissemination of seasonal forecasts and short-and medium-term forecasts
  • Improving flood risk management

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
What I want to share with readers is my willingness to collaborate with anyone who has an interest in my thematic area. I would also like to mention my other work as the manager of the CILSS platform on climate change and sustainable land management.

I also co-manage the CILSS platform on best practices.

This interview was conducted by Abdoul Aziz Boubacar Mainassara at SERVIR-West Africa. It has been lightly edited for style and length by SERVIR Global.