Wits U drives data to
boost biodiversity

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. 

In response, an interactive tool called the African Data Drive (ADD) has been launched by the Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme (FEFA) at Wits University, in partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation.  

The ADD is designed to enable sustainable development across Africa through robust data integration and innovative spatial planning, 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 University’s Professor Sally Archibald.

The ADD 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 ADD 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.

Dr Duncan MacFayden, head of research and conservation at Oppenheimer Generations,  says: “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.”

The ADD is an Earth Engine application that integrates carefully curated spatial datasets covering biodiversity, biodiversity intactness and potential mining, agricultural and industrial expansion across Africa. It is set apart by a 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,” says 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. The platform was developed in partnership with Kartoza to enhance a web interface that enables ADD to be broadly accessible through the FEFA website.

• The African Data Drive is now available for use at: https://wits-gee-add.projects.earthengine.app/view/fefa-add