Media Awareness and Justice Initiative, MAJI, has charged Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, whose advocacies centre around environmentally degraded or polluted regions to adopt modern techniques in their data collection and analysis.
The Project Manager of MAJI, Mr. Ikechukwu Ohaka who gave the charge in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State at CSOs/media training supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund, UNDEF, said collection of data through modern techniques boosts the chances of having credible data for making informed advocacy, policy engagement, and community action.
He listed the techniques to include: the use of sensors, digital platforms, mobile tools, and community-based monitoring approaches.
Ohaka, however, regretted that many CSOs operating in environmentally vulnerable regions particularly areas affected by pollution, degradation, or climate impact lack the technical skills and tools needed to systematically gather, interpret, and use environmental data.
He said, “Modern techniques of environmental data strengthens evidence-based advocacy, increases transparency and accountability, and empowers communities with accessible information to understand risks, demand action, and participate in environmental governance as well as supports early warning and rapid response.
“Real-time data helps identify pollution spikes and environmental hazards, enabling quick community alerts and mitigation actions.”
Taking the participants through hands on training on how to analyze data through modern techniques, a consultant with MAJI, Dr. Prince Eze urged them to leverage on the open source environmental data tools such as goggle earth engine, open street map, UNEP environment map, sensor based monitoring among others in their data collection and analyses.
He said these procedures would give them accurate data and guide them in their field no endeavor.
According to him, “Sensor-based monitoring automatically collect, measure, and transmit data about environmental or physical conditions in real time. These sensors detect specific parameters such as air quality, water quality, temperature, humidity, noise levels, or chemical pollutants and send the information to a central system for analysis.”
