To foster this objective, UNESCO and the European Space Agency (ESA) have proposed to undertake a joint initiative demonstrating the application of Earth Observation and other Space Technologies (e.g. Navigation and Positioning, Communication) in support to State Parties signatories of the Convention to assist developing countries in fulfilling the main goals of the World Heritage Convention, and to establish a framework of cooperation, open to Space Agencies and other organizations.

In the context of this initiative, ESA and UNESCO agreed, during a meeting held in ESRIN, Italy, the 15-17 April 2002, to initiate a joint development project, “Build Environment for Gorilla” (BEGo), aimed at developing EO-based products and services for covering the information needs of the different national and international organizations (e.g., Non-governmental organizations, National Parks Authorities) working in the conservation and preservation of the different World Heritage sites in danger.

The BEGo project aims at developing user-oriented information products, based on EO technology, to support the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. One of the basic tools for any effective conservation activity is adequate maps of the area under conservation. The situation in Central Africa is such that accurate maps are not available. There are in addition several Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) assisting the local government in conservation activities. There is therefore a need to coordinate all currently existing efforts and to produce base maps that can be used by the local government and the whole conservation community to secure the conservation of these invaluable World Heritage sites.

In particular the project focuses on the development of base maps, land cover/use maps, DEMs and change-detection maps to support the work of the different national and international organisations involved in the conservation and monitoring of gorillas. These base maps will be used by UNESCO to support conservation efforts.

The area of interest encompasses south-western Uganda, western Rwanda and parts of the Kivus situated in Easter DRC. For more than 10 years, the region has been seriously disturbed by unrest and insecurity, and a number of wars have had devastating consequences both on the human populations and on the environment. Inside that area, the project focuses on three main World Heritage Sites: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda), Virunga National Park (DRC), and the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (DRC). In addition to these sites, in order to provide a more complete coverage of the area hosting gorillas, the project also includes two sites that are directly contiguous to the Virunga National Park and that harbour mountain gorillas: Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda).

In this context, EO technology may provide a fundamental role to support the user community (NGOs, national authorities, park managers) involved in the conservation of these sites and in particular in the conservation of the Mountain Gorillas. The project will deliver to the user community the information tools to perform their daily work: i.e., base maps, land cover and land use information of the area, change analysis and elevation information at 1:200,000 (for the whole area) and 1:50,000 scales (for each of the parks). To this end ENVISAT ASAR and MERIS data will be used, together with other satellite images.