An assessment of existing, environmentally-focused spatial data infrastructure for South Sudan.

Overview

The relatively-young Republic of South Sudan has abundant resources. While mineral resources in the form of oil and gas have been the focus of international interest, geopolitical conflict and some internal division, the country's natural resources are of similar - arguably greater - importance. Since gaining autonomy in 2005 and independence in 2011, the government of South Sudan has enacted varying measures to protect these resources, which include dramatic wildlife migration routes in Bandingilo National Park and essential ecosystem services from the massive Sudd wetland complex:

Though South Sudan is better positioned economically than many of its neighbors, it still grapples with extreme poverty. It is under such conditions that great pressure can be brought to bear on natural resources, and it is imperitive that they be governed with the right balance of empowerment and sustainability. Enabling this balance is a clear and regular assessment of the country's biodiversity and forest resources. Following up on a 2007 report on environmental threats and opportunities in South (then 'Southern') Sudan, USAID is undertaking a post-independence analysis of the same resources, policies and features.

A major component of this study is an audit of existing geospatial resources that describe some portion of South Sudan's ecological spectrum. Too often - particularly in the realm of international development - mapping efforts are duplicated and results missed; it is our hope to build on established work for the present initiative, as well as to be able to pass on the resources we find. Subsequent phases of this study include remote sensing analyses of forest type and desertification patterns, as well as a geospatial investigation of the human footprint on the country's natural resources. But below is an accounting of the datasets available now that relate to the ecological landscape of South Sudan.

Note on Edits & Contributions

This catalog is not static, and it is only possible to keep it updated with support from community stakeholders. As such, all constructive pull requests will be honored, with the hope that valuable contributions will keep this resource current.

Dataset Categories

This catalog places an emphasis on national-scale datasets. Though many useful studies and maps are focused on regions and localities in South Sudan (here is an excellent example from Gorsevski et al.), for the purposes of this study we are interested in patterns and processes that can be assessed at national scale and moderate resolution.

Datasets are categorized by broad theme below. Some are hosted in this repository and others (due to file size restrictions) are linked to external resources. Wherever possible, global- and continental-scale datasets have been clipped to the South Sudan area of interest, which includes disputed areas and a 20km buffer beyond the national border.

Land Use & Land Cover

Name Source Type Format Notes
UMD - Global Forest Cover Change 2000-2012 University of Maryland/Google LULC GeoTIFF Available in Tiled Format
Africover - Land Cover Datasets FAO/GLCN - Africover LULC GeoTIFF Outdated - imagery vintage is 1994-1999
National LULC 2010 FAO/GLCN - Africover LULC PDF Unfortunately not available here in portable format - imagery vintage is 2010
MODIS Land Cover Boston University/NASA LULC HDF/GeoTIFF Coarse resolution w/ high category detail
OSM - Land Use Openstreetmap LULC GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here

Additional Academic Studies of land use/land cover in South Sudan are available here, though not with downloadable datasets.

Built Infrastructure

Name Source Type Format Notes
OSM - Roads Openstreetmap Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Airfields Openstreetmap Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Walls/Barriers Openstreetmap Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Railway Openstreetmap Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
UNDP - Airfields UNITAR Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Authoritative
UNDP - Roads UNITAR Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Not as extensive as OSM
GAM - Travel Time Nelson et al. (2008) Built Infrastructure GeoJSON Dated - Based on Yr 2000

Political Boundaries & Places

Name Source Type Format Notes
Africover - Major Towns FAO - Africover Places GeoJSON Data fro pre-independence
Africover - Minor Towns FAO - Africover Places GeoJSON Data fro pre-independence
Natural Earth - Disputed Areas Natural Earth Political Boundaries GeoJSON Moderate resolution
Natural Earth - Populated Places Natural Earth Places GeoJSON
Natural Earth - National Boundary Natural Earth Political Boundaries GeoJSON Does not conform exactly with other datasets
OSM - National Boundary Openstreetmap Political Boundaries GeoJSON Matches GAUL, encompasses disputed areas
OSM - National AOI Openstreetmap Political Boundaries GeoJSON Used as the clip boundary for all other datasets
OSM - States Openstreetmap Political Boundaries GeoJSON County designation in Upper Nile State Unclear
OSM - Populated Places Openstreetmap Places GeoJSON Not as extensive as UNITAR or Africover
UNDP - Counties UNITAR Political Boundaries GeoJSON Covers all but a small disputed section of Kafia Kingi
UNDP - States UNITAR Political Boundaries GeoJSON Authoritative
UNITAR - Polling Stations UNITAR Places GeoJSON Used for independence referendum
UNITAR - Populated Places UNITAR Places GeoJSON Authoritative

Hydrology

Name Source Type Format Notes
Africover-Rivers FAO - Africover Hydrology GeoJSON Outdated - Imagery ca. 1995-1999
Africover-Surface Water FAO - Africover Hydrology GeoJSON Outdated - Imagery ca. 1995-1999
OSM - Waterway Polygon OpenStreetmap Hydrology GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Waterway Point OpenStreetmap Hydrology GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Waterway Line OpenStreetmap Hydrology GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
OSM - Wetland Polygons OpenStreetmap Hydrology GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here

Protected/Habitat Areas

Name Source Type Format Notes
IUCN - Elephant Range International Union for the Conservation of Nature Habitat GeoJSON 2007 Vintage - Currently being updated
OSM - Conservation Areas Openstreetmap Protected Areas GeoJSON Extracted February 2014 - Access more recent versions here
WDPA - Protected Areas World Database of Protected Areas Protected Areas GeoJSON Poor data availability in South Sudan

Mineral Resources

Name Source Type Format Notes
ECOS - Oil Concessions European Coalition on Oil in Sudan Mineral GeoJSON 2007 Vintage - Provided on ECOS Homepage with notes about planned subdivision of concession block B
ECOS - Oil Fields of Abyei European Coalition on Oil in Sudan Mineral PDF 2006 Vintage - Oil production in a disputed area.

Data Providers

Tools for Working With Geospatial Data

A Project

Prepared by Geosprocket LLC, subcontractor to The Cadmus Group, Inc. under USAID's Global Environmental Management Support Program, Contract Number GS-10F-0105J. The contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.