Community-Generated Data in Mali Boosts Climate Action and Accountability
The path to a sustainable future begins with harnessing local knowledge and turning it into collective action.
The climate crisis jeopardizes the wellbeing, rights and health of over one billion children globally. While there is an urgent need for frontier innovations that offer effective mitigation, adaptation and resilience solutions, the necessary investments aren’t being made.
The UNICEF Venture Fund’s first Climate Action Cohort of eight startups is dedicated to leveraging technology to support the UNICEF Climate Action Plan. Among them is Map Action which is focused on developing an environmental reporting platform in Mali.
Mali is the tenth most vulnerable nation to climate change, and the 161st (out of 182) least prepared for addressing challenges like desertification and pollution. Faced with a USD 3 billion price tag to counter the climate impacts by 2030, a challenge compounded by protracted armed conflict adequate real-time data is a critical and essential need to effectively respond to the climate crisis.
Map Action helps fill this gap by providing an easy way for citizens to report environmental concerns and upload climate change impact data.
“Our tool combines community engagement with the power of digital mapping and artificial intelligence (AI), to build more sustainable and resilient communities.”
Boubacar Youssouf Keita, Founder, Map Action.
The power of grass roots engagement
Users report environmental and climate-related concerns, such as polluted water or flooding, through a dedicated Map Action app, supported by photos, videos and audio, all geolocated on an online map. Local authorities can access this data real-time on a digital dashboard to help them decide how best to respond.
“Unlike top down platforms reliant on satellite imagery or government data, Map Action’s locally-generated data is often more timely and accurate. And coming from communities themselves, it is more relevant to their daily lives, encouraging responsibility and behavioral changes,” notes Keita.
Map Action’s AI functionality categorizes incidents based on previous reports and publicly available data, then prioritizes possible responses. The platform also enables citizens to follow any actions taken by the authorities.
Data analysis helps authorities identify and understand patterns - which problems are predominant or recurring and where they are concentrated – to improve resource management.
Map Action in action!
An initial version of Map Action was downloaded over 2,500 times, with more than 1,000 environmental problems reported, resulting in 159 cases resolved and 315 under review by the six Bamako municipalities participating in the trial. A revised version of the app is currently undergoing trials in Bamako, Mali.
Support from the Venture Fund has enabled Map Action to gather and analyze more data to improve the AI algorithms, as well as enhance the user experience.
The team is currently exploring further functionality updates, including AI-powered image recognition, which will be Beta tested with local university students.
“As well as benefiting from diverse technical expertise, our team includes different perspectives and backgrounds, improving our innovation and collaborations. Our female lead developer, for example, ensures that the platform is inclusive, to maintain data quality,” adds Keita.
Collectively forging a path to a sustainable future
The Map Action approach highlights the critical role that collaboration between citizens, innovators and governments play in building climate resilience.
As such, a summer 2024 workshop introduced Map Action to NGOs, civil society representatives, the German Corporation for International Development (GIZ)’s Mali Sanya programme and Malian government officials (including from the National Directorate for Sanitation, Pollution and Nuisance Control and the Ministry of Environment, Sanitation, and Sustainable Development).
While Map Action explores a potential collaboration with UNICEF Mali, particularly for offline remote area database integration, it is also hoping to pilot in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Map Action’s success demonstrates the transformative power of community-generated data to not only bridge data gaps, but foster accountability and drive lasting environmental change. By empowering citizens to report and map their environmental concerns, the platform ensures that those most affected by climate change have a voice that translates into actionable insights.
