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Afternoon — Mainstreaming EO & Exercise 1

Day 1 · 13:30–16:00 · Module 1 · Session 3 + Exercise 1

Session 3 — Mainstreaming EO in IsDB Operations (13:30–15:00)

Slide decks:

The IsDB project cycle and where EO fits

The six stages of the IsDB project cycle each have a concrete EO contribution:

Stage Document EO contribution
Identification PCN Site screening · feasibility mapping · preliminary baseline · investment risk scoring
Preparation PPRR Appraisal context · benchmark conditions
Design PAD / RRM Environmental baseline · hazard assessment · land-use conflict mapping · spatial annexes
Supervision PIASR Remote monitoring · vegetation/water change · contractor verification
Completion PCR Objective baseline vs end-line comparison
Post-evaluation PPER Long-term outcome monitoring · sustainability verification

What is the eToolkit?

The eToolkit is IsDB's browser-based geospatial platform — a web GIS environment that integrates EO data, AI-powered analytics, and interactive mapping. No GIS software to install. No coding required.

Draw a boundary → select indicators → generate a standardised EO report.

The platform serves three roles:

  • A web GIS — interactive maps, spatial layers, drawing tools
  • A knowledge hub — EO case studies from IsDB projects
  • A resource centre — datasets, training materials, and SOPs

What an automated analysis contains:

  • Land Use / Land Cover (LULC)
  • Precipitation trends
  • Evapotranspiration trends
  • Future climate projections (temperature and rainfall)
  • AI-powered sector-specific recommendations

Exercise 1 — Report Generation in eToolkit (15:00–16:00)

Slide deck: Day 1 Deck 5 — Exercise: Boundary & eToolkit

Objective: Capture a boundary for an area you know, bring it into the eToolkit, and generate your first automated EO analysis report.

Checkpoint: By the end of this exercise, you have a downloaded PDF report and can state one finding in one sentence.

Exercise 1A — Define your area in Google Earth Web (15:00–15:25)

Aim: Draw a polygon boundary around your chosen area and export it as a KML file.

  1. Go to earth.google.com/web in your browser.
  2. Search for your chosen location (district scale, ~100–2,000 km² — avoid open water or featureless terrain).
  3. Click New Project → Create KML file → give it a name (e.g. Exercise1_YourName).
  4. Click Add to project → Draw line or shape → click around your area's perimeter → double-click to close.
  5. Hover the project in the left panel → click ⋮ → Export as KML file → save as Exercise1_AOI.kml.

Choosing a good area

Aim for district or watershed scale. Pick somewhere with visible variety — farmland, a river, mixed land use. Avoid large water bodies or uniform bare desert. If you work on specific IsDB projects, use a real project area.

Alternative for admin boundaries: download directly from geoboundaries.org/simplifiedDownloads.html — select country + administrative level (ADM1 = province, ADM2 = district) → download GeoJSON.

Exercise 1B — Generate an EO analysis in the eToolkit (15:25–16:00)

Aim: Load your boundary, run the analysis, and export the PDF report.

Access: etoolkit.terrawatch.net · Username: user1 · Password: etoolkit@IsDB

Shared training credentials

These are shared credentials for the training environment. Do not change the password or account settings.

  1. Log in — take the guided platform tour when prompted.
  2. Set filters — select your Theme (sector), Phase (Identification), and Country.
  3. Load your area — import your Exercise1_AOI.kml (or GeoJSON from GeoBoundaries), or draw directly on the map.
  4. Generate analysis — click Generate analysis and wait (a few minutes for processing).
  5. Explore results — read LULC, vegetation trend, precipitation, climate projections, and AI recommendations.
  6. Export PDF — download the full report.

For each section of your report, ask:

  • What does this tell me about my area?
  • What surprised me?
  • Which finding would be most useful in a PAD or PCR for a project here?

Troubleshooting

  • Area too large / slow → reduce the polygon and re-run. Aim for district scale.
  • Blank or near-empty results → your area may be mostly water or have heavy cloud cover. Try a different location.
  • Login issues → check credentials above; contact the facilitator.
  • KML not accepted → draw directly on the map instead.

Group share (last 5 min)

Two or three volunteers share their area on screen and name one thing the report revealed. No preparation needed.

Continue to Day 2 — Spatializing Projects & WaPOR