What we Do
Moabi helps communities and organizations - both small and large - build transparency and accountability on complex environmental issues in some of the most remote and challenging locations on Earth. We do this by doing three things:
Moabi helps communities and organizations - both small and large - build transparency and accountability on complex environmental issues in some of the most remote and challenging locations on Earth. We do this by doing three things:
While we are known for making innovative and visually appealing maps (see here), we are developing an extensive suite of open-source, web-based tools to collect, organize, and distribute data on a wide variety of natural resource topics. We’ve helped to pioneer the use of OpenStreetMap – the world’s largest collaborative mapping project – to map natural resource issues in the Congo Basin. This involved adapting the OSM technology to collect information such as mining permits and community land rights and make it available on the world wide web. We have also partnered with Mapbox to improve core OSM tools such as the iD editor and are now building a complete open-source stack for managing, editing, and publishing maps and reports on natural resource issues.
Our organization was founded upon the principle of constant collaboration and data sharing with partner organizations. We are currently partnered with international organizations such as the World Resources Institute and the Carter Center to develop new approaches and technologies to monitor natural resources. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we work in a direct partnership with the OGF – the national mandated forest monitor – and OSFAC, a regional satellite monitoring institution for central Africa. Together with our local partners, we’ve also build a broad consortium of organizations to provide the most comprehensive public database to date on natural resource use in DRC.
Moabi provides technical training and support to Congolese civil society organizations on a wide range of topics including data collection, mobile mapping, collaborative mapping systems, and other transparency technologies. The goal of our training is to strengthen the technical skills for local civil society to conduct their own monitoring. We’ve conducted trainings in using the Moabi DRC platform, OpenStreetMap, Community Monitoring, and GIS. We also established a funding facility in DRC to provide the financial resources to organizations who want to conduct their own monitoring activities.
