Roman Meyer
Advisor GIS & GNSS
GIZ
Ethiopia

Biography
Roman Meyer studied Surveying and Geoinformatics at the University of Applied Sciences Basel, Switzerland. He has worked in Switzerland, Afghanistan and numerous countries on the African continent; in the private sector, at universities and with international organizations. Currently he is employed by German International Cooperation GIZ, seconded to the African Union Border Programme as an Advisor on GIS & GNSS. Aside from the technical work, he sees himself as a pivotal point between technicians, government officials, politicians and donor organizations, translating the technical aspects of GIS & GNSS into common language.

Abstract
African Union Border Programme - Achievements, Challenges and Outlook

With only 35% of all African Borders clearly demarcated on the ground, African Borders remain a potential source of conflict. Or to put it the other way round: demarcating African borders bears great potential for peace and stability on the continent. African Heads of State have thus set themselves a deadline of 2017 to reaffirm all borders on the continent. At African Union level, the AU Border Programme is in charge of all border related questions on the continent. Aside from the actual delimitation and demarcation, it promotes cross border cooperation and capacity development on border issues. Germany, through its implementing agency GIZ, supports the AUBP in this delicate endeavour. The challenges faced are manifold: shortage of qualified personnel, limited financial means, political instability, ambiguous treaties, to name just a few. Yet despite all these challenges, significant progress is made. The presentation will give an overview of the setup and the history of the AUBP, the technical procedures currently in place as well as an outlook on the near future.