QGIS Wrapper — Sahel Region Geospatial Analysis

A QGIS plugin and Python toolkit for loading, masking, and visualizing geospatial raster data for the Sahel region, with an integrated AI chatbot for environmental analysis.

Built at START Hack 2025

Overview

This project provides a streamlined workflow for analyzing land cover, climate, and biodiversity data in the Sahel region of Africa. It wraps QGIS functionality into reusable Python modules and adds an AI-powered chatbot that can answer domain-specific questions about desertification, vegetation trends, and resource conflicts using Earth observation data.

Features

• Raster data loading — load and visualize satellite imagery and land cover datasets directly in QGIS
• Region masking — clip raster data to specific geographic boundaries using vector layers
• Labeled data plotting — visualize land cover classifications with proper legends
• Climate data integration — load and analyze temperature, precipitation, and vegetation indices
• Animal/biodiversity datasets — overlay species distribution data
• AI Chatbot — ask questions about Sahel environmental challenges and get data-driven answers (powered by LLM with domain-specific system prompt)

Project Structure

├── src/
│   ├── load.py                  # Data loader with AI chatbot dialog
│   ├── LoadMaskedData.py        # Load pre-masked raster datasets
│   ├── LoadMaskedDataModular.py # Modular masked data loading
│   ├── MaskingUtil.py           # Raster masking with vector boundaries
│   ├── PlotInfo.py              # Labeled raster visualization
│   └── tmp.py                   # Temporary utilities
├── masked_data/                 # Pre-processed masked raster files
├── qgis_easy_raster_splitter_plugin/  # QGIS raster splitting plugin
├── main/                        # Entry point scripts
└── LCT_MCD12_User_Guide_V6.pdf # MODIS Land Cover reference guide

Tech Stack

• Python
• QGIS (PyQGIS API)
• GDAL/OGR for raster/vector processing
• OpenAI API for chatbot functionality
• MODIS Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1) datasets

Usage

1. Open QGIS and load the plugin
2. Use the data loader to import Sahel region raster datasets
3. Apply geographic masks to focus on specific areas
4. Visualize land cover classifications
5. Use the AI chatbot to ask questions like:
   • "What are the primary drivers of land cover change in the Sahel?"
   • "Where are the hotspots of vegetation loss?"

Context

Built during START Hack 2025 (March 2025, St. Gallen, Switzerland).