The Observatório da Caatinga e Desertificação (OCA) is a research group based at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) that, for over 15 years. We have been conducting investigations, analyses, and the development of solutions focused on socio-environmental issues related to the Brazilian semi-arid region. Our work includes climate monitoring, desertification processes, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and environmental impacts.

OCA aims to bridge science, data, and society by producing accessible knowledge and tools that support researchers, public managers, organizations, and communities.

As a R&D organization that maintains and organizes diverse socioeconomic and environmental solutions and applications, like:

Data Nordeste: Data hub for a brazilian government entity called Sudene. The project displays a diverse set of ocioeconomic and environmental indicators for Northeast Brazil, integrating public data and custom models.

Data extractors: A set of scripts that enable us to extract data from public sources that don't have a proper API.

SAP: Monitoring tools for desertification

These datasets support scientific studies, interactive visualizations, monitoring platforms, and indicator dashboards.

To develop, analyze, and communicate socio-environmental information about Brazil’s semi-arid region—especially the Caatinga—contributing to public policy, applied research, and social awareness.

Projects associated with OCA and Data Nordeste rely on a modern technology stack, including:

• Python, JavaScript, TypeScript

• React, Next.js for interface development

• Docker for packaging and reproducibility

• Power BI for dashboards and visual analytics

• AWS tools, including S3 and Postgres, for data storage and management

• E-mail: obs.caatinga@gmail.com
• Instagram: observatorio.caatinga