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Satellites boost African water management

Farzana Rasool
By Farzana Rasool, ITWeb IT in Government Editor.
Johannesburg, 21 Dec 2011

More than 200 African water resource management professionals have been trained in applying near real-time satellite data to optimise the use of Africa's scarce water resources more effectively.

This is as a result of the European Space Agency's (ESA's) TIGER initiative, which was presented this month at a workshop held in SA for the first time.

“The use of satellite technology is integral to water resource management. Water can be monitored from space at several different stages of the hydrological cycle using Earth observation (EO) satellites,” says principal investigator for the TIGER initiative, Bob Su.

The hydrological cycle is the journey water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky and back again.

Su adds that a critical focus of the initiative is to build capacity among water sector professionals in Africa to ensure that EO data is applied effectively in managing the region's water. The overall objective of the initiative is to assist African countries to overcome problems faced in the collection, analysis and use of water-related geo-information by exploiting the advantages of EO technology.

It aims to fill information gaps about the status of the region's water resources through an intensive capacity-building programme that enables participants to interpret and apply EO data.

Progressive support

ESA launched the TIGER initiative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, in 2002.

This year's workshop in SA was organised in conjunction with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Water Research Commission (WRC), the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), and the University of Twente (ITC).

The ESA says excellent results are being seen from programme participants who are now using satellite imagery.

“Many have published research papers in the field and succeeded in securing the support from local authorities and government entities in their countries to improve water resource management practices.”

Hydro technology

Speaking at the workshop, SANSA CEO Sandile Malinga referred specifically to the benefits of the TIGER initiative for SA.

This includes the SHARE project, a collaborative venture started several years ago with the Vienna University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

It makes imagery from EO satellites available for use in fields such as hydrology, ecology and agriculture.

“The SHARE services addressed one of South Africa's key challenges in water resource management, namely the lack of readily-available, reliable soil moisture information at weekly intervals. Soil moisture information is critical in agriculture, which forms the backbone of many rural communities in the country,” said the CEO.

ESA says participants in the capacity-building training courses receive free image processing software, mostly developed by ESA and ITC.

“Our partnerships within South Africa have always been important pillars in our initiative - the TIGER concept was launched in South Africa and has been strongly supported by the Ministry of Water Affairs here,” says ESA.

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