August
3, 2007
SPACE-BORNE
SENSORS HELP AFRICA
TACKLE WATER SHORTAGE PROBLEMS
Zambian water authorities are integrating information based on
satellite
imagery to alleviate water shortages. With inadequate information
causing many
water-related problems, an ESA project has generated a variety of
environmental
maps to provide local policy makers with the necessary tools for
effective
water resource management.
As part of the IWAREMA (Integrated
Water Resource
management for Zambia)
project, funded through ESA’s Data User Element, data from
ESA’s multispectral
MERIS sensor aboard Envisat was used to create maps depicting existing
water
resources, suitable dam locations and land cover. The project is
carried out by
the Belgium Company GIM (Geographic Information Management) in
partnership with
the University
of Zambia
and the Zambian
water authorities.
"The results of
the IWAREMA project can
be used to protect Zambia’s
ecosystems particularly in the Kafue flats where wildlife, agricultural
activities, fisheries and tourism compete for regulated water
resources,"
Jack Nkhoma of Zambia’s
Department of Water Affairs said.
Having access to these maps allows
authorities to
determine the expansion of urban areas and loss of forest and
agricultural
areas as well as calculate the risk of erosion, change in water
availability
and percentage of surface water, which will allow for early flood
warnings.
The land cover
change maps will help the
government look at past trends in terms of deforestation, reclaimed
land and
new settlement areas to determine the long term affect and implement
corrective
measures.
Zambia has one of the highest urban populations
in Sub-Saharan Africa,
with about 34 percent of the total country population of nearly 11
million
people living in urban areas, according to the United Nations Human
Settlement
Programme. The rate of urbanization has been unprecedented and has
therefore
exceeded the rate of infrastructure development and service provision,
such as
water supply and sanitation.
"With a lot of
pressure from population
growth and urbanization, the land cover maps will show how demographic
variables and pressures will impact natural resources," Nkhoma said.
The project
focused on the Kafue
River Basin,
which is a sub-basin of the Zambezi River. The
Kafue
Basin
is of great importance to the country’s economy and is home
to more than half
of the country’s population.
"The IWAREMA project information is
useful for our
policy makers in decision making for the basin and should be extended
to other
basins of the Zambezi so as to improve the data situation and make
comparisons
between areas, as very little information is currently available,"
Banda
Kawawa of the University of Zambia
said. "The
products have also shown to be cost effective in relation to other
conventional
methods used."
IWAREMA was one of
the projects initiated
under ESA’s TIGER initiative, launched in 2002 to assist
African countries to
overcome water-related problems and to bridge Africa's
water information gap using satellite data. To date, more than 100
African
water basin authorities, universities and other organizations have
become
involved in TIGER projects across the continent.
##
Contact:
Mariangela
D’Acunto
European Space Agency
39-069-418-0856
mariangela.dacunto@esa.int
This text derived from:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMI01C474F_index_0.html
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