The Sahara and Sahel Observatory project proposal on "Sustainable management of water for agriculture" submitted to the Group on Earth Observations - GEO, was recently approved http://earthobservations.org/article.php?id=447 ).
The purpose of the "Sustainable management of water for agriculture" project is to set up an operational monitoring system of irrigation and water abstraction for agriculture through the use of earth observation data and technologies. Based on new and regular acquisitions of satellite images, the project will provide accurate and up-to-date information on agricultural campaigns as well as water abstraction in irrigated areas, while observing food security and management of seasonal water allocation restrictions issues.
It is worth noting in this regard that the GMES geospatial services being developed by the North Africa consortium for the monitoring and management of natural resources in support to the sustainable development national strategies will have a new significance and a broader scope through the migration to the GEE cloud.
For the record, three GMES services are being developed for the North Africa consortium, namely:
- Seasonal agriculture monitoring and early warning;
- Assessment of abstractions and monitoring of water use in irrigated areas;
- Land degradation monitoring.