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TIGER Projects Sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency
Hatfield Consultants Ltd., West Vancouver, British Columbia
Project - Nile River Awareness Kit
Value - $445,000
The Nile Transboundary Environmental Action Project (NTEAP), part of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), requested the Nile River Awareness Kit (Nile RAK) Project. Canadian Space Agency missions, such as RADARSAT-1, play an important role in the Nile RAK Project to promote sustainable Earth observation applications for water resource managers in the Nile River Basin.
The Nile RAK Project will demonstrate the potential of Earth observation-based data for long-term, sustainable support of core activities of the NTEAP and NBI. It will develop a sustainable, independent learning and training tool, the Nile RAK CD-ROM, and other Earth observation applications for wetlands, flooding, and water management, while promoting communications and awareness. This project builds on an extensive foundation of support to the NBI laid by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
For more information, contact Thomas Boivin, tboivin@hatfieldgroup.com, (604) 926-3261, or visit http://www.hatfieldgroup.com.
Golder Associates, Mississauga, Ontario
Project - Satellite hydrogeology for water resource management in Northern Ghana
Value - $459,010
Golder Associates has put together an integrated and diverse team with strong foundations in remote sensing, geographic information systems, hydrogeology, and sustainability for groundwater exploration. Remote sensing has recently been proven to lower the number of unsuccessful drillings for groundwater. Thus, it is a cost- and time-effective tool for groundwater exploration.
Golder will enhance existing methods of groundwater exploration in northern Ghana with approaches based on remote sensing. With RADARSAT-1 imagery as the primary synoptic view, complementary information will be added from optical satellite data. Operational protocols developed to extract groundwater parameters from satellite imagery will be integrated with an existing hydrogeological analysis data model. These, too, will work from the synoptic view of remote sensing and through careful analysis to obtain information that improves the success rate of water drilling operations. World Vision Ghana and the University of Ghana Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services are project partners and will help in transferring expertise to the communities.
For more information, contact John Fairs, jfairs@golder.com, (905) 567-4444, ext. 1348, or visit http://www.golder.com.
Vexcel Canada, Nepean, Ontario
Project - Aquifer and River Basin Resource Evaluation (ARBRE)
Value - $499,649
Vexcel's project team will take part in the TIGER initiative to help communities of Burkina Faso improve water resource management and thereby reduce poverty. As we listen to the end-user needs, deliver useful information, transfer knowledge, and promote the concepts, the project can take on a life of its own, becoming sustainable in the near and long terms. Earth observation products will be used to complete biophysical inventories and to study the dynamics of water in small watersheds managed by communities.
The ARBRE project is partnering with the World Bank project for Community-Based Rural Development Project, Phase 2, which aims to reduce poverty among the rural people of Burkina Faso. ARBRE also works with the Global Environment Facility-funded Sahel Integrated Lowland Ecosystem Management program, which complements Burkina Faso's National Community-Based Rural Development program by introducing a landscape dimension and an integrated ecosystem management approach to local development planning. Implemented in three phases over a 15-year period, these two projects have a budget of US$132 million.
For more information, contact Kevin Jones, kevin.jones@vexcel.com, (613) 727-1087 ext. 252, or visit http://www.vexcel.com.
Noetix Research Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
Project - Development and demonstration of Earth observation technology for identifying natural mosquito habitats and predicting malaria risk in Africa
Value - $499,934
The project is part of Kenya's National Malaria Control Program that involves an interdisciplinary team in insect ecology, human health and tropical diseases, and ecologists. The objectives of this project are to provide detailed maps, monitor changes to mosquito habitats (wetlands), and develop malaria risk maps using data on topography, larva ecology, human health, households, and habitats. This information will be an integral part of an overall larva-control strategy to identify larvicide-application practices that would reduce the mosquito population.
Detailed space-based data on wetlands and mosquito control are not available for the region but can be obtained for reasonable cost by high-resolution Earth-observation sensors. Data acquired over time can monitor the change and provide a more accurate resource map. Continuous cloud cover during wet seasons and the cumulus clouds caused by heat during the dry season means that an all-weather satellite with high spatial resolution modes, like RADARSAT, will provide a reliable source of multi-temporal imagery.
For more information, contact Tom Hirose, tom.hirose@noetix.on.ca, (613) 236-1555, or visit http://www.noetix.on.ca.
Info-Electronics Systems Inc., Montréal, Quebec
Project - Development of an integrated decision aid system for water resource management based on satellite data for the Sous-Massa Basin in Morocco
Value - $464,340
The project will develop a Decision Aid System for water resource management in the Sous-Massa basin in Morocco based on a geographic information system, satellite data, and other data such as geology, land use, land cover, topography, and lineaments.
The 27,000 square kilometres of the Sous-Massa basin are bounded to the north by the Haut-Atlas Mountains and to the south by the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Since 1975, the area has seen extraordinary economic growth. Agriculture, tourism, and population expansion contribute to increased demand for water and overexploitation of groundwater resources. Updating information on the water system will help with sustainable management of these resources. The project will also integrate, in a geographic information system, an approach that uses satellite images and traditional information as an analysis tool for better management of the water resources and mapping of the groundwater potential and evolution. Partners include Morocco's Royal Centre for Remote Sensing, the Université du Québec à Montréal, and the Sous-Massa Watershed Authority, based in Agadir.
For more information, contact Leslie Dolcine, leslie@info-electronics.com, (514) 421-0767 ext. 229, or visit http://www.info-electronics.com.
IUCN Canada, World Conservation Union, Montréal, Québec
Project - Remote sensing and geographic information system application in integrated river basin management vulnerability assessment and formulation of adaptation strategies in the Zambezi Delta and Medium Limpopo Basin
Value - $488,186
Environmental stresses in southern Africa induced by human activity, such as dams and land-use change, and by natural forces such as erosion and cyclones, are intensified by climatic factors. Certain areas may be vulnerable to the impact of climate change-sometimes with irreversible damage.
While remote sensing capabilities can improve planning, management and decision-making, no project has yet been validated at the landscape level. Using RADARSAT imagery, the vulnerability assessment and the development of adaptation strategies for the Zambezi Delta and Medium Limpopo Basin will test and demonstrate how well remote sensing and geographic information system applications work for integrated river basin management. The vulnerability of the area to flood and drought from climatic extremes and the mitigation measures are a special focus. This initiative will take place within the context of the Zambezi Basin Program, Phase II, led by IUCN and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
For more information: Tom Hammond, tom.hammond@iucn.org, (514) 287-9704, ext. 361, or visit http://www.iucn.org.
VIASAT GeoTechnologies Inc., Montréal, Quebec
Project - An operational solution using satellite stereoscopy to provide assistance for sustainable water management in the Volta River Basin
Value - $500,000
VIASAT GeoTechnologies is taking part in the PAGEV Program, a project to improve water management in the Volta River Basin with the West Africa Regional Office of the World Conservation Union (UICN-BRAO). VIASAT's experience in Earth-observation development projects with African partners will help in promoting the use of satellite images to meet the data requirements of the region.
Through the innovative use of synthetic stereoscopy, a way to process satellite images, the project will optimize the topographical and thematic data used for the ecosystem approach to sound water resource management. Key players in the region will have current and accurate information on paper and in digital format for the study the ecosystem's vulnerability to weather and human activity in phenomena such as erosion, silt deposits in riverbeds that cause wetlands to gradually dry out, and water contamination from pesticides and other agricultural sources.
For more information contact Mathieu Benoit, mbenoit@viasat-geo.com, (514) 495-6500, ext. 106, or visit http://www.viasat-geo.com.
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