THE TIGER INITIATIVE Looking After Water in Africa
In 2002, responding to the urgent need for action in Africa stressed by the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the European Space Agency (ESA) within the framework of the Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) launched the TIGER initiative Looking After Water in Africa. Over more than 10 years of existence the TIGER initiative has established and supported capacity building activities and development projects involving some 42 African countries and reaching more than 150 African water authorities and research institutes. TIGER Elements TIGER is based on two major elements: Capacity building & Training to support the consolidation of a critical mass of scientists and institutions in Africa with the skills and capabilities to derive and exploit space-based water relevant information Development of EO-based information services for IWRM by developing, demonstrating, validating and transferring to African water authorities the relevant knowledge, tools, products and services. TIGER Objectives TIGER promotes the use of Earth Observation (EO) for improved Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Africa. 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. The aim is to build the local capacity for an effective and sustainable water resources management within African water authorities and research institutions at national and trans-boundary basin scale. TIGER is based on a user driven approach under African leadership - the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has endorsed TIGER in 2006. The following international partners support and advise the TIGER initiative on its implementation and evolution: AMCOW, African Union Commission, African Water Facility, Department of Water Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, CSA, ESA, Ramsar Secretariat, UNESCO-IHP, UN-Economic Commission for Africa, UNDP Cap-Net and the World Bank. Sustainability of the process is ensured by the direct involvement and ownership of African scientists and water experts in all phases of development, from product/service specification to its transfer to operations: Tools such as the Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) are developed upon specification from African end-users (Water authorities) Projects and services are demonstrated and transferred to African water authorities supported by dedicated training and capacity building Training of the (African) Trainers maximises the spread of EO-related knowledge within the African continent Collaboration with international development agencies and initiatives aims to create synergies and leverage existing resources Study sites of current TIGER research projects (2009-2013) lead by African scientists TIGER Workshop 2011 hosted by DWA and SANSA gathered the TIGER community in South Africa
Capacity Building and Research The TIGER Capacity Building Facility (TCBF) was launched in 2006 to respond to training needs and offering scientific support to African researchers in the field of IWRM and the Earth s water cycle. To date more than 300 African water experts, scientists and stakeholders from universities to regional water authorities have received training from the facility. TCBF Objectives The TCBF is devoted to support African scientists to develop scientific skills and technical capacity to make the best use of Earth Observation technology for water resources management in Africa. The activities run by the Facility also contribute to the building of a community that unites the African users of Earth observation technology for water research and applications around the continent. TCBF Activities The Facility supports African researchers and water managers via a portfolio of activities including: Develop training courses & material focussed on selected earth observation techniques. Conduct specialized training courses with African scientists, water managers and stakeholders Provide tailored scientific support and facilitate EO data access for 70 research projects Provide scientific research supervision, including research stages and fellowships Support the four Regional Offices AGHRYMET (Niger), RCMRD (Kenya), WRC (SA), OSS (TU) in regional capacity building activities To foster North-South exchanges, scientific supervision of research projects and post-graduate fellowships are supported in direct scientific collaboration between African and European research institutions. In particular, ESA is funding through the TIGER Alcantara Studies (part of ESA s General Studies Programme) six research projects lead by African scientists selected from the TIGER network to carry out research work during scientific fellowships at European research institutes. To reinforce the capacity building actions, training and education tools have been produced, such as the TIGER Training Kit. This aims to provide African partners with a common baseline in terms of knowledge and understanding of the use of EO technology in support to water-related issues. 1 2 1. Participants to the Advanced EO Methods in Water Management and High level introductory short training on DDS & RWIS training courses hosted at SANSA 2. Lake Malawi ENVISAT, MERIS [12-Oct-2010] 3 3. Training Course Synergic Use of Advanced EO for Water Management hosted by DW Zambia in collaboration with the World Bank
Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) WOIS development and capabilities In March 2012 ESA launched at the World Water Forum the TIGER-NET project, which develops and demonstrates in close collaboration with African water authorities an user-driven, open-source Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) based on EO technology. TIGER-NET Objectives Building on the long-term TIGER development and experience, the TIGER-NET project aims to support the assessment and monitoring of water resources from watershed to cross-border basin level delivering indispensable information for Integrated Water Resources Management in Africa through: Development of an open-source WOIS for monitoring, assessing and inventorying water related processes in a cost-effective manner Capacity building and training of African water authorities and technical centres to fully exploit the increasing observation capacity offered by current and upcoming generations of satellites, including the Sentinels missions. The project has developed an open-source WOIS, which enables the production and application of a range of satellite EO based information products needed for IWRM in Africa. The specification and development of the WOIS was conducted in close collaboration with African water authorities: Nile Basin initiative, Lake Chad Basin Commission, Volta Basin Authority, Department of Water Affairs South Africa and the Ministry of Water of Namibia. The tool is being installed, demonstrated and transferred to the African organisations, which are receiving specific training on its usage, exploitation and integration to their operational work flow (e.g. reporting). Free data access (with the future Sentinel missions), free licensing, processing capacity and integrate ability with existing systems are key advantages of the WOIS, which shall enable extension to other countries and regions in Africa and encourage user-driven sustainability in terms of funding and operation. eo water products processing capacity Structure of the WOIS and integrated software modules 4 5 4. User requirement consultation meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 5. Lake Chad surface area extent and high resolution land cover, derived with the WOIS based on optical satellite data (left side) for the Lake Chad Basin Commission Large lakes water quality and levels monitoring Soil moisture Evapotranspiration (optional) Precipitation (optional) Base mapping Medium resolution land degradation index Medium resolution full basin characterization High resolution full basin characterization Small water bodies mapping Flood mapping system Hydrological characterization Water supply and sanitation planning support Water Observation & Information System DATABASE MODULE Storage Import/export ftp EO PROCESSING MODULE Pre-processing Image classification Change detection Accuracy assessment GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM MODULE Visualization Digitizing Multi-criteria decision analysis Presentation (Maps, Charts, Plots, Tables) HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING MODULE Data preparation Hydrological response units based on terrain slope, land cover and soil type Simulation of crop growth, soil moisture, groundwater storage and river discharge Post-processing of time-series and map output from the simulation Validation from in-situ data, radar altimetry and soil moisture products DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS Support for scenario development (e.g. land-use change, irrigation development) applications for african water authorities Fresh Water Supply Hydrologic Analysis Flood Monitoring Drought Monitoring Infrastructure planning
STRATEGIC PARTNERS African Union Commission African Water Facility AGHRYMET AMCOW Cap-Net CEOS CSA ESA GEOSS OSS RAMSAR RCMRD SA Department of Water Affairs UNESCO UN-ECA World Bank Initiatives such as TIGER, which will deliver enhanced and timely information for water resource management, are therefore of critical importance to developing nations Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica MP, Former Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of the Republic of South Africa ESA 2013 TIGER initiative: www.tiger.esa.int/index.php TCBF: www.itc.nl/tiger TIGER-NET: www.tiger-net.org