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Water resources management in

drylands
Throughout the world, water resource management is a crucial issue to
ensure the survival of populations. In arid areas, where water is scarce and
precious, this issue is even more pressing. The effects of climate change are
exacerbating this already critical situation, with increasingly frequent droughts
and rapidly depleting water reserves. Faced with this reality, it is crucial to
develop effective water management strategies that preserve this vital
resource for present and future generations. In this context, geospatial
intelligence offers innovative solutions to better understand and manage water
resources in drylands. Using geographic data and advanced technologies, it is
possible to monitor water use, predict droughts and floods, and implement
sustainable water management strategies. It's a race against time to
safeguard this critical resource, and geospatial intelligence may well be the
key to this crucial mission.

Issue:

Drylands around the world are suffering from water scarcity. The lack of
accurate and up-to-date data on water resources and their use makes it
difficult to make informed water management decisions in these areas.
Climate change and increased water demand due to population growth also
make water management increasingly difficult.This leads to humanitarian,
environmental, and economic problems, including water-related conflicts,
forced migration, and lost agricultural production.
Hypothetical impact:

Developing a solution to better manage water resources in drylands could

have a significant impact on the quality of life of local populations,
environmental sustainability and political stability. Outcomes could include
increased access to clean water, improved resource use, reduced water-
related conflicts, and increased food production.

Dataset:

To solve the problem of water resources management in drylands, several

data sets can be used, such as:

● Rainfall and soil moisture data: These data can be used to understand
weather conditions and their impact on water resources in drylands.
● Water use data: This data is important for understanding how much
water is used in a given area and for identifying the most important
water users.
● Land use maps: These data can be used to identify areas where
intensive agricultural practices may lead to overexploitation of water
resources.
● Water quality data: This data is essential to understand the water quality
in a given area and to identify potential sources of pollution.
● Groundwater data: These data can be used to understand groundwater
levels in drylands and long-term trends. However, groundwater data
may be limited in some areas, particularly in developing countries.
Water quality data are also important but can be difficult to obtain.
● Sensor data: sensor data can be collected from meteorological and
hydrological stations to monitor precipitation, temperature, humidity,
 wind speed, and water flow in arid areas.
● Satellite images: Satellite images can be used to monitor changes in
water resources, such as water levels in lakes, rivers and groundwater,
as well as vegetation cover and drought.
● Climate models: Climate models can help predict future weather
conditions and long-term climate change, which can be used to plan
water resource management in drylands.
● Geological data: Geological data can be used to determine the
presence of underground water reservoirs and soil composition in
drylands.
● Socio-economic data: Socio-economic data can be used to understand
the water needs and demands of local populations in drylands, as well
as the economic and social impacts of water scarcity.

Data Sources:

Costs to access this data vary, but many sources are free or inexpensive.
However, costs can be higher for high-precision or real-time data. This data is
typically available as downloadable files or accessible via APIs. The data can
be structured in different formats, such as CSV, GeoJSON or NetCDF. In
terms of data sources, we have:

● National and regional meteorological institutions.

● World Meteorological Organization: https://public.wmo.int/
● NASA Earth Observations: https://earthdata.nasa.gov/
● US Geological Survey: https://www.usgs.gov/
● World Resources Institute: https://www.wri.org/
● Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:
http://www.fao.org/home/en/
● Other,...
Rating mechanism:

The scoring mechanism for this challenge could evaluate the quality of the
data, its relevance to the problem at hand, as well as its accessibility and cost:

● Data quality: datasets must be accurate, reliable, and up-to-date to be

useful for water resources management in drylands.
● Relevance: datasets must be relevant to the problem at hand,
especially in terms of monitoring and forecasting water resources.
● Availability: datasets must be easily accessible and available for use in
water resources management in drylands.
● The ability to combine data: datasets must be compatible and easily
combinable to allow for a more complete analysis of the water situation
in drylands.

Combinations of data and new technologies:

By combining geospatial datasets on water resources in drylands with new

technologies, innovative solutions can be created to effectively manage water
resources in these regions. Examples of potential combinations include:

1. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Using machine learning algorithms, AI

can help predict the availability of water resources in a given region.
Geospatial data on precipitation, evaporation, and topography can be
used to train an AI model that can accurately predict the amount of
water available in the area. This information can be used to plan water
resource management activities such as dam construction or water
distribution.
2. Use of Augmented Reality: Augmented reality can be used to visualize
geospatial data on water resources in an immersive and interactive
 way. Users can interact with the data in real time to understand the
status of water resources in a given area. For example, using an
augmented reality headset, users can view 3D topographic maps to
understand the impact of terrain changes on water resource availability.
3. Use of Remote Sensing: Remote sensing can be used to monitor the
status of water resources in a given area from an orbiting satellite.
Geospatial data on surface temperature, vegetation, and precipitation
can be collected from these satellites and used to monitor the status of
water resources in the region. The information collected can be used to
plan water resource management activities such as construction of
irrigation systems or water distribution.
4. Use of the Internet of Things (IoT): IoT sensors can be used to monitor
water quality and consumption in a given area. Geospatial data on
water sources and consumption points can be used to plan water
distribution. Sensors can also be used to monitor water leakage and
loss, saving water and reducing treatment costs.

Limitations in the data:

Geospatial data on water resources may be limited due to the complexity of

the region or the quality of available data. Data can be expensive to collect
and process, which can limit access to the data for users. Data may also be
limited by privacy or security policies, which may limit access to some
sensitive information.

Conclusion:

Managing water resources in arid zones is a major challenge to ensure the

survival of populations and the preservation of the environment. Geospatial
intelligence offers innovative solutions to better understand and manage these
resources. However, the use of these technologies also raises issues and
challenges that must be taken into account. It is therefore crucial to continue
research and initiatives to develop sustainable water management in drylands.