Water which flows over or is stored on the ground surface (United Nations Publication, 2013)

Sources

United Nations Publications. "Glossary of Shared Water Resources (English-Arabic): Technical, Socioeconomic and Legal Terminology." (2013). DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.18356/70b462ce-en

Could you describe your professional career and/or personal experiences related to space technology and water? Where does your interest in those sectors come from?

I started my research career in 2013, with research interests revolving around various environmental concerns that were deeply rooted in water related issues of Pakistan. Having an educational background in Space Science, it was quite intuitive to possess understanding of the very high potential of applicability of Geospatial technologies in the water sector.

From Jakarta to Nusantara: Land subsidence and other pressing water challenges in a sinking mega city

Jakarta, “the sinking city”, is the current capital city of Indonesia. Located on the Java Sea, this coastal city is home to nearly 30 million people within the greater-Jakarta area. Jakarta has grappled with water management issues for decades, leading to several current day water-related crises. Access to a reliable, potable water supply is extremely limited as there is a significant disparity between those with piped water access and those without. Citizens without piped water access have consequently relied heavily on groundwater and have dug thousands of unregulated wells as a result. This has led to a second water crisis – the chronic overextraction of Jakarta’s underground aquifers. Land subsidence is of the utmost concern as this sinking city is placed at high flood risk from the surrounding ocean. Approximately 40% of Jakarta now lies below sea level as a result and predictive models suggest that the entire city will be underwater by 2050 (Gilmartin, 2019). Compounding these problems, the climate crisis has led to significant sea level rise as glaciers and ice caps continue to melt (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019; Lindsey, 2022). As the city of Jakarta continues to sink and sea levels rise, millions of citizens within Jakarta are at extremely high risk of flooding, particularly during monsoon season. Thousands of residents have already been forced to abandon their homes in search of improved conditions and higher ground (Garschagen et al., 2018).

Interview with Dr Khalid Mahmood, Assistant Professor at the University of the Punjab

Could you describe your professional career and/or personal experiences related to space technology and water? Where does your interest in those sectors come from?

The 10th Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (2022)

Under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

and organised by

the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Vienna

and with the cooperation of

PSIPW announces winners for its 10th Award (2022)

On 5 June 2022, the Prize Council, under the chairmanship of the president of King Saud University Dr. Badran Al-Omar, and under the direction of PSIPW President HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, approved the winners for the 10th Award (2022) of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW).

PSIPW 10th Award Winners Honoured at the United Nations Office in Vienna for their Innovative Solutions to Water Scarcity

The 10th Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) was held under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on 13 December 2022 at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Vienna International Centre.

50th International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress 2023

The 50th Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists will be hosted at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa from 17 to 22 September 2023.

The Congress theme for IAH 50 is Groundwater: A Matter of Scale. This theme combines scientific advances through local to global scale experiments and case studies, with those extending over various temporal scales.

Face to Face course on Earth Observations for Water Resources Assessment and Monitoring

The second F2F course of the EO AFRICA R&D Facility will take place in Accra, Ghana, immediately after the United Nations/Ghana 5th International Conference on the Use of Space Technologies for Water Resources Management.

1st IAHR and 4th CAE International Conference on Global Water Security and Sustainable Development

The 1st IAHR and 4th CAE International Conference on Global Water Security and Sustainable Development will be held by the Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University and Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute in Nanjing (China) from October 30th to November 3rd, 2023.

30th Danube Conference 2023

Danube Conferences traditionally are the common connections of the hydrological regional cooperation. These meetings commenced in Budapest in 1961. Since 1975, cooperation has been conducted within the framework of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO.

ICSWGWI 2022: 16. International Conference on Surface Water and Ground Water Interactions - Lisbon, Portugal

The International Research Conference is a federated organization dedicated to bringing together a significant number of diverse scholarly events for presentation within the conference program. Events will run over a span of time during the conference depending on the number and length of the presentations. With its high quality, it provides an exceptional value for students, academics and industry researchers.

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Lacking historic knowledge on vegetation cover and surface water extent / river course

Long view of Ngakoahia Stream and surrounding vegetation

The Māori community has Ngakoaohia River running through the customary lands and currently there are no records or knowledge of the river, so the community is not able to use it for any particular function. There is lack of understanding historical land use and land cover surrounding the river. Historical data is essential for understanding where things were planted or where was vegetation in order to be able to decide what plant are suitable for our location. So, the planting will help with the land, stabilising the riverbanks and help with plant life as well. We must work in unity with our environment, so historical data will help not to make ill informed decisions that will be detrimental to the environment.

University of Energy and Natural Resources

The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 830, 2011 on December 31, 2011. The University is a public funded national institution which seeks to provide leadership and management of energy and natural resources and be a centre of excellence in these critical areas.

International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals

With the aim of addressing global challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, CBAS is committed to harnessing big data to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing technological barriers and filling in data gaps. Since its inauguration, CBAS identified key areas of interest and has made significant progress.

Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab, University of the Punjab

The emerging demand of GIS and Space Applications for Climate Change studies for the socio-economic development of Pakistan along with Government of Pakistan Vision 2025, Space Vision 2047 of National Space Agency of Pakistan, and achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impelled the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) to establish Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab (RSGCRL) at University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

H2O Geomatics Inc.

H2O Geomatics is a research spin-off from the University of Waterloo. The company uses state-of-the-art remote sensing technologies to turn Earth Observation (EO) data into products and information tailored to meet end-user needs in various domains of application. H2O Geomatics is also conducting R & D activities on machine learning algorithms to handle big EO datasets as well as the development of environmental risk assessment tools for climate-dependent sectors such as agriculture and water resources management.

Services offered by the company include:

Otchere

Bernard Otchere

Master of Science Graduate in Environmental Engineering and Management at University of Energy and Natural Resources

Bernard Michael Akwasi Poku Otchere, a dynamic Environmental Engineer from Ghana, stands at the forefront of innovative solutions addressing water-related challenges. Armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Bernard's expertise lies in the intersection of environmental science and sustainable development.

Tumampos

Stephanie Tumampos

PhD researcher at Technical University of Munich

Stephanie has always been fascinated about space science and its applications. After finishing her bachelor's degree in applied physics, she worked for Regulus Spacetech Inc which was founded and headed by one of the few astrophysicists in the country. In this work, she spearheaded many projects including outreach and education in astronomy and space science in the country, and reached out to hundreds of children in her home country.

Software/Tool/(Web-)App

Aqua Monitor

Aqua Monitor shows how the Earth's surface water has changed during the last 30 years. It uses freely available satellite data and Google Earth Engine, a platform for the planetary-scale scientific analysis of geospatial datasets.

For more information check the following pages:

Aqua Monitor

For more information check the following pages:

Surface water

Related Content

Article

Interview with Dr Khalid Mahmood, Assistant Professor at the University of the Punjab

Could you describe your professional career and/or personal experiences related to space technology and water? Where does your interest in those sectors come from?

From Jakarta to Nusantara: Land subsidence and other pressing water challenges in a sinking mega city

Interview with Dr Khalid Mahmood, Assistant Professor at the University of the Punjab

Could you describe your professional career and/or personal experiences related to space technology and water? Where does your interest in those sectors come from?

The 10th Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (2022)

Under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Vienna

PSIPW announces winners for its 10th Award (2022)

PSIPW 10th Award Winners Honoured at the United Nations Office in Vienna for their Innovative Solutions to Water Scarcity

Event

50th International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress 2023

Face to Face course on Earth Observations for Water Resources Assessment and Monitoring

Face to Face course on Earth Observations for Water Resources Assessment and Monitoring

1st IAHR and 4th CAE International Conference on Global Water Security and Sustainable Development

30th Danube Conference 2023

ICSWGWI 2022: 16. International Conference on Surface Water and Ground Water Interactions - Lisbon, Portugal

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Lacking historic knowledge on vegetation cover and surface water extent / river course

Stakeholder

University of Energy and Natural Resources

International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals

Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab, University of the Punjab

H2O Geomatics Inc.

Person

Bernard Otchere

Stephanie Tumampos

Software/Tool/(Web-)App

Aqua Monitor

Aqua Monitor

Under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud