Nieuws in 2017

Higher crop water requirements due to climate change in Kazakhstan

The government of Kazakhstan with financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to upgrade and rehabilitate its irrigation sector. A detailed Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) has been undertaken by a consortium led by FutureWater in 2017. The team collected all available data on the project and had undertaken a rigorous...

Langste nacht van het jaar steeds minder donker

Op donderdag 21 december hebben we de langste nacht van het jaar, maar hoe donker is het eigenlijk in de nacht? Uit onderzoek met behulp van nachtsatellieten blijkt dat er veel lichtvervuiling is en dat er grote verschillen zijn in vergelijking met 25 jaar geleden. Onderzoekers uit Wageningen hebben met behulp van nachtelijke satellieten kaarten...

Nederlandse klimaatexperts slaan handen ineen

Veertien Nederlandse kennisorganisaties hebben hun krachten gebundeld om overheden en bedrijven in binnen- en buitenland beter te kunnen adviseren over het opvangen van de enorme gevolgen van een warmer klimaat. Vandaag ondertekenden ze in Utrecht de oprichting van het Netherlands Consortium on Climate Change Adaptation (CCCA). Dat consortium gaat kennis en expertise uit verschillende sectoren...

Minimaal een derde van de gletsjers in Azië zal verdwijnen

Zelfs als het klimaat slechts 1,5 graden Celsius opwarmt – zoals afgesproken in het Parijse klimaatakkoord – dan nog zal ruim een derde van de gletsjers in Azië in 2100 gesmolten zijn. Dat blijkt uit een onderzoek van de Universiteit Utrecht en FutureWater, dat op 14 september in Nature is gepubliceerd. Dat is problematisch, aangezien...

FutureWater releases new study on monitoring Water Productivity

Water Productivity, expressed as the amount of crop yield over the amount of water consumed (kg/m3), has been accepted as the standard to monitor sustainable water management. FutureWater has evaluated various methods, including satellites and Flying Sensors (drones) to monitor Water Productivity for a demonstration project ThirdEye in southern Mozambique. Monitoring Water Productivity is set...

White paper published: On Spatially Distributed Hydrological Ecosystem Services

FutureWater published a white paper to demonstrate that, by leveraging technologies and remote sensing data, Hydrological EcoSystem Services (HESS) at the river basin scale can be effectively described, quantified and compared in space and time. This white paper demonstrates state-of-the-art methods for assessing different HESS and their tradeoffs under different development scenarios. It explores opportunities for...

Boussinesq Prize 2017 awarded to Walter Immerzeel

Text adopted from: Boussinesqcenter.nl On Friday June 2nd Walter Immerzeel (Utrecht University) received the Boussinesq Prize 2017 awarded by prof. Bob Su. Walter Immerzeel has quickly become one of the most influential and highly cited young scientists in mountain hydrology, in particular on the effect of climate change on snow and glaciers in High Mountain Asia...

FutureWater at FAO seminar on drought and agriculture: Close the drought management cycle in Vietnam

FutureWater has presented work in Vietnam on the development of a drought information system, during a high-level event at UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters, gathering specialists from all over the world. The international seminar on drought organized by Iran, the Netherlands, and FAO in Rome aimed to catalyse a renewed international push to tackle...

MSc thesis research on efficient use of water in agriculture: visiting Xai-Xai, Mozambique

Increasing world population, rising food demand, limited water resources. Currently 70% of the fresh water uptakes are already used for irrigation. The need for efficient water use in agriculture is undisputed! The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6.4 is set at the improvement of efficient use in order to reduce water scarcity and maintain food...

Regional Training on Hydrological Modelling in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Nepal

The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is highly dynamic as there are many socio-economic and environmental drivers at play, including climate change. The impacts of these changes challenge the resilience of natural and human capacities and environments in the region. Recent studies have shown that the Himalayan region and the downstream areas that depend on its water...

Successful scoping mission for new World Bank project on enhanced landscape resilience in Madagascar

Deforestation, population growth, and climate change are only some of the challenges to sustainable landscape management in Madagascar. Severe impacts of land degradation on crop production, water availability and biodiversity are already observed and expected to exacerbate in the future. To address these challenges, the World Bank is supporting the PADAP project, which is based...

Field visit on monitoring water productivity in Quelimane, Mozambique

To follow up a good practical example of a our Masterclass on Water Productivity, our colleague Nadja den Besten went on a mission to Quelimane in Mozambique. FutureWater was invited to assess project APROVALE, Água Produtiva no Vale do Zambeze, in the Zambezi Valley. The project is led by Agencia de Desenvolvimento do Vale do Zambeze...

A4Lab deploys FutureWater’s drone technique to explore water potential of dry river beds in Mozambique

Text adopted from Dutchwatersector.com Research group A4Lab deployed a drone of FutureWater’s Mozambican ThirdEye project, to assess the water availability in the dry river beds of the Limpopo river, near the city of Chókwè in Moazambique. The exploration is to deliver more data on the amounts of water in the sandy river beds throughout the dry...

Expert mission to Bolivia on drought early warning systems

The Ministry of Water and Environment in Bolivia has asked the Dutch Government for support in relation to the drought issues they face. Last week, a team consisting of team leader Otto de Keizer (Deltares) and Johannes Hunink (FutureWater) left for Bolivia. As a result of El Niño, the country is struggling with a long...

Water Productivity Masterclass: From Monitoring to Improvement

Water productivity is a much discussed topic in the water and agricultural sector, especially in water-scarce countries. Between March and May 2017, a series of master classes on water productivity are organized by MetaMeta together with RAIN and NWP, under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The masterclasses are meant for SMEs...

Workshop and training on hydropower and forestry management in Gabon

Last week, the final results of the work in the Mbé basin in Gabon were presented to the stakeholders. The presentation was followed by a very participative discussion on the next steps. The study provides solid evidence that there is a clear economic benefit in the sustainable management and conservation of the watershed. The Nature...

ThirdEye project featured in USAID Water Sector Activities Report

SWFF Innovators FutureWater was featured in USAID’s recently published Safeguarding the World’s Water: Report of Water Sector Activities, which details the Agency’s investments and efforts in WASH and nutrition, agricultural water management, sustainability of WASH services; sanitation; and water quality. This report describes a wide range of programs consistent with USAID’s Water and Development strategy’s focus on maintaining...

Natuurbrandbeheersing op hoger plan met satellietdata

Tekst overgenomen van pianoo.nl Bij het beheersen en bestrijden van natuurbranden kan satellietdata van grote waarde zijn. Let wel: kán, maar hoe precies? En wie gaat dat betalen? Het Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid (IFV) en Brandweer Nederland sloegen de handen ineen, samen met ruimtevaartorganisatie NSO die graag de toepassing van satelliet-observatie wil versnellen. Een SBIR-traject bleek...