Characterizing Decision-Making for Earth Observation Applications in Water Management

Abstract:

From various experiences interacting with water managers in Africa, and our efforts to bring remote sensing applications to support the real world of operational hydrology, a systematic approach is presented to characterize and understand decision-making contexts and needs. Our collaborative engagement with stakeholders, especially in the transboundary Mara Basin (Kenya & Tanzania) will be presented, based on the efforts of our SERVIR Applied Sciences Team Project and collaboration with the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD, Nairobi) and a range of Kenyan Water Resources Agencies at several levels. The evolving process of our dialogue with users and stakeholders will be highlighted: from the early stages of the project to characterize monitoring and forecasting needs, through the co-development of applications, communication of model results, feedbacks, synergies, current uses, next steps and lessons learned. From these and other collective experiences, we outline a policy approach – or best practices – to understand decision context and maximize the relevance and adoption of Earth Observation applications for water and environmental management in Africa, and thus building capacity in local organizations.