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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Global monitoring of actual evapotranspiration, biomass production and water productivity through Remote Sensing

FAO (
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction50546
Description
Description

With support from the Netherlands, FAO has developed an open access near-real-time database using satellite data that allows monitoring of actual evapotranspiration, biomass production and agricultural water productivity. This database is the heart of FAO’s portal to monitor Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed information (WaPOR). Currently, WaPOR covers Africa and the Near East and is being used by a range of different users, ranging from policy makers and researchers to extension services and farmers.  

In developing and maintaining the database and reaching out to a range of different users, FAO has been partnering with IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (IHE Delft), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and a public private consortium of Dutch and Flemish institutions. FAO intends to partner with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Copernicus programme (the European Union's Earth Observation programme) to expand the area to cover the whole globe by 2023.

Expected Impact

WaPOR is the first high resolution database that combines information on biomass production and evapotranspiration (ET) on a continental scale. With different spatial resolutions, ranging from 250 meters for continental applications to 30 meter for selected pilot areas, in combination with a 10-day time interval and available data since 2009, WaPOR is an unprecedented source of information to assess and support agricultural production and agricultural water management.

The implementation of the WaPOR programme triggered a growing demand for practical applications and locally relevant solutions from FAO Members all over the world. The continuation of the database for the area currently covered by the WaPOR database and an expansion towards a global database is therefore strongly recommended. The database can be used for trend analyses on (i) area cropped, (ii) crop production, (iii) water use, and (iv) water productivity which are all key for understanding the evolution of food production and whether the implementation of policies, projects and subsidies have had the impact anticipated. Global time series analysis will reveal more information on sustainability, vulnerability and the impacts of agricultural practices under different bio-physical and socio-economic circumstances in a changing climate.

Partners

IHE-Delft, IWMI

Additional information

https://wapor.apps.fao.org/

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Timeline
01 January 2015 (start date)
31 December 2025 (date of completion)
Entity
FAO
SDGs
Region
  1. Africa
  2. Europe
  3. Asia and Pacific
  4. North America
  5. Latin America and the Caribbean
  6. West Asia
Other beneficiaries

Farmers; Scientists; Policy makers

Countries
world
Global
Algeria
Algeria
Colombia
Colombia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Iraq
Iraq
Jordan
Jordan
Kenya
Kenya
Mali
Mali
Mozambique
Mozambique
Pakistan
Pakistan
South Sudan
South Sudan
State of Palestine
State of Palestine
Tunisia
Tunisia
Netherlands
Netherlands
Contact Information

Lifeng Li, Director, Land and Water Division