The project has demonstrated how Earth Observation (EO) can support wetland monitoring in Uganda and with continued training sessions can become a valuable tool for wetland managers and practitioners, not only in Uganda, but potentially also paving the way for other East African countries to achieve a wetland inventory in the future.

The highlights:

Delivering a toolbox for wetland inventory mapping and demonstrating how Earth Observation can provide a full national wetland inventory in Uganda

Online portal for SDG reporting on SDG indicator 6.6.1 on wetland extent

Training national stakeholders in Uganda, and other RAMCEA countries, and providing a “lessons learned” and “roadmap” document for roll-out of the method, toolbox and online portal to other RAMCEA countries

In more detail..

The project was a unique demonstration of the full implementation of using Earth Observation to support the monitoring of wetland ecosystems on the national scale in Uganda.

Wetland monitoring is crucial for conservation and restoration of wetland ecosystems in Uganda which is explicitly mentioned in the national development plans. Hence, monitoring and reporting is not only important for reporting on the Sustainable Development Goal indicators, but should be anchored within and used by the national agencies to avoid further degradation of wetlands.

Within this project, a national baseline mapping of wetlands in Uganda was performed for 2016-2017 using all available Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery to act as a baseline for SDG indicator reporting.

This also included a training component with three training courses, leveraging the GlobWetland Toolbox for doing national-scale wetland mapping and the inclusion of field data for classifier training and product validation, where the engagement of the local stakeholders and experts are key.

The open source toolbox provided to the local stakeholders consists of a specific component producing statistics and reports for SDG reporting which can be used by e.g. the Uganda Bureau of Statistics who are responsible for the SDG indicator reporting at the national level.

This is available from the online portal where the data, statistics and reports can be explored by users and agencies.

One of the other key aims of the project was to use the implementation in Uganda as demonstration case for uptake of the tools and methods by the other RAMCEA member countries. This was obtained through participation of key staff from the other RAMCEA countries in the training workshops, and by delivering guidance documents on “lessons learned” and “roadmap” for a roll-out.

The online portal for the project is now operated by the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda.

Funding:

The project is funded by the Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) with support from the World Bank's Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) with generous contribution by the Department for International Development (DFID), Irish Aid, and Korea.

Partners:

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018May 6, 2019

Forest Monitoring with Satellites

Each year millions of hectares of forests around the world are being degraded . . . . .

Forest Monitoring

Earth Observation is your gateway to effective forest monitoring

Why is it important?

Forest monitoring with satellite data provide the consistent coverage needed to estimate forest cover area and forest cover changes over large areas.

This information is critical for decision makers and practitioners to take timely actions to protect forests and to promote sustainable forest monitoring and management as each year millions of hectares of forests around the world are being lost or degraded due to deforestation and wildfires.

How can it help?

Accurate forest and land cover maps are needed to assist land use planning initiatives and support sustainable forest resource management. They are a necessity for understanding the impact of human land use and land cover change on hydrological processes and climate change.

Earth observation can provide near real time alert information on forest disturbance which can help mitigate and assess damage from natural events (e.g. forest fires and storm damage) and forest encroachment due to unlicensed mining and agricultural activities.

What you get!

GIS maps to effectively share information about forest cover and land use

Ability to visualize and analyze the location and pace of deforestation

Better understanding of linkages between deforestation and issues such as e.g. forest fires and watershed hydrology

Typical customers?

Earth observation is often used in national forest inventory programs to complement traditional sample-based observations with estimates of forest area and/or volume per unit area

Conservation agencies uses satellites to get timely information on forest cover changes within protected areas

Monitoring and alert systems for storm and fire damage, estimation of changes in carbon stocks (e.g. REDD+) and to evaluate suppliers and their compliance with environmental standards

Specifications

Typically 10 meter resolution

Data can be obtained from anywhere on Earth

Cover large areas instantaneously to complement field data

Go 40 years back in time to estimate long-term forest changes

Monitoring information can be provided on a weekly basis

All weather capacity mapping through clouds and at night with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data

Data available in a ready to use format for easy incorporation into existing GIS systems and databases

Price list

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018May 6, 2019

Crop Mapping Inventory

Crop mapping inventory, acreage and growth monitoring is needed for government and national purposes . . .

Crop Mapping Inventory

Crop mapping inventory, acreage and growth monitoring

Why is it important?

Crop mapping inventory is needed for government and national purposes but is also equally important for agri-businesses, farmers and as an input to support subsidies and certification systems.

Valuable information on crop status and growth development can be provided throughout the growing season to monitor crop progress and identify any signs of damage or stress.

How does it work?

Crop mapping refers to the inventory assessments of what is grown on the fields as well as the operational assessment of crop growth during a growing season.

What you get!

Up to date crop area and statistics of the major crop types

In-season operational assessment of crop health and status

Valuable information on crop type and acreage statistics can be provided on annual and semi-annual basis

Typical customers?

Agronomist can use crop inventory as input to models for the further assessment of harvest and yield prediction, soil productivity, or land use intensity

Agencies use crop inventories to monitor and plan growing seasons and for EU regulations on subsidies for crops

Agricultural companies such as fertilizer companies and seed producers can use crop information to better manage supply chains and improve sales

Specifications

Crop classification is benefitting from the recent surge in SAR and optical data availability, coupled with the development of advanced machine-learning classification algorithms.

SAR data provides information relating to structural characteristics of crops, including size, density, orientation and surface roughness, while optical imagery provides data related to leaf pigmentation, cell structure and moisture content.

We use a data fusion approach to crop classification as it offers the highest potential for accurate mapping. We have provided crop type mapping with average accuracies up to 95%.

The main output attribute of the classification will be the predicted crop class for each field parcel in the control zone. As an additional source of information that can help to evaluate class confidence, we will include crop class probability values.

Price list

The production of custom tailored crop inventory is between 1.5 and 2.5 Euro/km2.

For operational crop monitoring please contact us.

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018August 27, 2020

Water Quality

Assessing water quality and its variability in space and time to be able . . .

Water Quality

Assessing water quality and its variability in space and time

Why is it important?

Having access to near real-time information about the conditions of water quality and its distribution is essential to proactively manage risks and improve responses to water incidents, such as algal blooms, red tides or sediment plumes.

Remote-sensing is the only practical and economical method to detect the quality of marine environments as well as remote and large inland waters where frequent in situ sampling is impossible. Satellite-image archives enable change detection of previously unmeasured or un-monitored water bodies.

How does it work?

At DHI GRAS we process satellite imagery with state-of-the-art algorithms to produce accurate and seamless maps on water quality, such as chlorophyll concentrations or suspended matter content.

These maps enable assessments of the current and historic state of the water quality and its variability in space and time, which is key for impact assessments, early warnings, environmental monitoring as well as water resource management.

What you get!

Detailed and customised mapping of the water quality in your water environment with very fast turn-around time

Insights into historical water quality conditions and comparison with present information

Seamless integration of information from Earth Observation and in situ monitoring into your decision support system

Typical customers?

Contractors to survey the impact of construction work in marine environments

Authorities to complement or redesign traditional water quality monitoring for their monitoring obligations, e.g. for the Water Framework Directive or support early warnings of occurrences of algae blooms, red tides and sediment plumes

Aquaculture farmers to monitor water condition and its variability in space and time or support site selection decisions

Specifications

Depending on the aim of the monitoring and the desired spatial resolution, the temporal frequency ranges from daily to annual and the spatial resolution from 10-300 meters

All data can be aggregated according to customer specifications, such as seasonal means, monthly means etc.

In general, satellites provide information on the uppermost layer of the water body

Please contact us for more information

Price list

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018February 1, 2019

Satellite Imagery

Satellite-based map layers to document resource assessment is highly valuable source of information

Satellite Imagery

Satellite-based map layers to document resource assessment

Why is it important?

Satellite imagery is a highly valuable source of information as the applications are many and can be tailored to the individual project.

Traditional field surveys to monitor areas and projects are costly and time-consuming, whereas this solution gives you the information you need at a similar price but much faster.

With satellite imagery you can track the local environment, the progress of your infrastructure project or urban developments. It also allows for comparison with archived data and depicts large and remote areas.

How does it work?

DHI GRAS is working together with the world’s leading providers of satellite imagery to increase the access to the continuously growing field of satellite data.

Due to the recent improvements in spatial resolution, satellites are now a competitive alternative to aerial photography and field visits in many different applications. An array of different satellites ensures your specific needs will be covered.

Our vast experience allows us to offer our customers an independent and solid advice on which satellite image that would fit the specific purposes best.

Through our distribution agreements with almost all commercial satellite operators we make sure the latest news and details are available to our customers.

What you get!

A product that fits into all types of GIS applications and other software packages

Access to independent and experienced advice on which satellite imagery fits your project the best

Access to a large portfolio (+50) of radar imagery with all-weather image capabilities

Typical customers?

Municipalities looking for a cost-efficient overview of their area

Researchers looking for detailed imagery for research purposes

Planners looking for detailed insights for remote sites before field surveying and construction activities

Specifications

WorldView-2: multispectral imagery at 1.8 meter resolution and panchromatic imagery at 0.46 meters

QuickBird: 60 cm resolution (panchromatic and pansharpened) and 2.4 m multispectral

GeoEye-1: 0.4 m resolution (panchromatic and pansharpened)

Ikonos: 4 m multispectral

RapidEye: 5 m

Pleiades: 4 band data at 2 m resolution and panchromatic data at 0.7 m

Price list

Get archived optical data products from €10/km² with a spatial resolution from 0.5 m

Get new optical data acquisition from €17/km² with a spatial resolution from 0.5 m

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018January 18, 2021

Satellite-derived Bathymetry

Mapping and measuring water depths from space to monitor constantly changing coastal environments . . .

Satellite-derived Bathymetry

Mapping and measuring water depths from space

Why is it important?

Coastal environments are some of the most dynamic and constantly changing regions of the globe. Monitoring and mapping these changes is critical to environmental studies and construction activities such as harbours, pipelines and other critical infrastructure in the coastal zone and shallow off-shore areas.

A significant part of the worlds coastal region is still poorly mapped, or the mapping is significantly outdated. Navigating in poorly mapped or dynamic areas can be supported with up-to-date satellite-derived water depths. The quick turnaround allows for quick delivery of up-to-date information as support to time-critical situations such as disaster relief following natural disasters where existing map material may have become outdated.

How does it work?

At DHI GRAS, we have developed a cost-effective method for accurate water depth mapping based on high resolution satellite images. Based on over 10 years of research and project activities we have developed an approach that exploits all the newest satellite systems.

Our proprietary state-of-the-art physical modelling method secures highly accurate deliveries. The approach is globally applicable, and we have helped clients all over the world from the polar regions to the tropics.

Satellite-derived bathymetry is a cost-effective approach to detailed mapping of the worlds shallow areas. Unlike field-based surveys the solution has a quick turnaround, no health and safety issues and requires no permits.

Since it is based on satellite information it is also ideal for remote areas and harsh environments.

What you get!

Very detailed mapping of the coastal and nearshore area in 2 to 10 meter spatial resolution

Very fast turn-around time no matter the location

Our proprietary methods and rigorous quality assessment ensures high quality data deliveries

Senior Project Manager,

Niras

Klavs Bundgaard

NIRAS has used high resolution bathymetry data from DHI GRAS for a detailed wave and water level study in Denmark. The bathymetry data was derived from satellites in an impressive high resolution. With the surface coverage, it was possible to see detailed morphological variations such as longshore bars, sand waves and other similar features, which are not normally seen in traditional measurements with that level of detail. It clearly made the subsequent modelling much more valid. The product is price-wise very competitive compared to traditional survey methods.

Typical customers?

Widely used by the modelling community where accurate bathymetry is required for any high quality hydrodynamic modeling of the coastal zone

Engineering companies working in the coastal zone use our data in the initial planning phase and as a first screening before conducting costly field campaigns

National authorities and hydrographic offices get up-to-date information about territorial waters and minimize navigational hazards within their area of responsibility

Specifications

We are industry leading providers of satellite-derived bathymetry

Our solution is based on more than 10 years of research and development funded by European Commission, European Space Agency, national authorities and internal funds

We have a proven track record with satisfied clients all over the world

We have a fast turn-around on all deliveries

We offer a cost efficient and industry leading high-quality product

Globally applicable where conditions allow it

All data undergo a very thorough quality

Every data point comes with an associated derived uncertainty measure

Price list

Available resolutions:

2-m resolution

10-m resolution

Price range depends on size of Area of Interest

Visit us at our bathymetry data portal

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871

November 14, 2018February 1, 2019

Crop Water Monitoring

Crop water use derived from Earth Observation data to facilitate increase in water-use . . . . .

Crop Water Monitoring

Crop water use derived from Earth Observation data to facilitate increase in water-use efficiency (crop per drop)

Why is it important?

The growing population and associated increase in food production, together with shifting weather patterns due to climate change, are putting increased pressure on fresh water resources. In many regions of the world, a large majority of fresh water withdrawals are used in agriculture and in particular for crop irrigation. Improving agricultural water use efficiency is therefore essential for a sustainable future.

Efficient management of fresh water resources is gaining prominence in national and international legislation. For example, the European Union’s Water Directive requires market pricing for agricultural water use, while the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals are driving efficiency improvements. Therefore, increasing crop water-use efficiency makes economic sense and could be a legislative requirement.

How does it work?

Information on the actual transpiration of the vegetation and the evaporation from soil surfaces can be derived from Earth Observation data.

Providing this kind of information can improve water use efficiency in agriculture because monitoring of crop water content and soil moisture is made possible helping to improve irrigation management and assessing crop water stress.

All products can be provided at regional and field scales with up to daily time steps. Accuracy can be improved by incorporating local information, e.g. meteorological observations or crop and soil maps, provided by the user.

What you get!

Advice on crop water stress, water withdrawal or irrigation efficiency based on the actual crop evapotranspiration

Soil moisture and vegetation water content maps

Information can be provided at regional or field scale at up to daily timescale (depending on the cloud cover)

Typical customers?

Irrigation district managers can use this information to improve water allocation and short-to-medium term planning

Farmers can benefit from timely water-stress data to prevent wasteful over-irrigation and to improve crop quality through deficit irrigation at critical times of the growing cycle

Regional authorities can ensure that water users are abiding by the relevant legislation, e.g. related to amount of fresh water withdrawals or water use restrictions

Specifications

Actual soil evaporation and crop transpiration derived with combined thermal and optical data

Soil moisture and vegetation water content derived using radar, thermal and optical data

Higher level products such as crop water stress, water withdrawals, irrigation efficiency, and water productivity

Maps can be produced at regional and field scales, with up to daily time step

Price list

EOatDHI part of the DHI GROUP

gras@dhigroup.com
+45 4516 9100

Agern Alle 5,
2970 Hørsholm,
Denmark

CVR: 36466871