Earth Observation Driving Water Resilience in Afghanistan
The ESA GDA Fast Co-Financing Facility used Earth Observation to deliver critical insights for managing Afghanistan’s water resources under climate and data challenges.
Description
Afghanistan’s water resources face mounting pressure from climate change, rising demand, and limited local data. To address this, the ESA GDA Fast Co-Financing Facility and the World Bank used Earth Observation (EO) data to support sustainable water management.
Over six months, three key EO-based services were delivered:
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Groundwater Assessment: GRACE satellite data revealed declining groundwater levels, particularly in Herat, and worsening drought since 2016.
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Snow Monitoring: EO data showed decreasing snow cover and snowpack, especially in the Panj Amu basin, threatening snow-fed water systems.
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Water Balance Analysis: EO data mapped water availability across river basins, showing high evapotranspiration and groundwater depletion in some regions.
The findings support Afghanistan’s Water Security Diagnostic and new platforms like the Afghanistan Water Platform. The project highlights EO’s value in guiding climate-resilient water management in data-scarce regions.
You can read more about this Case Study here: Harnessing Earth Observation for Sustainable Water Management in Afghanistan