Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam held a meeting with senior officials from the ministry to discuss the use of satellite technology and modern tools for monitoring and managing the spread of water hyacinth and aquatic weeds in the country’s waterways.
During the meeting, the team presented a new application developed on the Google Earth Engine platform, a cloud-based geospatial processing platform that enables the use of satellite imagery to create a variety of data-processing applications.
The app allows high-speed, cost-effective and highly accurate monitoring of aquatic plants through satellite image analysis.
The application automatically identifies watercourses using various spectral indices designed to extract water bodies from satellite images.
Sewilam asserted the importance of leveraging modern technology to support the ministry’s work and optimize the management of water resources.
He noted that the ability to continuously monitor the spread of water hyacinth and other aquatic weeds through satellite-based tools would allow ministry officials to take swift and informed decisions to manage and remove these invasive species.
The application also plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency by detecting any potential manipulation in work reports or discrepancies in the recorded volumes of removed vegetation during cleaning operations, he said.
