Goal: To use satellite technology to locate hard-to-find sources of groundwater in drought prone regions in Ethiopia.

Summary/Activities: In 2016, Ethiopia experienced one of its worst droughts in decades. The rainy season, which normally falls between June and September, failed in 2015. In anticipation of the drought in 2015, UNICEF, in collaboration with the European Union and the Government of Ethiopia, piloted the use of remote sensing, which combines scanning of the Earth by satellite with hydrogeological investigation techniques that look for freshwater sources located deep in the ground. The first test was carried out in northern Ethiopia, in the Elidar district of the Afar region. Average temperatures in Elidar often exceed 40° C; the district receives only about 6 inches of rainfall per year. The majority of the population is highly dependent on pastoralism for its survival and many live in extreme poverty. Because of its arid climate, complex geology and a highly variable topography, it is often extremely difficult to successfully locate groundwater sources in Elidar. The remote sensing project aims to improve drilling success rates and ensure that more people, particularly children, have access to safe water closer to home. The first phase of the project combined satellite data with additional sources of hydrogeological, meteorological and geophysical data in order to develop maps for nine drought-prone districts that showed the best locations for groundwater drilling. In the project’s second phase, 12 boreholes were drilled. The results showed a 92 per cent accuracy rate compared with less than 50 per cent previously. This success has meant that approximately 42,000 people have gained access to safe water. In 2017, UNICEF will be working with partners to scale up the remote sensing project to 39 further lowland districts with the aim of ensuring safe water access for thousands more children living in the most drought-prone areas.

More info: https://blogs.unicef.org/blog/satellites-help-fight-drought-in-ethiopia/ http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC103616/unicefjrc_hydrogeologicalstudyethiopia_part1_2016-11-04_final.pdf https://www.unicef.org/wash/waterandclimate/