The purpose of the Global Development Assistance (GDA) AID Water Resources initiative, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), is to provide Earth observation satellite data related to water management, in response to worldwide requests from financial institutions and governments. The members of this GDA consortium have now reached a significant milestone, by selecting the projects of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) that will receive support from the GDA AID Water team, to incorporate Earth observation services into their operations.

It is estimated that a total of 8 projects taking place in developing countries on 5 continents will receive this support, for integrating Earth observation programs into their activities. The GDA AID Water Resources consortium, led by the company EOMAP, held a meeting in July to promote exchanges of experience and knowledge, with the aim of ensuring the most effective use of satellite data in developing countries. This meeting was attended by Dr Beatriz Revilla-Romero, Project Manager and senior expert on flood risks, and Dr Élia Cantoni i Gómez, water resources expert, who both work in GMV’s Earth observation area. At this event, they presented the plan for supporting the World Bank on two projects related to managing water resources, one in Botswana and the other in Mexico. 

The overall goal of the ESA’s GDA program is to enhance international development operations by using Earth observation solutions, as an effective and sustainable way to address a variety of themes such as water availability, water quality, and water-related disasters.

As a member of this consortium since February 2023, GMV is contributing to the program by leading the aspects related to monitoring groundwater, and also the service focused on floods and droughts.

GMV is also leading the GDA Climate Resilience and GDA Agriculture projects and participating in the GDA Clean Energy project.