اللغة الإنجليزية 
البرتغالية 
الفرنسية 
العربية 
Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa), in collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), delivered a three-day virtual capacity development workshop in November 2025, focused on the use of open Earth observation tools for water resources management and agricultural monitoring. The training brought together staff from MWRI and affiliated institutions to strengthen practical skills in applying satellite data to national water and food security priorities.
Building capacity for evidence-based water management
MWRI plays a central role in managing Egypt’s water resources, including irrigation, drainage, and water conservation systems, in a country where agriculture depends heavily on irrigated cropping and the Nile River. In line with the Ministry’s ambition to adopt emerging technologies, MWRI partnered with DE Africa to build capacity in the use of free and open Earth observation platforms for operational monitoring and planning.
DE Africa provides routine, reliable, and decision-ready Earth observation services that support applications in agriculture, water resources, urban development, and climate resilience across Africa.
What the workshop covered
Delivered over three days, the workshop combined presentations, live demonstrations, and hands-on practical sessions using DE Africa platforms, including Maps, Sandbox, and Data Explorer.
Participants were introduced to DE Africa’s core platforms before progressing to applied use cases in surface water and agricultural monitoring. Surface water sessions focused on analysing waterbodies and flood risk using satellite-derived datasets, including Water Observations from Space (WOfS). Agricultural monitoring sessions explored crop extent, crop health indicators such as NDVI and EVI, crop phenology, and crop water productivity using WaPOR datasets.
Through these exercises, participants gained experience in visualising, analysing, and exporting time-series data to support decision-making.
Key insights and outcomes
The training demonstrated how open and accessible Earth observation data can support more efficient monitoring of water resources and irrigated agriculture in Egypt’s predominantly arid environment. In his opening remarks, Mr Walid Hakiki, Head of the Planning Sector at MWRI, highlighted the importance of free and open platforms like DE Africa in improving planning and management of water and agricultural land towards national food security.
Dr Michael Wellington, Senior Earth Observation Data Scientist at DE Africa, emphasised DE Africa’s commitment to supporting governments through ongoing technical assistance, customised solutions, and regular capacity development.
The workshop marked an important step in strengthening the use of Earth observation data within MWRI’s operational workflows. Building on this engagement, MWRI and DE Africa will work towards formalising a collaboration framework to support continued capacity development and the integration of satellite data with in situ information systems. This partnership aims to strengthen water security, agricultural productivity, and climate resilience in Egypt.