Satellite Imagery Aids Armenian Water Project

USAID’s Global Development Lab’s GeoCenter has provided satellite images of the Ararat Valley, covering the territories of Armenia and Turkey, for use by by USAID-funded Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project in Yerevan, Armenia. ME&A began implementing the ASPIRED Project for the USAID Mission in Armenia in September 2015. The aim of the project is to promote a more balanced and rational use of groundwater resources in Armenia’s Ararat Valley.

Dating back to summer 2015, the satellite images are of excellent quality and high resolution and are used by the ME&A team to conduct thorough classification of the land cover and land use of the area. Data on actual land use will further allow estimating the hydrological balance, including water supply and demand balance in area to be incorporated into a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) for the Ararat Valley designed by the ASPIRED Project. These analytical tools are important for making informed and rational decisions on the use of available water resources in this historic valley region. The Ararat plain makes up 4% of Armenia's total land area, and yet it yields 40% of Armenia's farm production. [3]

The ASPIRED Project plans to continue its cooperation with the Global Development Lab’s GeoCenter by receiving similar imagery for the Kars Plateau, which is an important source of water feeding into the Ararat Artesian Basin.

ME&A was awarded the ASPIRED Project task order in 2015 under USAID's Water and Development IDIQ (WADI) contract to provide USAID's E3 Bureau with services and technical support to assist USAID Missions, Bureaus and Offices worldwide in the implementation of the Agency's Water and Development Strategy.