Enhancing freshwater monitoring through earth observation: report of workshop 19-21 June 2017

The India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) promotes cooperation and collaboration between the complementary priorities of NERC-MoES water security research. This report represents an overview of the participation, activities and conclusions at a joint IndiaUK science workshop on Enhancing Freshwater Monitoring through Earth Observation. The activity was convened on the 19-21st June 2017 by the India-UK Water Centre and hosted by Prof. Andrew Tyler (University of Stirling) and Prof. Mihir Kumar Dash (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur). The report highlights the state of the art in exploring Earth Observation (EO) capability in the UK and India and the opportunities and challenges in taking this capability forward in tackling the challenges of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SGD6). The report summarises the many opportunities that EO can contribute to water quality and quantity monitoring. It concludes that EO has the potential to provide data on water quality and quantity that if developed effectively, through co-designed research and development initiatives, coupled with effective communication, could deliver information that would be transformative to economic and social development. The report is intended for the workshop participants, India-UK Water Centre members and relevant stakeholders.