The "South America Water from Space III" Congress, organised by a partnership involving the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), the Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM), and the Brazilian Association of Water Resources (ABRH), was being held from 21 to 25 November 2022, in Foz de Iguaçu, Brazil.
A delegation from the BIO-PLATEAUX project attended the event, including partners from the three partner territories (French Guiana, the Brazilian State of Amapa and Suriname). Spatial hydrology has been at the heart of BIO-PLATEAUX's work in recent years, with a dialogue on needs and training, as well as innovative pilot studies on the Oyapock and Maroni river basins. Spatial hydrology has high potential: better knowledge of hydrology in the river basins means better adaptation to climate change and better management of flood risks.
The trip was an opportunity for the delegation to learn about the latest advances in this innovation field, which is essential for the management of water resources. Involving researchers from all continents, participants heard about the rapid progress in the sector, and interesting upcoming opportunities, such as the forthcoming launch of the new SWOT satellite by the CNES, dedicated to the observation of surface water bodies and oceans on the planet.
The presentation about the BIO-PLATEAUX project, on 22 November 2022, was also an opportunity to present the project’s work in this area, and especially the expectations of operational managers on the transboundary river basins of the Guiana Shield. Faced with daily constraints of investment, maintenance and accessibility for hydrological monitoring networks, the data provided by spatial observations are truly complementary and likely to build knowledge. The result is that cutting-edge technologies will move closer to the needs of the territories.