The cooperation between the North American Space Agency (NASA), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Office of National Space Program Management (GGPEN), in the fight drought in the south of the country, is being led by Danielle Wood, a researcher at MIT.
In an interview with Jornal de Angola, the researcher points out that “has been doing research on space programs in Africa since 2007", and is impressed "with the work that GGPEN has done” and despite being “relatively new, with about 10 years of history“, he knows the path of GGPEN well.
In her speech, Danielle Wood emphasizes that the GGPEN during that period “has been very active investing in satellite communication, earth observation satellites or remote sensing” as a tool for national development, something that also happens in other African countries.
The specialist also mentioned that GGPEN wants to use such equipment, such as the “remote sensing", for the environment and "look at the impact of the drought on the country".
BUT: Space technology will minimize effects of drought in the south of the country
As a researcher at MIT, she leads a team called “Space Enabled” that tries to question “how we can use space technology to enable sustainable development”.
The Project, called “Supporting Drought Management in Angola using Integrated Modeling of the Environment, Vulnerability, Decision Making and Technology (EVDT) ”, is a partnership between MIT and GGPEN, which aims to create a Drought Decision Support System for Angola.
The latest statistical data from the Emergency Program to Combat Drought in Southern Angola show that 1,3 million people are affected by the drought phenomenon in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe, Huíla and Cuando Cubango, and to contribute to mitigating the effects of drought and support the Executive in resolving this problem, the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication (MINTTICS), through GGPEN, has an ongoing Cataloging and Quantification Project of the effects of the Drought in Southern Angola, through the generation and use of satellite data, capable of improving water management and drought monitoring in the region.
