Earth Observation at Finer Scales is Critical to Farming Communities Facing Increased Water Shortages Over the Next Decade

摘要

Forecasted population growth and a changing climate will intensify the challenge of securing water for agriculture. While rainwater harvesting (RWH) reservoirs constitute a promising alternative and complimentary source to groundwater withdrawal for irrigation and have supported small-holder agriculture across South India for millennia, their hydrological role remains not well understood. Synonymous to how Earth Observation (EO) gravitational studies have opened the public and scientific discourse on groundwater sustainability, new EO developments further our understanding of RWH reservoir hydrology and their role to further future sustainable groundwater management. Using a reservoir-dominated region in South India as an illustrative case, three areas are discussed where remote sensing will accelerate our understanding of water resources sustainability for agriculture in the rural farming landscape of South India. These include: 1) advances in temporal and spatial remote sensing; ii) a perception shift, where data-driven remote sensing can support or compliment physical process understanding; and iii) the critical need for increased communication to understand end-user needs.