IWMI Senior Researcher wins Best Symposium Presenter award at ISRSE 37
The 37th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE 37) took place in Tshwane, South Africa, hosted by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), May 8-12, 2017. This year the theme was “Earth Observation for Development and Adaption to a Changing World”. There were 638 abstracts from 53 countries, covering 55 topics submitted and over 500 presentations selected to be presented during the week.
Two abstracts written by IWMI’s Lisa-Maria Rebelo were selected for presentations at the event. The abstracts were on Water Accounting+ : Remote Sensing based assessments of water use and availability and Wetland mapping, inventory and assessment in the context of the SDGs. Lisa was identified by a committee of experts in the field of remote sensing who represented most of the world’s national space agencies for the award of “Best Symposium Presenter”. The 2017 Symposium was the second time in this millennium that the African continent hosed ISRSE. It coincided with the implementation of the recently adopted African Space Policy and Strategy, as well as rapid development in African space science and technology programs.
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the