30 July 2004
Imaging Technology Aids Humanitarian Efforts in Chad, U.N. Says
U.S., French technology helps search for hidden water sources
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports July 30 that the transfer of refugees is complete from volatile Chad-Sudan border towns to the relative safety of camps in the region.
The U.N. refugee agency is battling the elements, massive logistic obstacles and daunting security challenges to help hundreds of thousands of people uprooted by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
Lack of water is the greatest constraint to UNHCR refugee operations in Chad, said UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, but a survey that uses imaging technology to find hidden water sources may help alleviate the dire water shortages.
The UNHCR carried out a pilot survey in collaboration with UNOSAT and the French company Radar Technologies France, using technology to identify potential hidden water resources in the desert of eastern Chad.
UNOSAT, a U.N. effort to cost-effectively provide satellite imagery and geographic information to the U.N. humanitarian community, is the entry point for facilitating the use of satellite imagery with Geographic Information Systems in U.N. programs. This is the first time such technologies have been used in humanitarian emergency operations.
The study used radar and optical satellite images and three-dimensional images taken by the U.S. space shuttle to evaluate a 2,250-square-kilometer region around the northern town of Iriba. The images identify land formations like faults, dykes and seasonal riverbeds; geological features like granite, sand and basalt rock surfaces; and elevations and sloping to determine water flow.
This combination of data identifies areas that have higher potential for groundwater that may alleviate serious water shortages. A three-week evaluation of the imaging technology's accuracy was positive. Each time the survey suggested digging wells or boreholes, large amounts of water were discovered.
The images helped target sites for new wells and boreholes in camps in Oure Cassoni, Touloum and Iridimi and digs are under way. The study also paves the way for sustainable water management in the region.
Further information is available at
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/chad?page=home
Following is the text of the UNHCR briefing:
(begin text)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Summary of statement by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis
July 30, 2004, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Chad: New technology shows promising results in search for water
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis at the press briefing on 30 July 2004 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR's operation in eastern Chad to transfer Sudanese refugees away from the affected border zone is making good progress. This week, in the northernmost part of the refugee hosting zone we completed the transfer of refugees from the border towns of Bahai and Cariari to Oure Cassoni camp. A total of 14,673 refugees were moved to the camp in less than three weeks. Transfers also finished this week from Tine, further south. We are continuing to monitor the area around the town of Bamina, between Bahai and Tine, to identify other refugees still needing to move to a camp. The only other refugees now remaining to be transferred away from the border are some 7,500 around the town of Adre. These refugees will be moved to a new camp at Treguine when the site is ready. In all, more than 142,000 refugees have moved from the border to the nine camps -- the vast majority on UNHCR convoys.
A further estimated 20,000 refugees made their own way to the camp at Breidjing and the site of Am Nabak. In Breidjing, the Chadian governmental agency CNAR has completed registering the 6,296 refugees who walked to the camp from the border around Adre over the past two weeks. Yesterday, the refugees received food rations from the World Food Programme for one month, as well as various other relief items including plastic sheeting and kitchen sets from UNHCR. This group of refugees brings the total population at Breidjing to over 35,000, and we plan to relocate them to Treguine camp when it opens.
In Am Nabak, there will shortly be a new registration as estimates of the total number of refugees at the site differ widely. We have recently deployed a UNHCR registration officer to the site to help improve the registration efforts.
Lack of adequate water is the greatest constraint to our operations to help refugees in Chad, but a just-completed survey using new technology to find hidden water sources in eastern Chad has shown positive initial results which may help alleviate the dire water shortages. UNHCR carried out a pilot survey in collaboration with UNOSAT and the French company Radar Technologies France, using technology never before applied in humanitarian emergency operations, to identify potential hidden water resources in the desert of eastern Chad. The study used radar and optical satellite images as well as three-dimensional images taken by the US Space Shuttle to evaluate a 2,250 square km region around the northern town of Iriba. The images identify land formations such as faults, dykes and seasonal river beds, geological features such as granite, sand and basalt rock surfaces, and elevations and sloping to determine water flow. The combination of this data has allowed us to identify areas with higher potential for ground water. A three-week mission to evaluate the accuracy of the imaging technology has just been completed and has shown positive results. Significant quantities of water have been discovered each time wells or boreholes were dug in areas suggested by the survey. The images have helped target sites for new wells and boreholes in three existing camps -- Oure Cassoni, Touloum and Iridimi -- and work is underway to dig for water at these points. The survey has also helped identify potential sites for new camps and rule out others due to lack of water potential. This study also paves the way towards sustainable water management in the region.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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