Through a unique partnership between NASA and USAID, SERVIR-Mekong is harnessing space technology and open data to help address development challenges related to a changing climate. SERVIR-Mekong works in partnership with leading regional organizations to help the five countries in the Lower Mekong Region namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Vietnam, use information provided by Earth observing satellites and geospatial technologies to manage climate risks. Over the years, several tools and services have been developed and deployed in the Lower Mekong Region prioritizing the specific country needs in terms of real-time monitoring of sectoral issues such as disasters, agriculture, water, and ecosystems and land use.
While the session will provide an overview of the different tools and services deployed in the region, it will also give an account of a successful case example of the Vietnam Drought Portal that has been customized for drought monitoring and forecasting in the Ninh Thuan province of the South and Central Highlands. The tool was developed jointly by SERVIR-Mekong and the Vietnam Academy of Water Resources (VAWR) whereby the Regional Hydrologic Extreme Assessment System (RHEAS) was successfully customized and implemented to produce the drought outlook/forecast for Ninh Thuan province. The drought information generated by this service have helped assist farmers to make preemptive decisions about their water use, cropping and planting patterns, and market decisions. The service has also empowered end-users to help reduce crop loss, support agricultural livelihoods, and have enabled farmers to access appropriate advisories for their crops including scheduling and harvesting.
