BANGKOK, Thailand, March 20 (IPS) – Across Asia, new initiatives are showing how satellite Earth observation data and AI-powered technologies can turn fragmented water-related data into actionable insights for managers and policymakers in relevant ministries and local governments.
According to the , only 3% of global water quality measurements (about 60,000 out of 2 million) come from the world’s poorest regions. united nationsHighlighting the persistent water data gap. Even where data exist, they are often scattered across agencies, monitoring stations are sparse and datasets are rarely analyzed together.
Integrating satellite observations with cognitive digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, can bring these fragmented sources into a single data and analytical pipeline, turning environmental data into timely insights that strengthen water governance and accelerate progress towards SDG 6.
Guiding better water infrastructure investments
An example is from the Simanuk-Sisanggarung River Basin in West Java, Indonesia. Rapid urban development, land-use change and climate variability are increasing the risk of floods during the rainy season and water scarcity during the dry season.
Retention ponds or small reservoirs designed to collect and store excess rainwater are widely recognized as effective solutions because they can capture excess runoff during heavy rains and provide water for irrigation and communities during dry periods.
The main policy challenge, however, is to optimize investment in retention ponds: to quickly identify the best locations and to make site selection more systematic and less subjective. Traditionally, planning has relied heavily on field surveys and fragmented datasets, making the process slow, expensive, and difficult to scale.
An AI-powered tool developed by Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the West Java Water Resources Department demonstrates how a single data and analytical pipeline can guide infrastructure investment decisions.
This tool combines satellite Earth observation data, including digital elevation maps, land cover maps, and precipitation data, with georeferenced drainage network and soil type information to identify locations where retention ponds can provide the greatest benefits for flood control and drought resilience. Socio-environmental filters exclude protected areas or sites that may cause social or legal conflict.
To ensure that the tool supports operational decision making, the results were validated through field evaluation and consultation with local stakeholders. Additionally, a mobile-based application is being developed to enable field technicians to access the outputs directly at the site, improving the speed and practicality of the retention pond scheme.
Implementing this tool transforms infrastructure planning from a subjective decision to transparent and evidence-based prioritization. Supported by capacity-building activities for local institutions, this approach enables governments to allocate resources more efficiently while enhancing the long-term resilience of water systems.
Monitoring lake ecosystem from space
While the example of Indonesia shows how digital technologies can guide infrastructure investments, similar approaches are also changing how water ecosystems are monitored and protected.
Monitoring water quality in Songkhla Lake, Thailand’s largest lagoon system and an important resource for fisheries and aquaculture, has traditionally relied on periodic sampling at fixed stations. Expanding the coverage and frequency of monitoring data can improve early warning for ecosystem management and aquaculture.
A project implemented by the Prince of Songkhla University in collaboration with local authorities is exploring this potential on Ko Yore Island in Songkhla Lake. The initiative combines multi-source satellite remote sensing data, historical monitoring records, and machine learning models to estimate key water quality parameters such as turbidity and biochemical oxygen demand.
Satellite-based remote sensing expands the coverage and frequency of water quality monitoring, enabling near-monthly maps rather than quarterly point measurements.
The effort builds on more than a decade of operational experience at Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake. There, Jiangxi Normal University developed a comprehensive monitoring and early warning platform integrating satellite Earth observations, drones, ground and lake-surface sources, combined with ecological data simulated by models to track the dynamic ecological security issues and overall health of the lake.
The system supports water management and conservation of key species and their habitats, including migratory birds and the Yangtze finless porpoise.
From pilots to regional transformation
These pilots highlight an important trend: many of the innovative technologies needed to address water data gaps are already available. Earth observation satellite-derived data can complement ground-based observations by expanding environmental monitoring, while cognitive technologies integrate datasets into decision-ready insights.
Scaling up these innovations is not only a technical challenge. As stressed in the ESCAP report Seizing the Opportunity: Digital Innovation for a Sustainable FutureDigital innovation is a socio-technical transformation that requires skills, institutions and partnerships to integrate technology into governance systems.
Experiences from Indonesia and Thailand show how integrating satellite-derived data, geospatial analysis and artificial intelligence can simultaneously strengthen climate resilience, livelihoods and water governance. With supportive policies, strong digital capabilities and sustained regional cooperation, such approaches can be adopted and replicated in appropriate contexts.
These pilots included an exchange of technical experience as well as lessons from the Poyang Lake Monitoring System. Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018-2030).
Asia-Pacific SDG Progress Report 2026 It warned that progress on many Sustainable Development Goals is still off track, while data gaps continue to hinder effective policymaking. Strengthening water governance will depend not only on building infrastructure, but also on building data systems and analytical capabilities that will guide where and how to invest.
Scaling up proven digital innovations can therefore help transform fragmented water data into the actionable intelligence needed to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 and the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
carafe rafisura The Officer for Economic Affairs (Space Applications), ESCAP is; Orbita Rosvintiarti The senior scientist is Brin; huang qi Associate Research Fellow, School of Geography and Environment, Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research (Ministry of Education), Jiangxi Normal University, and Director of Nanji Wetland Field Research Station, Poyang Lake.
Chaoyang FengDistinguished Professor, School of Geography and Environment and Chief Engineer, Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, Jiangxi Normal University (Ministry of Education) also contributed insights to this piece.
IPS UN Bureau
© Inter Press Service (20260320062954) – All rights reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service
