SWOT

Spatial altimetry to assess hydropower potential of the Congo basin - Surface water and ocean topography program

During COP22, CNR signed with 6 other French partners (AFD, CNES, OIEAU, IRD, IRSTEA, BRLi) an agreement on new approaches to monitor water resources by integrating spatial data from SWOT program (a 2019 French-American mission to monitor the world's oceans and continental surface waters with satellites), as well as previous spatial missions.

The agreement aims to answer to the needs of the actors of the South by mobilizing French expertise in a context where the number of in-situ gauging stations is decreasing. It will help to improve the knowledge of the climate change effects.

The Congo river basin (3,7 billions km²) managed by the Transboundary CICOS organization, will be a pilot site as it is at the heart of global concerns about climate change and biodiversity with:

• 204 Millions hectares of humid tropical forest, 60% of African biodiversity,
• 25 000 km of navigable waterway and 100 GW of hydropower potential.

Detail of the equipment used:

CNR is a founding member of SWOT workgroup. The group aims to:

• assess spatial data quality and prove their added value in the field of water resources management,
• answer to the need of developing countries in water resources management,
• design and develop industrial applications.

CICOS aims to improve navigation on the Congo River and its tributaries. In 2017, CNR will improve a model that forecasts water levels on the Kasai River by integrating spatial data.

CICOS also wants to develop hydropower on Congo River watershed. In 2017, CNR has built an atlas of hydropower potential, based on spatial data.