Satellite Solutions for Wetlands: DEA Empowers Kenyan Experts

From 7th to 10th July 2025, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), in collaboration with the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), successfully conducted a four-day training workshop on Wetlands Inventory Mapping using the Digital Earth Africa (DEA) Platform. The workshop was held in Naivasha and brought together participants from various sectors involved in environmental and natural resources management.

The training provided a valuable platform for professionals working in wetland conservation and monitoring to gain hands-on experience with the DEA platform. Participants were introduced to the platform’s capabilities in generating data products for wetland mapping and monitoring, particularly within the Kenyan context.

The sessions provided an in-depth overview of the DEA platform, introducing participants to its extensive range of datasets, products, and services. A particular focus was placed on the wetlands inventory module, which enables the generation of up-to-date, satellite-derived information to support informed environmental decision-making. Participants gained practical experience using various components of the DEA wetlands inventory mapping tools. This included training data preparation, where they learned to balance datasets through stratified sampling; terrain indices from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), which involved deriving terrain and hydrological features; and feature extraction, focused on collecting relevant Earth Observation and derived data for analysis. Additionally, they were guided through building Random Forest classifiers during the training classification algorithm module and applied these models in the wetland type classification process. These hands-on exercises allowed participants to not only understand the technical capabilities of the DEA platform but also to apply them in real-world scenarios, particularly in the context of wetland monitoring around Lake Naivasha and other selected areas.

Participants engaged in a mix of theoretical presentations and practical exercises. The hands-on sessions were conducted within the DEA Sandbox environment, where participants explored, analyzed, and visualized data relevant to Lake Naivasha, among other selected areas. These sessions allowed participants to test the application of DEA tools in generating wetland inventories and to develop their own use cases.

The workshop achieved several key objectives: it built awareness and technical capacity on the use of DEA tools, demonstrated practical applications for wetland mapping, and provided a forum for developing actionable use cases. Participants also contributed valuable feedback and recommendations on how the DEA platform can be further applied in Kenya’s national wetland monitoring efforts.

The training attracted a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officers, researchers, academics, and private sector practitioners, all with a shared interest in advancing sustainable environmental management through data-driven approaches. 

By the close of the workshop, participants expressed appreciation for the relevance and practicality of the training. Many highlighted the DEA platform as a game-changer in the field of Earth observation and wetlands conservation.