Monitoring water and soil quality in Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria’s megacity of nearly 16 million people, produces between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste per day, including 2,250 tonnes of plastic, according to a local recycling business. A large part of this plastic is reaching the rivers and ending up in the forests. Mapping and identifying where the pollution is could help the local authorities to intervene when needed and focus cleaning efforts.

Our crowddroner captured this map next to Akure, Nigeria. In this orthomosaic, we can see the river flowing in the middle of a green and tree-rich area North-West of Akure. By zooming in, we can see the pollution state of the river, its color, and visible pollution along its path.

Check out the map in DroneDeploy

In this analyzed image, we can clearly highlight water bodies and measure how polluted the water might be. We can also quickly identify plastic objects, highlight them, count them, and map them. This allows stakeholders to quickly assess the pollution level and act accordingly. We can take the same image after we clean the area to see the difference and the effectiveness of the cleaning efforts.

By using high resolution earth observation data with drones, we are able to quickly spot polluted areas in rivers and forests, and act accordingly to clean these areas. By doing that, the local stakeholders can quickly identify where they should intervene, where they should put more effort, and evaluate the amount of work that should be done. It provides tools to quantify and assess the damage so the stakeholders can act quickly.

Keeping the environment clean is always a priority for a safer environment, we can also say cleaning the environment plays a vital role in the existence and survival of life on planet earth. - Omoyeni Dara

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