SAR change detection for monitoring the impact of the rehabilitation of the Arghandab irrigation system in Afghanistan

Tracking the progress and impact of large scale projects in areas of active conflict is challenging. In early 2010, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) broke ground on an ambitious project to rehabilitate a network of just under 600 km of canals that supply water from the Arghandab River throughout southern Kandahar Province thereby restoring a reliable and secure water supply and stimulating a once vibrant agricultural region. Monitoring the region for signs of renewal is difficult due to the large areal extent of the irrigated land and safety concerns. With the support of the Canadian Space Agency, polarimetric change detection techniques are applied to space-borne SAR data to safely monitor the area through a time-series of RADARSAT-2 images acquired during the rehabilitation ground work and subsequent growing seasons. Change detection maps delineating surface cover improvement will aid CIDA in demonstrating the positive value of Canada's investment in renovating Afghanistan's irrigation system to improve water distribution. This paper examines the use of value-added SAR imaging products to provide short- and long-term monitoring suitable for assessing the impact and benefit of large scale projects and discusses the challenges of integrating remote sensing products into a non-expert user community.