On 22 and 23 October 2026, a Niger Basin Authority (NBA) delegation led by Executive Secretary H.E. Mr Armand Houanye visited the Netherlands. Since 2013, Terramira’s water team has developed and operated SATH, a satellite-based water monitoring and river forecasting system, together with the NBA. The project closes in early 2027, so the visit focused on two things: the handover of SATH and how the NBA and Terramira will continue working together.
What is SATH?
The Niger Basin spans nine countries and is home to around 200 million people. Many of its ground stations are remote and costly to run, and they do not always deliver data on time. SATH closes that gap with satellite data. A Meteosat receiving station at the NBA collects data every day, which SATH turns into basin-wide rainfall and evapotranspiration maps at 3 km resolution. These maps feed hydrological modelling and drought monitoring.
The SATH portal gives national hydrological services and NBA partners access to:
- Water data: daily rainfall and actual evapotranspiration maps, plus monthly totals.
- Drought indicators: meteorological and hydrological drought indices and climatic moisture indices, compared with long-term averages.
- River forecasts: discharge and water levels for the Niger and its tributaries, with colour-coded alerts.
SATH also set up the NBA’s Satellite Hydrology Unit, with funding from the Netherlands through Invest International, the NBA, the technical partners, GIZ and the African Development Bank.
Meetings in Amersfoort and The Hague
In Amersfoort on 22 October, Thijs Perenboom, Business Line Manager Water & Sustainability, welcomed the delegation and SATH project manager Remco Dost opened the strategic meeting. The Executive Secretary acknowledged the results SATH has delivered and called for stronger cooperation. Both parties agreed to work towards a longer-term partnership built around two NBA priorities: modernizing its water and environmental observation networks, and establishing a hydroclimatic observatory for early warning and strategic decision-making.
On 23 October, Terramira and the delegation met Invest International and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague to present SATH’s results and discuss future cooperation.
Ready for the handover
During the Amersfoort meeting, Terramira handed over a new server to the NBA’s Niger Basin Observatory Directorate as part of the 2026 hardware upgrade. The NBA presented a symbolic gift. The following week, four NBA technicians completed three days of hands-on training at Terramira. This builds on earlier capacity development and user workshops in Abuja, Nigeria (2023) and Yaoundé, Cameroon (2026).
From 2027, the NBA will run SATH itself from Niger, on its own server and with its own trained staff, supported by Terramira. Both partners want to keep applying Earth observation and basin water-balance modelling as flood and drought challenges grow.
Read more about Terramira’s water intelligence services.
