For the first time in the region, data was collected in high-precision, collaborative digital terrain modeling to enable the mapping of populations in areas at-risk of flooding. Canoa de Tolda Project aimed to train local people from the lower stretch of São Francisco River basin to collect data.

The Canoa de Tolda Project aimed to train local people from the lower stretch of the São Francisco River basin to collect data that will enable high-precision, collaborative digital terrain modeling for the first time in the region. The data will enable the mapping of populations in areas at risk of flooding.

The region has been suffering from the impacts of climate change, with drastic periods of drought and flooding. The increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts can cause perennial rivers to become intermittent. Intermittent rivers can disappear. Similarly, heavy rains and the lack of urban planning put communities that directly depend on the river for basic socio-economic activities at risk.

To find out more, read the Latam’s Hub page on Canoa de Tolda and the blogposts in Spanish & English:

Canoa de Tolda: Mapeo para visibilizar la dinámica social del Río São Francisco

Canoa de Tolda: Representing the social dynamics of the São Francisco River through mapping

Photo Credit - Marina Aragão, Ilha do Ferro - Alagoas