Africa focuses on GMES   This image of African land cover comes from a mosaic of Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) images acquired during the month of May 2004.   Water resources map of Zambia created using data from ESA’s multispectral MERIS sensor aboard Envisat, as part of the IWAREMA (Integrated Water Resource management for Zambia) project, funded through ESA’s Data User Element and initiated under ESA’s TIGER initiative. Water and wetlands areas are featured in blue.   Water scarcity, desertification and loss of biodiversity are some major environmental problems facing Africa. Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, ESA launched the TIGER Initiative, whose primary objective is to help African countries overcome problems faced in the collection, analysis and dissemination of water-related geo-information by exploiting EO technology. Release date: 31 January 2008