Freshwater is essential to life in the Falkland Islands, supporting farming, wildlife, and the wider environment. In recent years, however, many local communities have noticed ongoing drying and are increasingly concerned about changes in freshwater availability. SAERI’s Freshwater Project was established to investigate these changes by combining farmers’ on the ground knowledge with satellite-derived data. The aim is to better understand how ponds, streams, and wetlands across the Islands are changing, and how they can be managed more effectively in the future.
During Farmers Week 2025, twelve farmers shared their experiences through a short survey. Based on their responses, together with our satellite observations, we produced a new report that tracks freshwater changes across the Islands. This report brings together local knowledge and satellite data to provide a clearer picture of how ponds, streams, and wetlands are changing. We also shared this new study report and an infographic with farmers summarising the key findings.
As part of our continued effort to strengthen hydrological monitoring across the Falkland Islands, we carried out routine field checks to confirm the operational status of all deployed Baro Stout and Level Stout water-level loggers.
Site visits included:
We also focused on supporting satellite-based research and hydrological modelling through in-situ measurements from TMS dataloggers. Between 13 and 18 November, we downloaded data from 20 TMS units across Weddell Island. These ground-based observations are crucial for calibrating and validating soil moisture indices derived from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery, helping to improve assessments of freshwater dynamics and future climate scenarios.
On 10 December 2025, we also volunteered with the MOD Water Supply Assessment Project, assisting the UKCEH team with water-quality and flow measurements at a stream on Fitzroy Farm, just outside MPC below the sewage treatment site.
The Freshwater Project is funded by the UK Government through the Darwin Plus programme and the Falkland Islands Government and delivered in partnership with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).
The project team emphasises that farmers’ observations remain central to this work. Their lived experience helps us interpret data more accurately and identify areas most at risk. We extend our sincere thanks to our project partners and local landowners for their ongoing support and for granting access to sites support that makes this important monitoring possible.
