scholarly journals Compilation and Validation of the Fundamental Criteria for the Integrated Management of Water Resources in Dry and Semi-arid Regions

2018 ◽  
Vol 06 (02) ◽  
pp. 81-108
Author(s):  
Mostafa Taleshi ◽  
Hosain Kaffash
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Survey of ancient water technologies in semi-arid and arid regions: traditional knowledge for the future

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1278-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry W. Mays
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
Sustainability Problems ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Water Resources Sustainability

There are many people on Earth today that live with severe water shortages and severe lack of sanitation, particularly among the poor. These people for the most part do not understand the knowledge base of methodologies of harvesting and conveying water and sanitation methods that have been around for thousands of years. A survey of ancient water technologies used in semi-arid and arid regions is presented in this paper. The survey will include methodologies used by Mesopotamians, the Persians, the Egyptians, and the Nabataeans. The attempt here is to explore how these traditional methods developed by the ancients in semi-arid and arid regions of the world could possibly be used to help solve the present-day water resources sustainability problems, especially in developing parts of the world. The advantages of the traditional knowledge of ancient water technologies are explored with the goal of determining ways to help poor people with water shortages and sanitation.

scholarly journals REÚSO DE ÁGUA E CONSTRUÇÃO DE CENÁRIOS FUTUROS: PERSPECTIVAS E DESAFIOS PARA REGIÕES SEMIÁRIDAS

polemica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 072-086
Author(s):  
Sandra Sereide Ferreira da Silva ◽  
Vera Lúcia Antunes De Lima ◽  
Ângela Maria Cavalcanti Ramalho ◽  
Allan Carlos Alves
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Building Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Semi Arid

Resumo: A escassez da água em regiões áridas e semiáridas tem sido tema de debates, políticas e pesquisas com o objetivo principal de subsidiar as ações capazes de permitir o seu aproveitamento racional, permitindo a convivência da população com os períodos de seca ou reduzida precipitação. Assim, a escassez de água tem conduzido à implantação de projetos de desenvolvimento, que têm como desafio a busca de alternativas de convivência com a seca que conduzam a melhorias sociais. Com base nesse contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo propor a criação de um modelo de construção de cenários para viabilidade do reúso de água para ser utilizado como elemento mitigador das implicações da seca em regiões semiáridas. O modelo de construção de cenários é um importante instrumento de gerenciamento de recursos naturais, neste caso específico, recursos hídricos, pois permite envolver um grande número de participantes, tem a possibilidade de orientar o debate público para a construção estratégica coletiva de um futuro almejado, contribui para um eficaz processo de aprendizagem organizacional no âmbito do Sistema Nacional de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos visando um melhor entendimento, tanto dos aspectos ambientais quanto dos aspectos sociais e institucionais relacionados aos recursos hídricos no País, em especial, nas regiões semiáridas. Como se trabalham e convivem com a incerteza, os cenários procuram analisar e sistematizar as diversas probabilidades dos eventos e dos processos por meio da exploração dos pontos de mudança e das grandes tendências, de modo que as alternativas mais prováveis sejam antecipadas.Palavras-chaves: Recursos Hídricos. Reúso de Água. Regiões Semiáridas. Construção de Cenários.Abstract: Water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions has been the subject of debates, policies and research with the main objective of subsidizing actions capable of allowing their rational use, allowing the population to coexist with periods of drought or reduced precipitation. Thus, water scarcity has led to the implementation of development projects, which challenge the search for alternatives to coexistence with drought that lead to social improvements. Based on this context, this study aims to propose the creation of a model for the construction of scenarios for the feasibility of water reuse to be used as a mitigating element of the drought implications in semi-arid regions. The scenario building model is an important tool for managing natural resources, in this specific case, water resources, since it allows a large number of participants to be involved, it has the possibility of guiding the public debate towards the collective strategic construction of a desired future, contributes to an effective organizational learning process within the National Water Resources Management System aiming at a better understanding of both the environmental aspects and the social and institutional aspects related to the water resources in the Country, especially in the semi-arid regions. As they work and coexist with uncertainty, the scenarios seek to analyze and systematize the various probabilities of events and processes by exploring the points of change and the major trends, so that the most likely alternatives are anticipated.Keywords: Water Resources. Water reuse. Semi-Arid Regions. Construction of Scenarios.

scholarly journals Unsustainability Syndrome—From Meteorological to Agricultural Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Torabi Haghighi ◽  
Nizar Abou Zaki ◽  
Pekka M. Rossi ◽  
Roohollah Noori ◽  
Ali Akbar Hekmatzadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Drought Index ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Fars Province ◽  
Water Capacity ◽  
Irrigated Area ◽  
Semi Arid

Water is the most important resource for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions, where agriculture is the mainstay for rural societies. By relating the water usage to renewable water resources, we define three stages from sustainable to unsustainable water resources: (1) sustainable, where water use is matched by renewable water capacity, ensuring sustainable water resources; (2) transitional, where water use occasionally exceeds renewable water capacity; and (3) unsustainable, with lack of water resources for agriculture, society, and the environment. Using available drought indicators (standardized precipitation index (SPI) and streamflow drought index (SDI)) and two new indices for agricultural drought (overall agricultural drought index (OADI) and agricultural drought index (ADI)), we evaluated these stages using the example of Fars province in southern Iran in the period 1977–2016. A hyper-arid climate prevailed for an average of 32% of the province’s spatio-temporal coverage during the study period. The area increased significantly from 30.6% in the first decade (1977–1986) to 44.4% in the last (2006–2015). The spatiotemporal distribution of meteorological drought showed no significant negative trends in annual precipitation during 1977–2016, but the occurrence of hydrological droughts increased significantly in the period 1997–2016. The expansion of irrigated area, with more than 60% of rainfed agriculture replaced by irrigated agriculture (especially between 1997 and 2006), exerted substantial pressure on surface water and groundwater resources. Together, climate change, reduced river flow, and significant declines in groundwater level in major aquifers led to unsustainable use of water resources, a considerable reduction in irrigated area, and unsustainability in agricultural production in the period 2006–2015. Analysis of causes and effects of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought in the area identified three clear stages: before 1997 being sustainable, 1997–2006 being transitional, and after 2006 being unsustainable.

scholarly journals Effects of model calibration on hydrological and water resources management simulations under climate change in a semi-arid watershed

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (3) ◽  
pp. 1247-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagen Koch ◽  
Ana Lígia Chaves Silva ◽  
Stefan Liersch ◽  
José Roberto Gonçalves de Azevedo ◽  
Fred Fokko Hattermann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Model Calibration ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractSemi-arid regions are known for erratic precipitation patterns with significant effects on the hydrological cycle and water resources availability. High temporal and spatial variation in precipitation causes large variability in runoff over short durations. Due to low soil water storage capacity, base flow is often missing and rivers fall dry for long periods. Because of its climatic characteristics, the semi-arid north-eastern region of Brazil is prone to droughts. To counter these, reservoirs were built to ensure water supply during dry months. This paper describes problems and solutions when calibrating and validating the eco-hydrological model SWIM for semi-arid regions on the example of the Pajeú watershed in north-eastern Brazil. The model was calibrated to river discharge data before the year 1983, with no or little effects of water management, applying a simple and an enhanced approach. Uncertainties result mainly from the meteorological data and observed river discharges. After model calibration water management was included in the simulations. Observed and simulated reservoir volumes and river discharges are compared. The calibrated and validated models were used to simulate the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes and water resources management using data of two representative concentration pathways (RCP) and five earth system models (ESM). The differences in changes in natural and managed mean discharges are negligible (< 5%) under RCP8.5 but notable (> 5%) under RCP2.6 for the ESM ensemble mean. In semi-arid catchments, the enhanced approach should be preferred, because in addition to discharge, a second variable, here evapotranspiration, is considered for model validation.

scholarly journals Vulnerability of and risk to water resources in arid and semi-arid regions of West China under a scenario of climate change

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Xia ◽  
Like Ning ◽  
Quan Wang ◽  
Junxu Chen ◽  
Long Wan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
West China ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals THE IMPORTANCE OF QUINOA (QUINOA CHENOPODIUM WILLD.) CULTIVATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-356
Author(s):  
A. FATHI ◽  
F. KARDONI
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
World Population ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
The World ◽  
Semi Arid

Quinoa is a dicotyledonous species for seeds and, therefore, is not known as a cereal grain and is a pseudograin, which is introduced nowadays as a new crop in the world. Population growth and the need for more food put additional pressure on the environment, especially on water resources and agronomic ecosystems. This has led to more attention to plants that grow at different latitudes and altitudes. Climatic and environmental changes affect agricultural inputs, especially water resources. So, the best way of adapting to the current situation is the introduction of low-water, salt resistant, and drought-tolerant plants to the recent climatic changes. Water scarcity has become a serious problem in many countries. This restriction has had a significant impact on the development of countries. The plants which grow in arid and semi-arid regions are often exposed to adverse environmental factors, such as drought or salinity. Salinity and drought stress, more than any other factor, decrease crop yields around the world. These two abiotic stresses are the main limiting factors for crop production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Quinoa is an exceptional plant that can adapt to adverse conditions and can serve as a solution to the challenge of global food security. Recent droughts that occurred in the world have prompted governments to include plants in their development plans, which are adapted to the country's existing water and soil conditions and have high nutritional value. This way, quinoa cultivation can ensure their food security in the coming years.

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