Implementing integrated water resources management locally in rural catchments: Lessons from eastern Sudan

Sudan is a vulnerable and challenging environment as a result of its climate, hydrology, and hydrogeology. Other entrenched human factors, such as authoritarian rule, limited historical investment in rural water services and the gradual decline of national institutions make it particularly difficult. This has manifested itself today into low levels of water supply coverage particularly amongst rural communities. Trust between rural communities in Kassala and government institutions has also declined for those left behind in rural hinterlands. Providing sustainable and resilient water services in rural Sudan is difficult work, not least because of high rainfall variability, inadequate infrastructure and the lack of continuous external support to communities when problems arise. This paper describes efforts to strengthen links between water resources management and WASH, and the challenges faced when national institutions responsible for water resources and water supply are weak. It documents recent efforts to ensure water supply services can provide water year round and increase collaboration between rural communities and mandated government authorities. It is intended to be read by government personnel, non-governmental organisations and other staff that are directly involved in implementing integrated water resource management programmes in complex environments.

Solar-powered water systems for vulnerable rural communities: Alleviating water scarcity in Iraq

Deteriorating water quality and decreasing water quantity are causing a water crisis in Iraq. The crisis is having a profoundly negative impact on people's livelihoods and on the economy. In the most water-stressed areas, vulnerable people have had to move from rural areas where water is scarce to urban areas, placing additional pressure on the water supply. To mitigate the impact of water scarcity on the most vulnerable people in rural areas, the United Nations Children's Fund has worked in partnership with the Iraqi Water Authorities on a programme to increase access to more resilient water services in some highly vulnerable rural and conflict affected areas of Iraq where water services are unreliable. One major contributing factor to the problem of access to water was the unreliability of the electrical supply, particularly in the summer months. The programme identified that an alternative to grid electrical power was needed to achieve a more reliable source of energy for water provision. The programme installed solar-powered water systems in two vulnerable districts in northern Iraq: Shekhan district, Ninewa, and Makhmur, Erbil. These systems are now providing sustainable, predictable and reliable water services to two vulnerable districts which had previously suffered extensively from power shortages and service interruptions. The water from the new solar-powered systems provides access to safe water for refugees and internally displaced people, as well as local communities. Importantly, the programme has increased water conservation and efficiency and helped to strengthen community resilience. It has also highlighted the need for adaptive and innovative technological solutions, which can support more effective disaster response and recovery.

Simulating the Effects of Thinning Events on Forest Growth and Water Services Asks for Daily Analysis of Underlying Processes

Forest growth function and water cycle are affected by climatic conditions, making climate-sensitive models, e.g., process-based, crucial to the simulation of dynamics of forest and water interactions. A rewarded and widely applied model for forest growth analysis and management, 3PG, is a physiological process-based forest stand model that predicts growth. However, the model runs on a monthly basis and uses a simple soil-water module. Therefore, we downscale the temporal resolution to operate daily, improve the growth modifiers and add a responsive hydrological sub-model to represents the key features of a snow routine, a detailed soil-water model and a separated soil-evaporation calculation. Thereby, we aim to more precisely analyze the effects of thinning events on forest productivity and water services. The novel calibrated 3PG-Hydro model was validated in Norway spruce sites in Southern Germany and confirmed improvements in building forest processes (evapotranspiration) and predicting forest growth (biomass, diameter, volume), as well as water processes and services (water recharge). The model is more sensitive to forest management measures and variability in soil water by (1) individualization of each site’s soil, (2) simulation of percolation and runoff processes, (3) separation of transpiration and evapotranspiration to predict good evapotranspiration even if high thinning is applied, (4) calculation in daily time steps to better simulate variation and especially drought and (5) an improved soil-water modifier. The new 3PG-Hydro model can, in general, better simulate forest growth (stand volume, average diameter), as well as details of soil and water processes after thinning events. The novel developments add complexity to the model, but the additions are crucial and relevant, and the model remains an easy-to-handle forest simulation tool.

Inclusive Development Approach to Urban Water Services in Jakarta

The lack of a reliable piped water network in Jakarta causes the ongoing exploitation of groundwater. Thus, the government should provide inclusive clean water for all residents. This study aims to review the literature on the inclusive development approach on water services across urban contexts to provide recommendations for the local government. Since the inclusive development approach to water and sanitation is relatively new, the study employs a narrative review method to learn best practices from several cities across the globe. Studies showed that other cities faced a similar problem in providing piped water systems, leading to the reliance on groundwater sources. Some recommendations can be drawn from the study. First, the local government should increase water supply by piped water networks to low-income families in poor neighbourhoods. Second, subsidizing the poor should also be included in the system. Third, strict rules and regulations on groundwater use should also be applied to all to save water and the environment. Fourth, the collaboration between citizens and the government by encouraging community participation in decision making can empower citizens, especially women, to increase their knowledge on water use and their right to have clean water.