The Combination of Indigenous Knowledge and Geo-Informatics for Water Harvesting Siting in the Jordanian Badia

Abstract

Jordan is located in an arid to semi arid region where around 90% of its land receives an average annual precipitation of less than 100 mm while only 3% of the land receives an average annual precipitation of 300 mm or more. Jordan is characterised as a “water scarce” country because the current <i>per capita</i> share of water is estimated to be of the order of 140 m<sup>3</sup> per year which is well below the 1000 m3 threshold. Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing, of rainwater. It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers as a groundwater recharge. GIS has been widely used in selecting the best sites for water harvesting schemes. This research aims at selecting optimum sites for water harvesting schemes in the Jordan arid lands (Badia) using indigenous knowledge and geo-informatics. To achieve this aim, a community-based research and desktop investigating is applied. The community-based research focused on consulting with 200 stakeholders form local communities where they provided knowledge on opportunities and constrains form their experience on water management in the arid lands where they live and interact. Also they provided information on potential location for water collecting sites that has been used for ages to provide water to humans and livestock. On the other hand, desktop research is conducted on sitting criteria for water harvesting based on physical and socio-economic characteristics. The physical criteria include rainfall volumes, slope, distance to water courses (wadis), distance form geologic faults and soil texture, where socio-economic criteria include distance to groundwater wells, distance to urban area, distance to agriculture activities and distance to international brooders. This selecting criterion in combination with indigenous knowledge is used within GIS environment to identify optimum sites for water harvesting. GIS analysis resulted in identifying 118 potential sites. Of those, 30 sites had already recommended by the community consultations

Application of Bio-Solids as Soil Amendment in Arid Rangeland of Jordan

“…Due to long drought periods and over utilizing of range lands in the arid lands of Jordan, the land is degraded and lost most of its natural vegetation [2]. To rehabilitate the natural vegetation cover, there is a need to enhance the fertility of soil to be able to support vegetation under limited amounts of rainfall.…”

Multi-Criteria-GIS Based Site Selection for Irrigational Reservoir – A Case Study

“…However, in Upper East Region of Ghana, these factors failed to present specific constraints in siting irrigation dams and therefore were not used in this research. Research by Al-Adamat et al (2012) indicated that dams are usually built on rivers and human activities have had a profound impact on river systems throughout the world. Proper investigation, interpretation, and analyses of different terrain parameters such as elevation, topography, and slope instability of the dam site hold the key for the success of the dam in terms of economic sustainability and durability.…”

“…Proper investigation, interpretation, and analyses of different terrain parameters such as elevation, topography, and slope instability of the dam site hold the key for the success of the dam in terms of economic sustainability and durability. Geo-spatial techniques will provide not only fast and accurate data, but also reliable data, which can be further analyzed in order to give the complete picture of the dam site (Al-Adamat et al, 2012). According to Singh, Darshdeep, and Lorita (2008), in India, criteria such as slope, land use, soil infiltration rate, and soil type have been used for making decision in selecting a suitable site for various water harvesting structures as per Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD).…”

Evaluating rainwater harvesting systems in arid and semi-arid regions

“…The main objective of this study was to define a general method for selecting suitable RWH sites in ASARs based on methods developed throughout the last three decades. The success of RWH systems depends heavily on the identification of suitable sites and on their technical design (Al-Adamat et al, 2012). The 48 articles we reviewed indicated that the way sites are selected has shifted over time, reflected in the three sets of guidelines: IMSD, (1995), and FAO (2003) (see Table 2.2).…”

“…The success of RWH systems depends heavily on the identification of suitable sites and their technical design (Al-Adamat et al, 2012). Various methodologies have been developed for the selection of suitable sites and techniques for RWH (Ahmad, 2013;Al-Adamat, 2008;De Winnaar et al, 2007).…”