IWAS Middle East (Oman)
For ensuring both optimal sustainable water resources management and long-term planning in a changing arid environment, we propose an integrated Assessment-, Prognoses-, Planning- and Management tool (APPM). The new APPM integrates the complex interactions of the strongly nonlinear meteorological, hydrological and agricultural phenomena, considering the socio-economic aspects. It aims at achieving best possible solutions for water allocation, groundwater storage and withdrawals including saline water management together with a substantial increase of the water use efficiency employing novel optimisation strategies for irrigation control and scheduling. To obtain a robust and fast operation of the water management system, it unites process modeling with artificial intelligence tools and evolutionary optimisation techniques for managing both water quality and quantity.
The project is currently structured in the following components:
- Analysis and modelling of actual and future water resources availability and demands,
- Evaluation of sustainable water management strategies considering agricultural production as well as the demands of other water consumption sectors,
- Optimal design and control of the technical systems for water allocation and distribution depending on given objectives, actual hydrological conditions and future prognosis.
- Capacity development, participation and knowledge dissemination.
The study area is situated in the north of the Sultanate of Oman in the Al-Batinah region. A progressive intensification of the agriculture since the 80s together with currently applied inefficient irrigation practices leads to an increasing water demand and — as a result — to continuously declining groundwater levels. Ongoing overexploitation of the aquifer has enforced the intrusion of marine salt water from the sea.
The project is performed within the frame of the International Water Research alliance Saxony http://iwas-initiative.de/
Duration: 2009-2012
Financed by: BMBF
Cooperation
- Government of the Sultanate of Oman (Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs – see http://www.omanet.om/english/home.asp), Sultan Quabus University Muscat (http://www.squ.edu.om) and AGRO Association for Al-Batinah Region Farmers (Sultanate of Oman)
- Chair of Meteorology at the Institute of Hydrology und Meteorology (TU Dresden, IHM)
- Institute of Groundwater Management (TU Dresden, IGW)
- Helmholtz- Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Project team
Dr. Franz Lennartz, Dr. Jens Grundmann, Dr. Niels Schütze, Sebastian Kloss, Alexander Gerner, Tinh Pham Van