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United Nations University,
International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

175 Longwood Road South, Suite 204, Hamilton Ontario L8P 0A1 CANADA

Phone: 1-905-667-5511
Fax: 1-905-667-5510
Email: contact@inweh.unu.edu

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Traditional Water Management in Dry Areas

Water management forms the most critical process in dry areas, as it impacts livelihood, food security, land conservation and productivity and society in general. Most of the dry areas of the world, defined as including arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions, fall in the developing world. These developing countries often do not possess the technical know-how, financial capacity or the social structure to undertake modern water management approaches. On the positive side, societies in dry areas have learnt to cope with water shortage through the centuries. Such traditional water management approaches are the primary focus of this project.

This project is made possible through the generous financial support of Ms. Julie Blucker.

Objectives

  1. Highlight the importance of traditional water management systems through focused research and field activities, including comparative evaluation of these systems in different settings;

  2. Evaluate the relationship between local communities and traditional water management systems, including evolution of these systems in contemporary societies;

  3. Build the capacity of local researchers to undertake community-oriented field research;

  4. Perform focused research on means and ways for improving traditional water management systems according to evolving socio-economic patterns, particularly highlighting South-South collaboration; and

  5. Raise public awareness on key issues pertaining to utilization of traditional water management technologies.

Project Output

What Makes Traditional Technologies Tick - A review of traditional approaches for water management in drylands
Adeel, Schuster and Bigas (Eds.)

Download PDF: part 1 (3 MB); part 2 (2 MB)

Funded Projects

Traditional Water Distribution in Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman
(Abdullah S. Al-Ghafri) - completed
Click here for project summary in PDF form (650 KB)

Restoration of Qanats in Syria
(Joshka Wessels) - completed
Click here for project summary in PDF form (90 KB)

Traditional versus new water harvesting techniques in the dry areas of Tunisia: Complement or conflict?
(Ouessar Mohamed) - completed
Click here for project summary in PDF form (270 KB)

Zarh Karez - A traditional water management system striving against drought, increasing population, and technological change
(Faisal Farooq Khan, WWF - Pakistan) - completed
Click here for project summary in PDF form (50 KB)

Traditional water harvesting in the mountain terraces of Yemen
(Najib Al-Ghulaibi) - completed

Khattara and Organization of Water Users
(Keiko Oshima) - completed
Click here for project summary in PDF form (85 KB)
Karez System in Turpan and Its Conservation
(Sun Qingwei) -
ongoing