Amer Z. Salman

The impact of water price strategies on the allocation of irrigation water: the case of the Jordan Valley

This paper discusses the optimal water allocation and cropping patterns for the Jordan Valley, taking into consideration variations in expected incomes from agricultural production and rising water prices. The calculations were based on information available on water supplies, areas under irrigation and market conditions, and used linear programming models for determining solutions that maximize gross margins and minimize potential variations in these gross margins. The results indicated that optimizing cropping patterns and the allocation of irrigation water still has a substantial potential to increase the financial return from agriculture. Optimal solutions that consider risk from varying gross margins react quite elastically in terms of demand for irrigation water to rising water prices. This adds the element of a changing market supply to any discussion about managing water consumption between sectors of the society by using pricing mechanisms.

An inter-seasonal agricultural water allocation system (SAWAS)

Abstract This paper introduces a linear programming optimization model for analyzing inter-seasonal allocation of irrigation water in quantities and qualities and their impact on agricultural production and income. The SAWAS model is a developed version of the Agricultural Sub-Model (AGSM). In this research, we stress water scarcity as a problem that arises when water is not found in proper quantity and quality at the appropriate place and time. The model is designed to serve as a decision-making tool for planners of agricultural production on both the district and the regional level. It generates an optimal mix of water-demanding activities that maximizes the net agricultural income of the districts and gives the water demands under various prices. It also provides the planner with tools to carry out ‘what-if’ experiments and to generate optimal water demand curves. A principal feature of SAWAS is the use of demand and the benefits from water together with costs and optimization within the agricultural sector to specify the optimal usage of different water qualities. Hence the agricultural planner can use the outputs of SAWAS in order to bridge the gap between the limited water resources and the increased agricultural production in an area that suffers from severe water scarcity. The paper applies the SAWAS model to the Jordan Valley in Jordan.

The Red Dead Canal project: an adaptation option to climate change in Jordan

AbstractIn arid and semiarid regions such as Jordan, climate change impacts on the balance between available resources and demands are expected to be severe. Climate change is expected to reduce resources and increase demands which will inevitably result in enlarging the gap between supply and demand. Adaptation to these impacts can be achieved either by reducing demands via implementing demand management practices or by developing and utilizing undeveloped resources, or by both. This paper investigates the impacts of the proposed red dead canal (RDC) project on bridging the gap between supply and demand in Amman and Zarqa cities within Amman Zarqa Basin (AZB) and in the Jordan Valley. The water evaluation and planning system (WEAP) is implemented for the Jordan Valley and AZB for this purpose. WEAP allocates water to competing demands based on the physical system characteristics as well as user-defined criteria, so that coverage at all competing demand sites is equal. The physical system characteristics ...

A Trade—off Analysis for the Use of Different Water Sources for Irrigation (The Case of Southern Shounah in the Jordan Valley)

Abstract Jordan is one of the poorest countries in terms of water resources. Hence, the government constantly searches for the optimal use of water. This is especially important in agriculture, which accounts for about 71% of water consumption. In the main agricultural production zone, the Jordan Valley, the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) has applied different water policies. In particular, in recent years, the JVA effectively prohibited production in the spring season by greatly reducing the water supplied to agriculture. The objective of this study is an analysis of trade—offs among the use of different water resources in Southern Shounah in the Jordan Valley and to estimate the optimal allocation of water in order to investigate the efficiency of JVA policies. In light of the findings outlined below, we have concluded that the spring-season policy was not effective since the main crop produced in the Southern Shounah is banana. Water consumption in the region remained as it was before applying this policy: 32.48 million cubic meters (MCM). Because banana production depends on groundwater resources, which are only owned by a small number of rich farmers, we found that, if banana planting were prohibited, water savings would reach 13.08 MCM but would be accompanied by a reduction in net income of 59%. Similarly, we find that saving water by increasing water prices would be an expensive policy if the price raised were that of groundwater used for bananas. The study suggests changing the current cropping pattern to one that can come close to the highest agricultural income of US

Methodological challenges in evaluating performance, impact and ranking of IWRM strategies in the Jordan Valley.

33.85 million, while reducing water consumption by about 13.0 MCM.

Integration of different environmental valuation methods to estimate forest degradation in arid and semi-arid regions

The philosophy of integrated water resource management (IWRM), as formulated in several international summits, yielded numerous interpretations and extensions over the last decade but always focused on the overall objective of maximizing the welfare and livelihood of the people concerned. One of the major constraints of this concept is the gap between the well-defined philosophy and the fuzzy definition of operational and testable indicators for the achievement of its goals. This leads to difficulties in the evaluation of potential contributions from technological and managerial improvements. The experience of the multi-lateral IWRM research initiative SMART in the lower Jordan Valley shows that the evaluation and ranking of alternative IWRM strategies and their elements relies simultaneously on the identification of local goals and their interfaces with the superordinate national water sector policies. The documentation of the, still ongoing, development process of suitable assessment procedures describes their methodological embedding and conclusions drawn for the heterogeneous situation of water-related settings in this transboundary watershed.

Economic benefits of reservoirs in the irrigated agriculture : A case study of the Jordan Valley

ABSTRACT Many factors are aggravating desertification and degradation of forests such as urbanization, droughts, exploitation of natural resources and climate change. The study aims at estimating and assessing the degradation of forests in arid and semi-arid regions. This task however is complicated since the impact of the degradation will be in different forms such as loss of wood, soil erosion and lost recreational areas. Nevertheless the dynamic impact of the degradation is increasing the complexity of analysis since forest once lost is a reduction of value for all subsequent years. This study is considering the value of damages over time and it is using the concept of three environmental valuation methods to estimate the whole impact of the degradation: the habitat equivalency analysis (HEA), the productivity method and the benefit transfer method. The methods were applied to specific values of forests, depending on the best applicability, and the results combined to an overall value loss. The costs are calculated based on the year 2014 with two time horizons: 30 and 100 years. To apply the valuation approach, Jordan as an arid and semi-arid country is chosen. The result shows that the annual costs of environmental degradation of Jordanian forest areas equal about 0.14% of GDP in 2013, proving the enormous value lost to forest degradation or deforestation. The valuation approach can be transferred to other arid or semi-arid areas and stimulate forest conservation activities to prevent further degradation and to save the forest ecosystem services for the future.

Sustainable Water and Land Management Under Global Change—The GLOWA Jordan River Project

Abstract In the Jordan Valley of Jordan, the demand for water and ability to control its location, timing, quality, and quantity are becoming critical. The competition for water between the urban and agricultural sectors is increasing. There is a general trend in Jordan to reduce water allocated for agricultural use. Increasing the price of irrigation water or restricting the planted areas of water consuming crops, such as bananas, has been implemented during the recent growing season. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the impact of optimal allocation of irrigation water by building storage capacity on the economy of Jordan Valley. A linear programming technique is used, and the main results show that for proper management of water storage capacity, the suggested cropping pattern would generate

Water demand elasticities under risk conditions

88.2 million, whereas the actual cropping pattern generated

Forecasting models for barley production in Jordan

74.4 million. The optimal water demand schedule is distributed according to the needs of the planted crops, and water demand has been allocated in an efficient way. In addition, appropriate management of storage capacity has solved the problem of water scarcity during the summer months, when peak production takes place. Storage-transfer system between locations played a significant role in reallocating irrigation water through the storage system. This compensates to a high degree in keeping the agricultural production more stable in physical and monetary units.