Welcome to the Institute of Water Studies

RESEARCH THEMES

Water Resources Management

1- Sustainable Groundwater Management

Groundwater is becoming an increasingly popular resource because of the relative ease and flexibility with which it can be tapped. It can be drawn on demand, making it far more attractive to many groups of users. Many observers argue - and indicative evidence supports this - that a cubic meter of groundwater creates several times more income than a cubic meter of water from large surface irrigation systems. Groundwater is emerging as a formidable poverty reduction tool. However, developing and managing this resource in a sustainable way poses many challenges. The over-depletion of groundwater is becoming a major problem in Palestine. Groundwater overdraft has many negative consequences. The most far-reaching impact of groundwater depletion and water quality deterioration is on the health of large sections of rural populations, that depend directly on wells as their only source of drinking water supply. The Objectives of this main theme are:

To develop and disseminate a more accurate and refined understanding of the socio-ecological value of groundwater, and highlight the nature and scale of the consequences of its unsustainable use.
To identify promising technologies and management approaches with potential to help achieve sustainable groundwater use. To research, evaluate and promote their potential to help achieve sustainable groundwater use.
To aggressively promote solutions for sustainable groundwater use among strategic players in national and regional groundwater systems.

The goal of IWS research in groundwater is to contribute to achieving sustainable use and management of groundwater in ways that promote food and livelihood security. Topics covered under this theme include:

	Assessing the extent of groundwater and groundwater irrigation.
	Understanding factors contributing to overdraft and contamination.
	Groundwater quality and health.
	Techno-economics of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, and of large-scale recharge programs.
	Worldwide inventory of problems and successful approaches.
	Devising policies, technologies, and institutions for sustainable management.

2- Water for Agriculture

Irrigated agriculture has many shapes, sizes and faces. These range from large storage, canal-fed surface systems to garden-level 'drip' irrigation; from farmer-managed to government-managed; from supply-based water deliveries to those that respond to farmer demand. Irrigation can have a profound impact on nature, local communities and other users of water, and that these consequences have often been neglected when irrigation is being developed and managed. There is a need to better understand these linkages and influences, and to evaluate options for developing and managing water more productively, for the benefit of all users in a river basin. The backdrop for this theme is the increasing water scarcity that most developing countries are experiencing. The objectives of this theme are to:

	Develop and apply new research methodologies for assessing and improving irrigation water management performance in an integrated water resource management framework; and
	Identify key methodologies, processes, and actions that will contribute to poverty reduction and food and environmental security.

Under this theme:

	We are looking at irrigation management from the perspective of the competing uses of water in river basins, including agriculture, nature, local communities, cities, industry, etc.
	We are adapting and applying modern information technologies and research tools for gaining new insights into irrigation performance at multiple scales (farm, irrigation system, basin).
	We are working to uncover key insights into the determinants irrigation performance and to provide tools and processes for improved water and irrigation management.
	We are joining with others to "rethink" the role of irrigation in food production, poverty reduction, and environmental security. This assessment will be a critical input to the global debate on water-food security issues that is at present severely constrained by lack of science-based knowledge.

3- Integrated Water Resources Management

As the world enters the 21st Century, it faces many challenges, above all that of establishing a sustainable way of life that would not threaten future generations. One of the essential elements of life on this planet is freshwater. Sustainable development therefore demands sustainable management of the world's limited resources of freshwater. Water resources cannot be managed, however, unless we know where they are, in what quantity and quality, and how variable they are likely to be in the foreseeable future. This theme includes:

	Identify the larger issues related to water management and food security that need to be understood and addressed by governments and policymakers.
	Develop, test and promote management practices and tools that can be used by governments and institutions to manage water and land resources more effectively, and address water scarcity issues.
	Collect and analyze hydrological data as a basis for assessing and managing freshwater resources, for example, for human consumption, sanitation, and irrigation and the prediction of droughts.
	Improving countries' capacity to supply reliable water-related data to resource planners, decision-makers, scientists and the general public.
	Promote research into and understanding of the proper management and protection of groundwater for the common good throughout Palestine and promote best practice and exchange of the latest skills, techniques and knowledge of all aspects of water management; to disseminate this around Palestine worldwide by all possible means including meetings, expert networks, publications and electronic media; to engage in advocacy and exchange of ideas with major agencies and to promote public awareness
	Improve water resources and irrigation management through better technologies, policies, institutions, and management. Improving the productivity of water can make a major contribution to reducing poverty and improving peoples' lives.

4- Water Resources Institutions and Policies

The goal of this research is to produce knowledge-based guidelines and best practices in institutions and policies that allow Palestinian institutions to deal with specific types of water management problems. The main objectives of this theme are:

To understand the institutional arrangements and policy frameworks that have the highest potential to improve the productivity of water in ways that promote livelihoods for poor men and women, and environmental sustainability. This will be done through a program of thorough systematic comparative research.
To identify, test and evaluate research-based guidelines for water policy reform that lead to more effective management of water. The avenues explored will include organizational options and roles and support systems for the local management of irrigation.

This research theme deals with institutional and policy implications of:

	Strategies for enhancing the productivity of water (at national, basin and local levels).
	Building Poverty and Gender concerns into national and sub-national water management regimes.
	Managing water scarcity and its consequences.
	Farmer-led/participatory irrigation management.

5 - Transboundary Water Management

Recognizing that water is a key natural resource for future prosperity and stability, it is important to identify mechanisms and instruments to support the use of water as a catalyst for regional cooperation rather than a source of potential conflict. This is especially important since the need for cooperative management of shared water resources will increase significantly with the demands from expanding populations and economic growth. The availability of water, and access to its utilization, is crucial to the economic well being not only of individuals, but also of entire regions. Transboundary Water Management encompasses a range of mechanisms and instruments to support the use of water as a catalyst for regional cooperation rather than a source of potential conflict.

6 - Watershed Management

Watershed management is an accepted component of natural resources management and is incorporated in many different kinds of IWS projects, ranging from sector-specific projects (irrigation, agriculture, etc) to integrated area development. Indeed, watershed consciousness can serve as a basis for environmental education and sustainable development activities across the sectors. This section provides information on watershed management with emphasis on protecting source waters. It includes information on the principal causes of land degradation, the extent and severity of watershed degradation, and the impact of top soil and vegetative cover loss on water resources. Information on watershed management strategies, guidelines and mechanisms are provided together with examples of successful watershed management. These strategies includes both structural (engineered solutions) and non structural measures (such as soil conservation programs, land use planning, zoning, etc.), and the institutional arrangements (centralized authorities or community based).