scholarly journals Potential of harvesting water from fog and dew water over semi-arid and arid regions in Syria

Author(s):  
Majd M. Khalil ◽  
Ahmad Kara-Ali ◽  
Mohamad Asaad

Abstract Water is a significant primary resource on the earth's surface. Fresh water is essential for a human being and for the stability and sustainable development of any nation. Many regions in the interior of Syria have an insufficient water balance. This has caused severe shortages of freshwater as a result of climate change. Syria's main source of fresh water, rivers and groundwater, suffers from low levels due to the lack of rainfall amounts. The war in Syria exacerbated water stress, in particular the effects of the war on water sources such as the Euphrates River and the ‘Feijah’ source that feeds the capital Damascus. All of this has prompted us to seek other non-traditional sources such as atmospheric water, which is a renewable and relatively clean source. This paper is considered to be the first of its kind in Syria. Experimental results from semi-arid and arid regions have shown good potential for harvesting dew and fog water as a supplementary and complementary source to the existing freshwater supply.

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitya Rao ◽  
Elaine T. Lawson ◽  
Wapula N. Raditloaneng ◽  
Divya Solomon ◽  
Margaret N. Angula

Author(s):  
Imefon Udo Udo ◽  
Imekan Isaac Akpan

Inland fisheries of arid and semi-arid regions of Africa are seriously threatened by negative impacts of climate change. Literature and several models show increase in temperature of 1.1oC in some areas. Sea level rise is projected to increase to 0.8 m by the year 2100. Fish yields have increased almost linearly by around half a million metric tons per decade over the past 60 years, while clear cyclical variations in the residuals of about 20 years' periodicity above and below the trend line have been observed. Although fisher folks, their communities, and local institutions are already constantly adapting to various forms of change, flimsiness in the wider governance and macro-economic environment has weakened the overall adaptive capacity of these regions and fishers are vulnerable to projected climate change. For significant benefits of inland fisheries to be accomplished, planned adaptation at scales from the local to the regional is very necessary.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1572-1591
Author(s):  
Imefon Udo Udo ◽  
Imekan Isaac Akpan

Inland fisheries of arid and semi-arid regions of Africa are seriously threatened by negative impacts of climate change. Literature and several models show increase in temperature of 1.1oC in some areas. Sea level rise is projected to increase to 0.8 m by the year 2100. Fish yields have increased almost linearly by around half a million metric tons per decade over the past 60 years, while clear cyclical variations in the residuals of about 20 years' periodicity above and below the trend line have been observed. Although fisher folks, their communities, and local institutions are already constantly adapting to various forms of change, flimsiness in the wider governance and macro-economic environment has weakened the overall adaptive capacity of these regions and fishers are vulnerable to projected climate change. For significant benefits of inland fisheries to be accomplished, planned adaptation at scales from the local to the regional is very necessary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-853
Author(s):  
Jian Feng ◽  
Lingdi Zhao ◽  
Yibo Zhang ◽  
Lingxiao Sun ◽  
Xiang Yu ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 2729-2743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Ziervogel ◽  
Poshendra Satyal ◽  
Ritwika Basu ◽  
Adelina Mensah ◽  
Chandni Singh ◽  
...  

AbstractVertical integration, which creates strategic linkages between national and sub-national levels, is being promoted as important for climate change adaptation. Decentralisation, which transfers authority and responsibility to lower levels of organisation, serves a similar purpose and has been in place for a number of decades. Based on four case studies in semi-arid regions in Africa and India, this paper argues that vertical integration for climate change adaptation should reflect on lessons from decentralisation related to governing natural resources, particularly in the water sector. The paper focuses on participation and flexibility, two central components of climate change adaptation, and considers how decentralisation has enhanced or undermined these. The findings suggest that vertical integration for adaptation will be strengthened if a number of lessons are considered, namely (i) actively seek equitable representation from marginal and diverse local groups drawing on both formal and informal participation structures, (ii) assess and address capacity deficits that undermine flexibility and adaptive responses, especially within lower levels of government, and (iii) use hybrid modes of governance that include government, intermediaries and diverse local actors through both formal and informal institutions to improve bottom-up engagement.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bright Freduah ◽  
Dilys MacCarthy ◽  
Myriam Adam ◽  
Mouhamed Ly ◽  
Alex Ruane ◽  
...  

Climate change is estimated to exacerbate existing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa. However, limited studies quantify the extent of variation in climate change impact under these systems at the local scale. The Decision Support System for Agro-technological Transfer (DSSAT) was used to quantify variation in climate change impacts on maize yield under current agricultural practices in semi-arid regions of Senegal (Nioro du Rip) and Ghana (Navrongo and Tamale). Multi-benchmark climate models (Mid-Century, 2040–2069 for two Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), and multiple soil and management information from agronomic surveys were used as input for DSSAT. The average impact of climate scenarios on grain yield among farms ranged between −9% and −39% across sites. Substantial variation in climate response exists across farms in the same farming zone with relative standard deviations from 8% to 117% at Nioro du Rip, 13% to 64% in Navrongo and 9% to 37% in Tamale across climate models. Variations in fertilizer application, planting dates and soil types explained the variation in the impact among farms. This study provides insight into the complexities of the impact of climate scenarios on maize yield and the need for better representation of heterogeneous farming systems for optimized outcomes in adaptation and resilience planning in smallholder systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (3) ◽  
pp. 1247-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagen Koch ◽  
Ana Lígia Chaves Silva ◽  
Stefan Liersch ◽  
José Roberto Gonçalves de Azevedo ◽  
Fred Fokko Hattermann

AbstractSemi-arid regions are known for erratic precipitation patterns with significant effects on the hydrological cycle and water resources availability. High temporal and spatial variation in precipitation causes large variability in runoff over short durations. Due to low soil water storage capacity, base flow is often missing and rivers fall dry for long periods. Because of its climatic characteristics, the semi-arid north-eastern region of Brazil is prone to droughts. To counter these, reservoirs were built to ensure water supply during dry months. This paper describes problems and solutions when calibrating and validating the eco-hydrological model SWIM for semi-arid regions on the example of the Pajeú watershed in north-eastern Brazil. The model was calibrated to river discharge data before the year 1983, with no or little effects of water management, applying a simple and an enhanced approach. Uncertainties result mainly from the meteorological data and observed river discharges. After model calibration water management was included in the simulations. Observed and simulated reservoir volumes and river discharges are compared. The calibrated and validated models were used to simulate the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes and water resources management using data of two representative concentration pathways (RCP) and five earth system models (ESM). The differences in changes in natural and managed mean discharges are negligible (< 5%) under RCP8.5 but notable (> 5%) under RCP2.6 for the ESM ensemble mean. In semi-arid catchments, the enhanced approach should be preferred, because in addition to discharge, a second variable, here evapotranspiration, is considered for model validation.


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