Site selection for managed aquifer recharge in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, using a multi-criteria decision analysis and geographic information system

While the success and sustainability of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) strongly depends on many characteristics of the site, it is necessary to integrate the site characteristics and develop suitability maps to indicate the most suitable locations. The objective of this study is to integrate geographic information system (GIS) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques to identify the most suitable areas for a MAR project in the Kabul city area, Afghanistan. Data for six effective criteria, including slope, drainage density, surface infiltration rate, unsaturated zone thickness, soil type and electrical conductivity, were collected and then a classification map was produced for each criterion in the GIS environment. By applying MCDA techniques, the weights of the effective criteria were obtained. A suitability map was generated from each technique separately based on a combination of all criteria weights and thematic layers. The result of the analytical network process (ANP) method was found to be more precise and reliable compared with that of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. Based on the final suitability map produced from the ANP model, there is 3.7, 15.0, 37.4, 33.1 and 10.3% of the total area that is unsuitable, of low suitability, moderately suitable, suitable and very suitable for MAR application, respectively. As a final result of this work, seven sites have been prioritized based on land use. The integration of multi-criteria decision analysis and GIS is recognized as an effective method for the selection of managed aquifer recharge sites.

A High-Resolution Wind Farms Suitability Mapping Using GIS and Fuzzy AHP Approach: A National-Level Case Study in Sudan

Wind energy is one of the most attractive sustainable energy resources since it has low operation, maintenance, and production costs and a relatively low impact on the environment. Identifying the optimal sites for installing wind power plants (WPPs) is considered an important challenge of wind energy development which requires careful and combined analyses of numerous criteria. This study introduces a high-resolution wind farms suitability mapping based on Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches considering technical, environmental, social, and spatial aspects, representing eight different criteria. First, a multi-criteria decision-making analysis based on the FAHP method is employed to assign appropriate weights for the addressed criteria with respect to their relative importance. Since the traditional AHP method, which was found employed in the majority of the relative case-studies, is not efficient in dealing with uncertainty when experts use a basic scale (0 to 1) for their assessments, the FAHP provides more flexible scales through the utilized fuzzy membership functions and the natural linguistic variables. Consequently, this helps to facilitate the assessments made by experts and increases the precision of the obtained results (weights). Next, the high-resolution GIS is used to carry out a spatial analysis and integrate various factors/criteria throughout the proposed index to produce the final suitability map and identify the unsuitable areas. The presented study emphasizes investigating the lightning strike flash rate due to its significant influences on the wind turbine’s safety and operation, yet this crucial factor has been seldomly investigated in previous studies. The obtained findings revealed that the wind speed, the land slope, and the elevation had the highest weighted criteria with 33.1%, 24.8%, and 12.2%, respectively. Besides, the final-developed suitability map revealed that 23.22% and 8.31% of the Sudanese territory are of high and very high suitability, respectively, for wind farms installation which are considered sufficient to cover the electricity needs. The difficulty of acquiring real data and resources for the addressed location was the main challenge of the presented work. The work outlook addresses the suitability mapping of hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine energy systems, which will require addressing new and significant criteria in the applied methodology.

DESIGNING GIS-BASED SITE SELECTION MODEL FOR URBAN INVESTMENT PLANNING IN SMART CITIES WITH THE CASE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS

It is of great importance that different sectoral investments such as energy, technology, education, logistics, health, industry, transportation, construction, tourism, which will be realized in globalizing and crowded cities, are made in the most suitable city areas. In order to obtain the maximum efficiency from the unit city area for any sectoral investment activity and to develop more planned and liveable cities, many decision parameters in investment management should be handled rationally by integrated a geographical perspective. In this study, designing GIS-based site selection models was examined for effective decision-making in the investment planning process for smart cities. In this context, different sectoral investment applications examining implementation requirements were determined for smart cities. Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) site selection application was determined as a case study, to design a GIS-based integrated site selection model for investment planning in smart city concept. Data preparation and analysis models were designed for determining the most suitable EVCSs location. EVSC site selection affecting criteria and criteria weights (by MCDA techniques) were researched in the literature. For this purpose, 15 criteria defined by three main criteria groups, namely Environmental/ Geographical, Economic Criteria, and Urbanity Criteria were determined. Designed models were performed analysing EVCSs suitability map in Pendik district of Istanbul. Normalized raster maps related to 15 criteria and EVCSs suitability map were produced with five suitability degrees for the Pendik district. Also, by designing the models, an integrated and planned investment mechanism can be developed for the impressive and efficient use of urban resources in smart city investments.

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF CONVERTING AGRICULTURAL LAND INTO SOLAR FARM USING RS & GIS: CASE OF TARLAC PROVINCE

The Philippines relies heavily on fossil fuels. With its high energy consumption, the country is at risk economically because of possible supply constraints by exporters, and price fluctuations of fossil fuels. One alternative to fossil fuels is solar. This study aims to explore the use of satellite data analytics and Geographic Information System (GIS) in making a granular site suitability assessment for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the province of Tarlac and perform a cost-benefit analysis for rice field conversion to solar farms. Remote sensing (RS) and GIS techniques were used to estimate values of factors and constraints to generate a suitability map of solar farm installation in Tarlac considering rice yield. Input data such as Sentinel 2A image tiles and statistical data from databases online were gathered and geospatial analyst processes were done, particularly in assigning weights to the said factors and constraints. For accuracy assessment of image classification, values of kappa coefficient (k) and overall accuracy (OA) were computed. A final suitability map is then applied together with the constraints. This is then compared with existing and upcoming solar farm projects to see if the suitability map can be considered or there is analysis on whether a prime rice field had been converted. Costs, on one hand, such as the forgone net profit from the agricultural land and rice yield loss was presented. The benefits, on the other hand, include the estimated net returns of the solar farm, the amount of energy generated, and the reduced carbon emissions. Different ranges for several of the variables were considered so a more thorough analysis could be presented. Values of k and OA were 62.2% and 71.27%, respectively, indicating a satisfactory accuracy of image classification. In all instances it was shown that in terms of the costs and benefits considered, agricultural land conversion into solar farms may be beneficial for the province of Tarlac. The study showed that this would match the estimated net profit of rice farm areas selected at around ₱123 M with ₱133 M, but at best estimated net profits could go as high as around ₱5 M. This study has also emphasized the environmental benefit of converting agricultural areas to solar farms by lowering the province’s dependence on non-renewable sources of energy, particularly coal in this case. The approximated reduction in emissions was 33.7% of the emissions of the whole province. It was also notable how much of the national rice supply could be affected as rice supply for more than 200,000 people for a year would have to be forgone.

Compost Plant Site Selection for Food Waste Using GIS Based Multicriteria Analysis

Marketplace waste collection is one of the crucial services provided by the district municipalities in Turkey. A significant amount of food waste is periodically collected from marketplaces. However, an important opportunity for recycling and mitigation climate change is missed because these waste are sent to landfills. Composting, one of the waste management technologies applied to organic waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce compost, is often preferred for the management of marketplace waste. This study aims to determine suitable locations for compost facilities to manage marketplace waste with the help of GIS considering economic, environmental, and topographic factors in Izmir, Turkey. There are 199 marketplaces in Izmir and each has at least one market a week. Each marketplace was weighted by means of population served by using location-allocation analysis since the amount of waste collected from the marketplaces is not known. First, an exclusion analysis was performed to remove limited use areas. Then, a preference analysis was performed. Factors affecting plant site selection process for composting marketplace waste, including marketplace locations and weights, were determined. Since all factors do not have equal importance, the analytical hierarchy process was used to determine weights for each factor based on their influence. The study area was spatially evaluated for each preference factor and a suitability map was created for each factor. Finally, a high-resolution final suitability map was obtained by combining each factor’s suitability map along with their weights. Areas with a suitability index greater than 80% have been defined as suitable areas for compost facility installation. The results indicate that there are 323 potential locations suitable for compost facilities in Izmir.

Settlement Suitability Analysis Based on the Catastrophic Eruption of Sinabung

Mount Sinabung is an active volcano after being 'dormant' for a long time since the 1600s. Sinabung has begun to show its activities from 2010 to 2020, so that it has a long impact on community activities, damage to settlements, agricultural and threats to the lives of residents around Sinabung. This study aims to determine the conditions of land use in disaster-prone areas in relation to spatial patterns and levels of disaster prone. The research method is carried out through spatial analysis by overlaying the land use map with the spatial planning map to produce a land use suitability map. The spatial pattern suitability map is overlaid with a disaster hazard map to determine the level of security in settlements. The results showed that 5 affected Districts, namely in the Districts of Naman Teran, Payung, Simpang Empat, Tiganderket, Munte, the safe zone was 145.66 hectares, the less safe zone was 0.98 hectares, the unsafe zone was 36.91 hectares and the very insecure zone was 1.25 hectares. It is hoped that the spatial analysis regarding the distribution of safe locations for settlements is expected to become a policy material for the government to formulate arrangements for the use and utilization of space so that the spatial planning policies that are established are in line with efforts to reduce the risk of the eruption of Mount Sinabung disaster.

MAR site suitability mapping for arid–semiarid regions by remote data and combined approach: A case study from Balochistan, Pakistan

Climate change, along with the rapid increase in population and mismanagement of water resources, resulted in a decline in the quality and quantity of groundwater worldwide. Balochistan, the largest and driest province of Pakistan, is located in the south western part of the country. This region is suffering from the declining water table, land subsidence, and intense soil erosion. Rapidly increasing population, sea level rise, increasing temperature, declining average annual precipitation, and short-duration intense rainfalls with reduced percolation rates are further aggravating the situation. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is considered as a solution to reduce the stress on groundwater resources and achieve resilience to climate change. Creating a MAR suitability map may be one of the steps to be taken to reach sustainable groundwater management. This study produced the first MAR suitability map of the Quetta Valley, the most densely populated city of Balochistan, and Poralai and Hingol coastal basins suffering from seawater intrusion. To construct the MAR suitability map, the online INOWAS platform was first used to narrow down the suitable MAR options. Then, the six influencing factors including geology, slope, land-cover, precipitation, drainage density, and soil were identified, and the raster map of each factor was scored and weighted using GIS tools and the Multi Influencing Factor (MIF) method. All the factors were integrated according to their weight by using the ‘Weighted Overlay Analysis’ tool and the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (GIS-MCDA) in ArcGIS to produce the final MAR suitability map. The suitability map divided the study area into high, moderate, low, and very low suitability classes. The results depict that 80% of Poralai Basin, 10% of Hingol Basin and less than 5% of Quetta Valley falls in the high MAR suitability zone especially for trenches, ditches, furrows, and leaky dams. The first MAR suitability map for the basins of Balochistan can serve as the guidance and screening tool to focus site specific studies for highly suitable areas for MAR implementation. In the following phase of the study, an analysis of source, quality, and final use of water can serve to design and develop the specific MAR structures according to local conditions and needs. The displayed method is applicable to further MAR suitability studies for other arid-semiarid regions.

DETECTING LAND USE/COVER DYNAMICS AND LAND SUITABILITY MAPPING FOR IRBID GOVERNORATE USING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

This research proposes to design an approach recognizing land use/cover change for Irbid governorate from 1985 to 2015 in 10 years period bases, with an agriculture suitability map using remote sensing and GIS. In this paper, ENVI6 was used to analyse Landsat images, which helps to understand the land uses’ classes. LULC Changes results showed an increase in urban land, from 2% in 1985 reached to 11% in 2015; soil and agricultural classes had declined, in 1985 they were 74% of the total area, and reduced to 67% in 2015. Irbid Governorate’s change detection results revealed that the decline of agriculture and rock land areas is due to the accelerated expansion of urbanization, which negatively affects agricultural lands. Modelling the area showed high suitability for agricultural activities, which should be considered for the upcoming plans.

A GIS-based approach for identifying suitable sites for rainwater harvesting technologies in Kasungu District, Malawi

A GIS-based approach for identifying suitable sites for rainwater harvesting (RWH) technologies was developed and applied in Kasungu District, Malawi. Data were obtained from reports, socio-economic survey documents of the area and maps. Field surveys were conducted in the villages of Chipala Extension Planning Area (EPA), in order to identify and evaluate the performance of existing RWH interventions, and determine factors for locating suitable areas for RWH. Observed soil moisture content was used to assess the water retention performance of the prevalent RWH technologies: contour tied ridging and soil mulching. A GIS-based Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method was used to map runoff potential for areas with RWH technologies, using physical factors of rainfall, land use, soil type and slope to estimate runoff potential. This was then integrated in a GIS database, with social-economic factors in the form of household income level and environmental factors, including impacts of implementing RWH, to determine the suitability of land areas for RWH in Kasungu District. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the impact of identified technologies by comparing the moisture content measurements for each of the identified technologies at 5% level of significance. The ANOVA results showed a statistically significant difference in the moisture measurements for the three technologies identified (P < 0.05). The RWH suitability map for the study area showed that 0.2% of the area considered had very high potential, 33.5% high, 55.9% moderate, 10.1% marginal and 0.3% not suitable for in-field RWH. The model was verified by locating the existing RWH on the suitability map obtained from GIS: 81% of RWH were located in the highly and moderately suitable areas whilst only 13% were located in areas of low suitability. Hence the developed model can reliably be used to predict potential areas for RWH.

Climate Change Impact On Renewable Energy Resources In The Arab World Based On Jacobson's Roadmap Of Renewable Wind, Water, And Sunlight (Wws) 2050

Most Arab countries are part of the Sunbelt where solar insolation is among the highest in the world (as high as 9.5 kWh/m2 per day). At the same time, Arab countries have a high-risk of climate change. Of the 19 countries that set new temperature high in 2010, five were Arab countries. Temperature in Kuwait reached 54.3 °C in 2019. The aims of this study were fourfold: to discuss the current situation of renewable energy in the Arab countries, to analyses the regional patterns of climate change, to secure a certain amount of the future energy needs by establishing the suitability map for renewable energy exploitation, and to assess the Jacobson's «world plan», 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for Arab Countries according to climate change impacts 2050. To achieve these aims, the current study depended on climatic data from web-based WorldClim utility and the global climate model ECHAM5-MPIQM that downscaled by the regional climate model RegCM and CQRDEX domain. A site suitability map has been developed using the Geographic Information System (GIS). We analyzed the results based on the IPCC A2 scenario for the periods 2011-2040 and 2041-2070. We found that transforming Arab countries to a 100% WWS system as suggested by Jacobson et al. (2016) will reduce the end-user demand in 2050 by about 32%. This difference can be attributed to the conversion of fossil fuel combustions to a more efficient sustainable renewable energy.