Effective
Mechanized Rainwater Harvesting: Coping with climate change
implications in the Jordanian Badia
Scie
n c e IMPACTS. Success
Stories
The
Challenge: Climate
change has led to diminished rainfall and increasedtemperatures
in Jordan, one of the ten most water stressed countriesin
the world. Severe water shortage and excessive grazing has led to
a
major loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and land degradation. Thus,controlling
land degradation and promoting vegetation growth iscrucial
to reduce the pressure on rangelands and provide sources offeed
for sheep and goats that are most critical to livelihoods in therural
communities of the Jordanian Badia
(dry rangelands).
Research
on micro-catchment rainwater harvesting techniques by ICARDA and
Jordanian
scientists
has led to the establishment of semicircular bunds on contour ridges
and furrows
(using
GPS laser-guided Vallerani machine) and runoff strips in two
communities of Jordan Badia
(...) In
the two communities of Mharib and AlMajidyya
micro-catchment
water harvesting techniques, like contour
ridges
and furrows, runoff strips and bunds were designed
and
established. Vallerani machine, a plow with a hydraulic
arm
for intermittent pit excavation along the natural
contour
of the slope, was used for excavating furrows.
Scientific
research led to a low-cost Contour Laser Guiding
(CLG)
system, based on GPS guidance technology, which was
adapted
and implemented to the Vallerani unit. For the
sustainability
of the project, communities were actively
engaged
and they agreed not to graze the newly planted
shrub
for at least two years after planting, a time needed for
the
establishment of drought tolerant Atriplex species as a
source
of fodder shrubs. This system reduced the pressure on
rangelands
and also provided sources of nutritious feed
from
the drought tolerant Atriplex species.
Laser
guiding GPS-based system that allows the Vallerani
unit
to excavate contour lines without costly topographic
work
Field of Vallerani contour bunds after construction.
http://www.icarda.org/sites/default/files/u158/Science%20Impact%20Vallerani%20Badia_final.pdf
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