The Suitability of the Vallerani System: A case study of the Jordan Badia

Abstract

The Al Majeddyeh watershed is located in the Jordan Badia and is severely degraded area, because of overgrazing and conventional ploughing. In small portions, land is rehabilitated through the implementation of Sustainable Land Management practices (SLM). Two of these SLM’s are water harvesting techniques. On upstream hillslopes, micro water harvesting is practiced in the form of the Vallerani System. In the downstream, macro water harvesting is practiced. All the water obtained in the upstream areas is harvested here. However, an upstream-downstream conflict occurs, since both water harvesting techniques compete for water. In addition, the Vallerani System requires large investments and encounters the obstruction of market formation. This thesis aims at gaining insights on the suitability of the Vallerani System. An upstream downstream approach has been applied to identify the components of the watershed. Their linkages are qualitatively described in terms of vegetation, erosion, and water. Experts opinions and estimates have been used to model the water storage capacity decay of a Vallerani System over time. Literature research and surveys were done to determine possible implementation bottlenecks from a policy and social perspective. This thesis showed that the Vallerani pit decays over time, reducing its water storage capacity. By showing this, a model was made which showed the possibility of expanding the Vallerani System throughout the watershed while maintaining a targeted amount of discharge in the downstream. The suitability was determined based on these findings. Since the thesis researches a significant knowledge gap and measurements were unavailable due to Covid-19 outbreak, it was not possible to validate the results. The research was validated by the experiences of local SLM-experts. A future validation research is therefore highly recommended.