Green Water Harvesting in Jordan’s Um Naa’am Watershed: Assessing Suitability for Climate Change Resilience

Abstract

Water scarcity is a critical challenge in Jordan, intensified by its arid climate, limited water resources, and growing demand across different sectors. The Um Naa’am watershed, located in a water-stressed area, requires sustainable solutions to enhance water availability and address climate change. This study aims to assess the suitability of Green Water Harvesting (GWH) interventions—including contour ridges, runoff strips, and marabs—in the Um Naa’am watershed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. GWH has shown promise in supplementing water resources, increasing soil moisture, improving vegetation cover, boosting crop productivity, and enhancing groundwater recharge. Spatial analysis, data reclassification, and multi-criteria evaluation were used in ArcGIS, taking into consideration topography and soil characteristics to analyze the suitability for GWH. In the present study, it was found that 42.46% of the watershed is suitable for runoff strips, 29.30% for contour ridges, and 1.64% for Marabs. The results may indicate that techniques for GWH can effectively act at deeper levels regarding water scarcity management, increasing resilience for more sustainable agriculture in this region. The integration of GWH and GIS thus provides a data-driven approach toward solving water-related problems, which is very important in terms of food security and sustainable development in semi-arid regions.