Water, Land and Ecosystems - Tunisia

Systematic evaluation of scenario assessments supporting sustainable integrated natural resources management: evidence from four case studies in Africa

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Article

Languageen

Authors

Reinhardt, J.
Liersch, S.
Abdeladhim, M.A.
Diallo, M.
Dickens, Chris
Fournet, S.
Hattermann, F.F.
Kabaseke, C.
Muhumuza, M.
Mul, Marloes L.
Pilz, T.
Otto, I.M.
Walz, A.

Scenarios have become a key tool for supporting sustainability research on regional and global change. In this study we evaluate four regional scenario assessments: first, to explore a number of research challenges related to sustainability science and, second, to contribute to sustainability research in the specific case studies. The four case studies used commonly applied scenario approaches that are (i) a story and simulation approach with stakeholder participation in the Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia, (ii) a participatory scenario exploration in the Rwenzori region, Uganda, (iii) a model-based prepolicy study in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali, and (iv) a model coupling-based scenario analysis in upper Thukela basin, South Africa. The scenario assessments are evaluated against a set of known challenges in sustainability science, with each challenge represented by two indicators, complemented by a survey carried out on the perception of the scenario assessments within the case study regions. The results show that all types of scenario assessments address many sustainability challenges, but that the more complex ones based on story and simulation and model coupling are the most comprehensive. The study highlights the need to investigate abrupt system changes as well as governmental and political factors as important sources of uncertainty. For an in-depth analysis of these issues, the use of qualitative approaches and an active engagement of local stakeholders are suggested. Studying ecological thresholds for the regional scale is recommended to support research on regional sustainability. The evaluation of the scenario processes and outcomes by local researchers indicates the most transparent scenario assessments as the most useful. Focused, straightforward, yet iterative scenario assessments can be very relevant by contributing information to selected sustainability problems.

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Reinhardt, J.; Liersch, S.; Abdeladhim, M. A.; Diallo, M.; Dickens, Chris; Fournet, S.; Hattermann, F. F.; Kabaseke, C.; Muhumuza, M.; Mul, Marloes L.; Pilz, T.; Otto, I. M.; Walz, A. 2018. Systematic evaluation of scenario assessments supporting sustainable integrated natural resources management: evidence from four case studies in Africa. Ecology and Society, 23(1):1-34. doi: 10.5751/ES-09728-230105

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Open Access

Research Themes

Variability, Risks and Competing Uses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92091

Managed aquifer recharge in Africa: taking stock and looking forward

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Article

Languageen

Authors

Ebrahim, Girma Yimer
Lautze, Jonathan F.
Villholth, Karen G.

Climatic variability and change result in unreliable and uncertain water availability and contribute to water insecurity in Africa, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas and where water storage infrastructure is limited. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR), which comprises purposeful recharge and storage of surface runoff and treated wastewater in aquifers, serves various purposes, of which a prominent one is to provide a means to mitigate adverse impact of climate variability. Despite clear scope for this technology in Africa, the prevalence and range of MAR experiences in Africa have not been extensively examined. The objective of this article is provide an overview of MAR progress in Africa and to inform the potential for future use of this approach in the continent. Information on MAR from 52 cases in Africa listed in the Global MAR Portal and collated from relevant literature was analyzed. Cases were classified according to 13 key characteristics including objective of the MAR project, technology applied, biophysical conditions, and technical and management challenges. Results of the review indicate that: (i) the extent of MAR practice in Africa is relatively limited, (ii) the main objective of MAR in Africa is to secure and augment water supply and balance variability in supply and demand, (iii) the surface spreading/infiltration method is the most common MAR method, (iv) surface water is the main water source for MAR, and (v) the total annual recharge volume is about 158 Mm3 /year. MAR schemes exist in both urban and rural Africa, which exemplify the advancement of MAR implementation as well as its out scaling potential. Further, MAR schemes are most commonly found in areas of high inter-annual variability in water availability. If properly planned, implemented, managed, maintained and adapted to local conditions, MAR has large potential in securing water and increasing resilience in Africa. Ultimately, realizing the full potential of MAR in Africa will require undertaking hydrogeological and hydrological studies to determine feasibility of MAR, especially in geographic regions of high inter-annual climate variability and growing water demand. This, supported by increased research to gauge success of existing MAR projects and to address challenges, would help with future siting, design and implementation of MAR in Africa.

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Ebrahim, Girma Y.; Lautze, Jonathan F.; Villholth, Karen G. 2020. Managed aquifer recharge in Africa: taking stock and looking forward. Water, 12(7):1844. (Special issue: Managed Aquifer Recharge for Water Resilience) [doi: 10.3390/w12071844]

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Open Access

Research Themes

Variability, Risks and Competing Uses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108829

Wastewater treatment practices in Africa - experiences from seven countries

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Article

Languageen

Authors

Nikiema, Josiane
Figoli, A.
Weissenbacher, N.
Langergraber, G.
Marrot, B.
Moulin, P.

In this paper, existing wastewater treatment practices in 7 African countries, i.e. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, are reported. Data were collected by questioning wastewater treatment plants managers as well as treated wastewater users in 2012. This study showed that 0.2 to 63 L/d/person of wastewater are treated in these countries, with the higher levels obtained for North Africa. Technically, treatment plants (mostly activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds) deal with high organic loads, uncontrolled input, power cuts and increasing wastewater flow rates. Poor operation and maintenance (O&M), in part caused by the lack of funds, high energy costs and lack of re-investments, is also a serious reported issue. Consequently, treatment plants often deliver insufficient effluent quality, which negatively affects the environment and acceptability of stakeholders towards the treated water. Other challenges, such as water availability, long-term impacts, financial and social constraints, affecting the reuse, are also discussed.

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Nikiema, Josiane; Figoli, A.; Weissenbacher, N.; Langergraber, G.; Marrot, B.; Moulin, P. 2013. Wastewater treatment practices in Africa - experiences from seven countries. Sustainable Sanitation Practice, 14(January):26-34. (Selected contributions from the 1st

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Open Access

Research Themes

Rural-Urban Linkages

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40210

Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeBook

Languageen

Authors

Otoo, Miriam
Drechsel, Pay

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Citation

Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay. (Eds.) 2018. Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. 816p.

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Open Access

Research Themes

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93011

Wastewater for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture - Section iv

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeBook Chapter

Languageen

Authors

Drechsel, Pay
Hanjra, Munir A.

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Citation

Drechsel, Pay; Hanjra, Munir A. (Eds.) 2018. Wastewater for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture - Section iv. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.548-774.

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Open Access

Research Themes

Rural-Urban Linkages

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93288

Wastewater and biosolids for fruit trees (Tunisia) - Case Study

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeBook Chapter

Languageen

Authors

Drechsel, Pay
Hanjra, Munir A.

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Citation

Drechsel, Pay; Hanjra, Munir A. 2018. Wastewater and biosolids for fruit trees (Tunisia) - Case Study. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.569-583.

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Open Access

Research Themes

Rural-Urban Linkages

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/93286

Sub-catchment level assessment of bench terrace impacts on runoff and erosion for upscaling in northern Tunisia.

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeConference Proceedings

Subjects

Soil
Rainwater

Languageen

Authors

Khelifa, Walid Ben
Hermassi, Taoufik
Strohmeier, Stefan
Habaieb, Hamadi

In northern Tunisia bench terraces are a widely applied technique to harvest excess rainwater and to mitigate soil erosion on agricultural lands. However, their impacts on runoff and erosion response, especially at the large scale, are controlled by variable factors related with the climate and the landscape and the effective bench terrace implementation within a watershed. In the present study, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to investigate the spatially distributed effects of bench terraces and small reservoirs, so called hill lakes, by means of 1) calibration of a small-scale and homogenously treated sub-catchment (Sbaihia sub-catchment; 3.2 km2) and 2) up-scaling (Rmel watershed; 675 km2). Calibration and validation of Sbaihia sub-catchment was based on high quality daily runoff data ranging from 1994 to 2002. The knowledge obtained from the small-scale Sbaihia modeling campaign successfully supported simulation of the complex Rmel watershed. Hence, the set up Rmel watershed model achieved Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 64% for the validation period (2000-2002), targeting monthly based discharge at the outlet. The choice of the mentioned period for Rmel watershed was dedicated by the set up of the same period than Sbaihia. The study demonstrated that consistent assessment of different soil and water conservation interventions and proper upscaling are key for larger scale watershed modeling eventually supporting the sustainable land management of complex landscapes.

Citation

Khelifa, Walid Ben; Hermassi, Taoufik; Strohmeier, Stefan; Habaieb, Hamadi. 2017. Sub-catchment level assessment of bench terrace impacts on runoff and erosion for upscaling in northern Tunisia.

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Limited Access

Research Themes

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99744

Solutions

Landscape Restoration

Impact evaluation of SLM options to achieve land degradation neutrality in Tunisia: consultant monthly report (February 2017).

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeReport

Subjects

Land degradation
Decision support systems

Languageen

Authors

Diwediga, Badabate

This report details mainly the author's professional activities performed with the ICARDA Centre in Amman (Jordan) for the period 1 ' 28 February 2017, under the supervision of Mr. Victor Kimathi (IMMAP, Jordan Office), Dr. Quang Bao Le (Systems- and GIS-based Sustainable Land Management ' SLM, at ICARDA Amman), and Mr. Enrico Bonaiuti (Monitoring Evaluation and Learning ' MEL, ICARDA Amman).

Citation

Diwediga, Badabate. 2017. Impact evaluation of SLM options to achieve land degradation neutrality in Tunisia: consultant monthly report (February 2017) .

Accessibility

Limited Access

Research Themes

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99766

Solutions

Landscape Restoration

Land cover changes in Tunisia using MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD12Q1 yearly products.

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeReport

Subjects

Land Management

Languageen

Authors

Diwediga, Badabate

Land cover is one of the important components of the global geosphere-biosphere-atmosphere continum and equilibrium. Regular information on land cover is necessary for a continuous monitoring of the Earth's ecological balance. This study used the MODIS MCD12Q1 yearly data at 500 m resolution to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes in the national land cover of Tunisia. Land cover maps were generated for two years (2001 and 2013) and evaluated by other existing Global Land Cover data (Globcover, Google Earth) and field collected data sets. The overall evaluation accuracies were 63 % and 78 % for the maps of 2013 and 2001, respectively. Areal distribution analysis showed that barren/sparse vegetation areas were the most important LUC types in Tunisia for both years (68.07 % and 62.43 % in 2001 and 2013, respectively), indicating an area loss. Agricultural areas were of 2279722.04 ha (14.70 %) in 2001 and 2938599.54 ha (18.95 %) in 2013. The proportion of forests increased (more than double) from 0.27 % in 2001 to 0.57 % in 2013. Most important changes showed that the highest gain proportions occurred in the mosaic forest-savanna-grassland (7.22 %) and agricultural areas (5.15 %). Globally, there is a net increase of agricultural lands of about 659250 ha (4.25 % of the national lands) over the period 2001-2013. With the spatial resolution of the MODIS data, and the time window considered, caution should be given to the conclusions derived in this study. Further detailed studies using finer resolution satellite images could give more insights to the real changes occurred in specific land use/cover type at the country level.

Citation

Diwediga, Badabate. 2017. Land cover changes in Tunisia using MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD12Q1 yearly products.

Accessibility

Limited Access

Research Themes

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99765

Solutions

Landscape Restoration

Impact evaluation of SLM options to achieve land degradation neutrality in Tunisia: Junior officer monthly reports.

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeReport

Subjects

Land Management
Decision support systems
Land degradation

Languageen

Authors

Fradi, Fajr

This report details mainly the author's professional activities performed with the ICARDA Centre in Amman (Jordan) for the period 1 December 2016 ' 30 July 2017, under the supervision of Dr. Quang Bao Le (Systems- and GIS-based Sustainable Land Management ' SLM, at ICARDA Amman), and Mr. Enrico Bonaiuti (Monitoring Evaluation and Learning ' MEL, ICARDA Amman).

Citation

Fradi, Fajr. 2017. Impact evaluation of SLM options to achieve land degradation neutrality in Tunisia: Junior officer monthly reports.

Accessibility

Open Access

Research Themes

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99767

Solutions