Paying the forest for electricity: A modelling framework to market forest conservation as payment for ecosystem services benefiting hydropower generation

Published in PESC Special issue: Payments for ecosystem services in conservation: performance and prospectsThe operation and longevity of hydropower dams are often negatively impacted by sedimentation. Forest conservation can reduce soil erosion, and therefore efforts to maintain upstream forest cover within a watershed contribute to the economic life span of a hydropower facility. The cost of forest conservation can be viewed as an investment in hydropower and be financed via a payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme. A novel modelling framework is used to estimate payments for forest conservation consisting of: (1) land-use change projection; (2)watershed erosion modelling; (3) reservoir sedimentation estimation; (4) power generation loss calculation; and (5) PES scheme design. The framework was applied to a proposed dam in Cambodia (Pursat 1). The estimated net present value of forest conservation was US$4.7 million when using average annual climate values over 100 years, or US$ 6.4 million when considering droughts every eight years. This can be remunerated with annual payments ofUS$4.26ha-1 or US$ 5.78ha-1, respectively, covering forest protection costs estimated at US$ 0.9 ha-1 yr-1. The application of this type of PES represents a rational option that allows for conservation and development of hydropower watersheds susceptible to erosion and sedimentation

GIS Applications on the Essential Public Services in Mozambique

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Information Management, specialization in Geographic Information SystemsWater supply and health are considered essential public services and are therefore a fundamental right for human development. The use of GIS in public services has had a tremendous growth as result of the availability of various information technology services and software, and is currently being considered useful to the understanding and treatment of health problems in different geographic areas and and optimize the locations of infrastructure and public services. The aim of this study is to measure the geographic accessibility of population to existing healthcare centers, and find the most suitable locations for small dams/water reservoirs in the Tete province region, Mozambique, which has a pronounced water deficit. The objectives were achieved using the GIS approach, where accessibility to health services was first measured using travel time and driving scenarios to the health centers. On the other hand, to find the most suitable locations for small dams / reservoirs a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) analysis through an Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) were implemented, including local experts ’consultation. The study consider 9 criteria including slope, elevation, rainfall, stream density, lineaments, soil, land-use, distance to roads and distance to villages as the most important criteria in locating a dam.Findings from this study highlight accessibility problems, especially in the walking scenario, in which 90.2% of Mozambique was considered an underserved area. In this scenario, Maputo City (69.8%) is the province with the greatest coverage of HC. On the other hand, Tete (93.4%), Cabo Delgado (93%) and Gaza (92.8%) are the provinces with the most underserved areas. The driving scenario was less problematic, with about 66.9 % of Mozambique being considered a served area. For dam/reservoir site location study, the results show three main categories of suitability: “Not suitable” (15% of total area), “Modestly suitable” (78%), and “Suitable” (7%). We found that 92% abandoned small dams/reservoirs were in areas classified as “Modestly suitable” confirming the robustness of our model. We also found that most of the dams/reservoirs currently operating (78%) and planned (73%) are in modestly suitable areas. This finding suggests that the decision to construct dams/reservoirs may not have considered the most critical suitability factors identified in this study. The mapped outputs may have policy implications and could be used for future decision-making processes and analysis for both the health and water resources managemen

A GIS-based methodological framework to identify superficial water sources and their corresponding conduction paths for gravity-driven irrigation systems in developing countries

The limited availability of fresh water is a major constraint to agricultural productivity and livelihood security in many developing countries. Within the coming decades, smallholder farmers in drought-prone areas are expected to be increasingly confronted with local water scarcity problems, but their access to technological knowledge and financial resources to cope with these problems is often limited. In this article, we present a methodological framework that allows for identifying, in a short period of time, suitable and superficial water sources, and cost-effective water transportation routes for the provisioning of gravity-driven irrigation systems. As an implementation of the framework, we present the automated and extensible geospatial toolset named “AGRI’’, and elaborate a case study in Western Honduras, where the methodology and toolset were applied to provide assistance to field technicians in the process of identifying water intake sites and transportation routes. The case study results show that 28 % of the water intake sites previously identified by technicians (without the support of AGRI) were found to be not feasible for gravity-driven irrigation. On the other hand, for the feasible water intake sites, AGRI was able to provide viable and shorter water transportation routes to farms in 70 % of the cases. Furthermore, AGRI was able to provide alternative feasible water intake sites for all considered farms, with correspondingly viable water transportation routes for 74 % of them. These results demonstrate AGRI’s potential to reduce time, costs and risk of failure associated with the development of low-cost irrigation systems, which becomes increasingly needed to support the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations

Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile; Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop February 5-6, 2009, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

River basin management, Watershed management, Farming systems, Water balance, Reservoirs, Water supply, Irrigation requirements, Irrigation programs, Simulation models, Sedimentation, Rainfall-Runoff relationships, Erosion, Soil water, Water balance, Soil conservation, Institutions, Organizations, Policy, Water governance, International waters, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Erosão Hídrica Estrutural – EHE: Descrição de processos de modelação geográfica

Sendo o fenómeno de erosão hídrica do solo resultante de variados factores em contextos de complexidade, decorrente da sua natureza inter-relacionada, considera-se pertinente uma aproximação visando a definição de uma metodologia simples e eficaz, facilmente aplicável ao ordenamento do território. Podendo a força gravítica, ou melhor dizendo, o trabalho da força gravítica ser considerado o factor primordial em processos de erosão decorrentes do escoamento superficial, a metodologia desenvolvida integrou primeiramente esta dimensão. Considera-se o estudo dos processos erosivos numa perspectiva global ou de contexto, integrando nos procedimentos metodológicos não a erosão específica local decorrente da inclinação do terreno em cada local ou célula, mas a erosão potencial global cumulativa, em que a erosão em cada célula é influenciada por um conjunto de células e influencia outro conjunto de células. Outros modelos de previsão de perda de solo recorrem a este princípio, como o WEPP, Water Erosion Prediction Project (Flanagan, D. C., ed, 1994), e têm demonstrado bastante aderência à realidade, de acordo com os trabalhos desenvolvidos com base nos dados da Estação Experimental de Erosão de Vale Formoso (Tomás, 1997), sendo limitados pela quantidade de informação de base necessária à sua utilização. Em 2001 foi adaptado ao modelo WEPP a metodologia MIR (Minimum Information Requirement) que se baseia fundamentalmente em informação topográfica, de solo e de ocupação do solo associada a um simulador, usando um conjunto mínimo de informação para estimar a perda de solo (Brazier, 2001). A abordagem agora desenvolvida distingue-se de abordagens mais usualmente aplicadas no nosso país, que assentam na integração de classes de declive com classes de avaliação de erodibilidade do solo definidas pericialmente e de acordo com valores de referência provenientes de diversos autores. Tendo em conta estas considerações desenvolveu-se um modelo de cálculo do índice topográfico de Erosão Hídrica Estrutural (EHE) que constitui uma métrica da acção do relevo no processo de erosão hídrica integrando diversas variáveis topográficas segundo os princípios da mecânica clássica, adaptados às características do ambiente (software) de modelação

Water harvesting in Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan region, Iraq : detection of suitable sites using geographic information system and remote sensing

The drought effects on Iraq, and specifically on the Kurdistan region, is on the rise due to the climate change. Management of the water resources has become necessary to solve this problem. The aim of this study is to identify suitable zones for rainwater harvesting in Erbil governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, by using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) as a tool for decision support. Multi criteria evaluation is carried out in Geographic Information System to help the decision makers in determining suitable zones for rainwater harvesting. The criteria which were taken into account for multi criteria evaluation are; soil texture, slope, rainfall data (2000-2011), land use/cover and drainage network. The soil conservation service model was used to estimate the runoff depth. Land use/cover was extracted from LANDSAT satellite imagery (2006) by using remote sensing technique (Idrisi software). An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to estimate the weight for each criterion. The weighted linear combination method was used to incorporate the criteria weight in the multi criteria evaluation operation. The multi criteria evaluation is supporting determination of suitable areas for rainwater harvesting, and suitable zones to construct small and medium dam sites. The total suitable area for water harvesting is 36% of the study area, where 14% represents moderate suitability while 33% indicate very low suitability. Macro catchment is significant in the selection of suitable areas for rainwater harvesting. A contour line map and the drainage network, represented as a Triangulare Irregular Network (TIN), were used to suggest six sites for small and intermediate dams. The total water capacity of these dams is about 165 million cubic meters.Popular science: Find a suitable area for rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting is a technique to capture and store rainfall where it falls. The technique of water harvesting can be used for different purposes, e.g providing irrigation water, drinking water, increase groundwater recharge, and reduce flood risk. The application of rainwater harvesting is suitable in arid and semi-arid areas, where the amount of the water (rainwater as well as available water in strems, wells etc.) changes from year to year. Erbil governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan Region needs to find suitable zones for rainwater harvesting to be used for different purposes, mainly because of irregular rainfall and drought. Geographic Information System have suitable tools to help the decision makers in identifying suitable areas for water harvesting. There are different factors that are used to determine suitable areas, including rainfall data, slope map, soil information, drainage map and land cover/use map. Each factor has a certain importance/weight, which depends on the importance of this factor in determining suitable zones for rainwater harvesting. In this study a multi-criteria evaluation method was used to estimate the weight of each factor, and to combine these factors in order to find suitable areas for water harvesting. The result shows that the total suitable area for water harvesting is 36% of the whole study area, mainly located in the northern parts of Erbil governorate. This means that it will be relatively easy to select suitable sites for water reservoirs, in this study exemplified by small and medium dams, in this part of the study area

Modelling of River Flow and Sediment Load Based on the Hydrological Behavior Model in Yahagi River Basin, Japan

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Paying the forest for electricity: A modelling framework to market forest conservation as payment for ecosystem services benefiting hydropower generation

Published in PESC Special issue: Payments for ecosystem services in conservation: performance and prospectsThe operation and longevity of hydropower dams are often negatively impacted by sedimentation. Forest conservation can reduce soil erosion, and therefore efforts to maintain upstream forest cover within a watershed contribute to the economic life span of a hydropower facility. The cost of forest conservation can be viewed as an investment in hydropower and be financed via a payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme. A novel modelling framework is used to estimate payments for forest conservation consisting of: (1) land-use change projection; (2)watershed erosion modelling; (3) reservoir sedimentation estimation; (4) power generation loss calculation; and (5) PES scheme design. The framework was applied to a proposed dam in Cambodia (Pursat 1). The estimated net present value of forest conservation was US$4.7 million when using average annual climate values over 100 years, or US$ 6.4 million when considering droughts every eight years. This can be remunerated with annual payments ofUS$4.26ha-1 or US$ 5.78ha-1, respectively, covering forest protection costs estimated at US$ 0.9 ha-1 yr-1. The application of this type of PES represents a rational option that allows for conservation and development of hydropower watersheds susceptible to erosion and sedimentation

The water crisis in Gaborone : investigating the underlying factors resulting in the ‘failure’ of the Gaborone Dam, Botswana

Botswana is an arid country endemic to drought. The major water supply in the capital Gaborone, the Gaborone Reservoir, has received a failed status early this year due to diminishing water levels which have fallen below six percent of the total potential volume in 2014. However, there seems to be no official consensus as to what has caused this extreme decrease in volume. Water scarcity can have great impacts in regards to the economy, development and national security of a country and it is important to grasp the cause of the problem in order to solve it in the most efficient way. By analysing data time series for temperature, rainfall and consumption as well as performing a spatial analysis over the catchment area it was possible to identify the changes that have occurred in the catchment area, the climate and the domestic consumption over the last decade. Poor data resolution and a lack of statistical significance mean that no concrete conclusions can be drawn. In order to sustain a sustainable water future, it is important that water conservation is promoted and that the second phase of the North South Water Carrier Project (with the purpose of pumping water from reservoirs in eastern Botswana and South Africa to Gaborone) keeps to the original timeline and fixes the faults within the pipeline. Keywords: Gaborone Reservoir, drought, catchment area, climate change, consumptionTorka är mycket vanligt i Botswana. I huvudstaden Gaborone har Gaboronedammen klassats som ett misslyckande eftersom vattennivån har sjunkit till under sex procent av den potentiella volymen under 2014. Det finns inte någon officiell enighet om vad som har orsakat denna extrema volymminskning. Vattenbrist kan ha negativa konsekvenser för ett lands ekonomi, utveckling och till och med för den nationella säkerheten eftersom grannländer ofta tycker olika när det gäller vem som ska få utnyttja delade vattendrag. Det är viktigt att förstå orsaken till volymminskningen för att lösa problemet på bästa och effektivaste sätt. Under studien har både en rumslig analys och en analys av tidsserier för data gälande nederbörd, temperatur och konsumtion genomförts. Detta har gjort det möjligt att se vilka förändringar som har skett sedan Gaboronedammen konstruerades 1965. På grund av brister i dataupplösning och trender utan statistisk signifikans så går det inte att dra några slutsatser. För att uppnå en hållbar vattentillgänglighet i Gaborone i framtiden så är det väsentligt att vattenvård främjas och att vattenförsörjning till Gaborone från Gaboronedammen kompletteras med pålitlig vattentillförsel från andra dammar i Botswana, dvs. NSCWP rörledningarna lagas och underhålls. Nyckelord: Gaboronedammen, torka, dräneringsområde, klimatförändring, konsumtio