A Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Framework (SWRM-AF) for Arid and Semi-Arid Regions:Part 1: Developing the Conceptual Framework

The evaluation of water resources management practices is essential for water usage decisions in regions with limited water resources. The literature provides numerous assessment frameworks, but many ignore the unique characteristics and conditions of some special arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which lack any permanent rivers or lakes. Thus, this study, the first in a two-part series, seeks to develop a conceptual Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Framework (SWRM-AF). General and particular criteria explain how components and indicators were identified. The conceptual SWRM-AF provided here has four components (environment, economy, society, and infrastructure) and 24 indicators. Almost every indicator has been selected from the literature and is briefly explained and justified. This research presents, possibly for the first time, clear and straightforward directions for evaluating each indicator in colour-coded tables. To create a more holistic framework for arid and semi-arid regions, social indicators like “intervention acceptability” and environmental indicators for assessing the impacts of desalination treatment plants have been added to form a unique framework applicable to such regions. Therefore, the components and indicators of conceptual SWRM-AF could work collectively to aid the process of decision-making. The next phase is validating this framework using a participatory approach

Sustainable water resources management assessment frameworks (SWRM-AF) for arid and semi-arid regions:a systematic review

Sustainable water resources management assessment frameworks (SWRM-AF) with associated indicators and benchmarks have appeared widely during the last decades to improve or maintain water resources. Examination or evaluation of their appropriateness and refinement for particular arid and semi-arid regions is a relatively unexplored area. To fill this gap in knowledge, a systematic review of relevant 21st century studies identified within two extensive databases, Scopus and Engineering Village, and in grey literature, is undertaken in this study. Therein, 17 studies are identified and thoroughly explored to identify their focus, application, and framework construction. The results of the comparative analysis among these frameworks show that the average numbers of components and indicators are 4.5 and 17.6, respectively. Meanwhile, categorical rescaling (47.1%), equal weighting (47.1%), arithmetic technique (82.35%), local scale (52.8%), and interval of the final index value of [0–100] (41.2%) are the most commonly used normalization methods and elements. The paper concludes that none of the existing tools reviewed is 100% applicable for arid and semi-arid regions, and therefore the case is made for developing a new bespoke SWRM-AF. The outcomes of this paper provide some useful insights into what should be included therein (e.g., stakeholder engagement and specific indicators to fit the context)