Enhancing Water Resource Management in Arid Areas, Disi Basin -Jordan

Abstract: Water shortage is a main issue in Jordan as the annual share per capita is less than 145 cubic meters that categorizes Jordan as one of the top five poorest countries in the world in respect to fresh water resources. Limited financial and natural resources and water shortage play significant constraint to development; concurrently the population growth is 2.3%, in addition to large number of refugees from neighboring countries since 1948. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) including implementation of decision support tools is necessary to balance the present demand and future generations. Decision support system software based on Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) used to analyze multiple variables associated with agricultural crops. The MCA utilized Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) which resulted in the prioritization of sustainable water policies for management in the Disi Basin (the biggest non renewable ground water basin in Jordan). The inputs to the MCA were generated through applying of Modflow (groundwater), Penman Montieth models and the estimated water productivity of agricultural and industrial sectors. The use of MCA led to develop good management practices of water resources and also recommended how to enhance a long-term sustainability in Disi Basin, while allowing for water utilization and economic growth. It can be concluded that the MCA tool and AHP are potentially positive tools contributing to the process of decision-making for selection and ranking of alternatives and policies, therefore helping in solving problems and sustaining the management of the precious water resources