Improving water availability management for agriculture, West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) Case Study Tammoun Watershed, By Azzam Saleh Ayasa, FAO WBGS, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Improving water availability management for
agriculture, West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS)
Case Study
Tammoun Watershed
Azzam Saleh Ayasa
FAO WBGS
Land and Water Days
Amman 14-18 December 2013

2. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Context
Jordan Valley

3. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Problems
Problems
••Management(Use it or loose it, time allocation)
Management (Use it or loose it, time allocation)
••Usermanagement (small scale farmers)
User management (small scale farmers)
••Quality service
Quality service
••Lowproductivity (less than 0.3 ton/dunum),
Low productivity (less than 0.3 ton/dunum),
••Highcost (USD 4/CM, energy),
High cost (USD 4/CM, energy),
••Limitedcrop options,
Limited crop options,
••Limitedaccess of poor to water , ,land and jobs
Limited access of poor to water land and jobs
••Skillsand knowledge
Skills and knowledge
Tammoun Area, north east WB
Consequences
Consequences
••Missedopportunity
Missed opportunity
••Landabandoned
Land abandoned
••Lowerresilience
Lower resilience
••Higherfood insec
Higher food insec

4. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Reservoirs
400 donums
120 poor families

5. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS

6. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Reservoirs
Reservoirs
1500 CM
1500 CM
2 KM pipelines
2 KM pipelines
400 donums irrigated
400 donums irrigated
120 Farmers
120 Farmers
Al-Far’a
camp
ain
M
m
fro
e
pip
ll t
e
ew
th
e
th
o
(6
te
si
)
es
h
inc
Field 1:
57 farmers
Project
pipes:
4 inches
The well of
160 cubic meter
per hour
The reservoirs location at
363 cubic meters per
each unit (4 units= 1452
Cubic meters capacity)
Field 2:
56 farmers
Tamoun
village

7. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS

8. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Adapted management model:
•Water Users Association (WUA) responsible for water
management distribution and, direct supervision of the
Municipality
•Overall supervision of the MoA (to which the reservoirs
were handed over).
•Water flow meters per farm.
Payment model:
The WUA collects the cost per cubic meter, then pay to the
water source (wells owners).

9. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
BEFORE (2007)
4 USD/CM
0.3 ton/donum

10. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
AFTER
< 1 USD/CM
6 tons/donum

11. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Considerations and lessons learnt
•Involvement and participation: community,
government, local authorities, NGOs..etc
•Inclusive
approach:
social,
economical,
production and environment (not just a reservoir)
•Integrated approach: technical, economical,
demand/supply management , services, quality
•Accountability and transparency: vis a vis
beneficiaries and actors (MoA, NGOs, local
authorities..etc)
•Adaptability
and
flexibility:
for
future
opportunities/constraints at all levels

12. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Thank You

13. FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Office – WBGS
Considerations and lessons learnt (Technical)
•Volume of reservoir to fit with available water (pumping rate per
hour and pumping intervals), water distribution scheme and
irrigation area, discharge and refilling rates (sustainable and
continuous).
•Site of the reservoir to guarantee pressure of at least 2 atm. (at
least 20 meters higher than the nearest plot to be irrigated).
•The flow must be calculated and the curves, valves, etc. to be
taken in to consideration as well as the fraction lose from/ to the
feeding/irrigation pipes.
•The welling of farmers to participate and payback the cost of
used water.
•Good management plan and water distribution scheme.
•At least two water sources (example: 2 wells to feed the
reservoirs)
•In case of many reservoir units to be linked together, each
reservoir unit to be assembled also as an independent unit