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The “3R water harvesting practices and policy dialogue in Jordan” project will execute an intensive and tailor-made professional training programme for senior staff of the government of Jordan, of the University of Jordan and of INWRDAM. The training programme will be coordinated by IHE Delft, in close coordination with Acacia Water and INWRDAM.

This is the first training component, entitled:  "TMT Water Harvesting 3Rs: Reading and Conceptualizing the Catchment"

 Learning objectives

The overall learning objectives for the participants of the professional training programme are:

1. To critically understand catchment processes for water harvesting in Jordan.
2. To formulate feasible interventions and strategies to enhance water harvesting in Jordan.
3. To apply the acquired knowledge to the work practice.

 Date

1-5 October 2023, Amman/Irbid, Jordan

Instructors
Maarten Waterloo and Marte Siebinga (Acacia Water), Jochen Wenninger and Pieter van der Zaag (IHE Delft)

Target group
Selected staff members (3 of each organisation) of the following organisations: Ministry of Water and Irrigation; Ministry of Agriculture; Jordan Valley Authority; University of Jordan; INWRDAM. The selected staff members will commit themselves to work on activities directly related to water harvesting in their respective institutions during the years 2023 and 2024 and beyond. The selected staff members are also expected to participate in the other (upcoming) components of the 3R training programme during 2023 and 2024.

Training philosophy
The content of the training is tailored to the specific conditions and needs of Jordan. The training curriculum is adaptive and responsive to the evolving learning needs of the participants, based on their work practice, in order to achieve the water harvesting policy objectives. During the training programme, new learning objectives may therefore be formulated and new training activities developed and offered.

Course content
This first training course includes basic training on concepts of catchment hydrology, hydrological processes, and the understanding of interlinkages between physical and socio-economic factors within a catchment. It will thus address the whole terrestrial part of the hydrological cycle. A basic introduction to the hydrological cycle in natural catchments and the water balance principles will prepare the ground for those who are less familiar with the background concepts. The course covers 50% lecturing sessions, and 50% field visits with practical hands-on exercises. The Mafraq catchment will serve as a case study area, however we encourage participants to collect and prepare actual data sets of their own catchments of interest, and/or prepare specific questions related to the water system and management of the catchment.

Detailed curriculum

1.       Reading the catchment

           ·         Hydrological cycle and water balance components

           ·         Catchment characteristics, including climate, geology, soils, and biophysical aspects

           ·         Socio-economic characteristics, including farmers, residents, and economic activities related to land and water

           ·         Field work, including field observations related to biophysical and socio-economic aspects

           ·         GIS data visualization and remote sensing

2.       Conceptualizing the catchment

          ·         Rainfall-runoff processes, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, infiltration, soil water, and groundwater recharge

          ·         Surface water and groundwater discharge

          ·         Timescales of hydrological processes

          ·         Understanding of relationships between land cover/land use and hydrological processes

Irrigation, agriculture, development