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Groundwater resources in Qatar: A comprehensive review and informative recommendations for research, governance, and management in support of sustainability

journal contribution
submitted on 2024-08-21, 11:53 and posted on 2024-08-21, 11:54 authored by Sarra Aloui, Adel Zghibi, Annamaria Mazzoni, Adel Elomri, Chefi Triki

Study region Qatar, Western Asia Study focus Groundwater is Qatar’s main conventional freshwater resource, its cornerstone for agricultural development, and its potential strategic water reserve. We review key literature on Qatar's groundwater resources published over the past four decades (1982–2022) in order to report the current knowledge of the country’s resources, update the understanding of the challenges they face, and recommend research-based pathways for their sustainable management. New hydrological insights for the region There is evidence that Qatar’s groundwater resources have been drastically depleted and qualitatively degraded mainly due to long-term over-exploitation. A longstanding ineffectiveness in addressing certain groundwater challenges such as groundwater over-abstraction and groundwater salinization was highlighted. The unsustainability of groundwater resources in the country can be attributed to a lack of understanding of the aquifer systems, the under-regulation of groundwater, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Therefore, to ensure the long-term availability and quality of groundwater in Qatar, it is crucial to: (i) enhance research efforts by improving data availability and accessibility, fostering multidisciplinary approaches and diversifying research methods, and addressing knowledge gaps, (ii) strengthen governance mechanisms by engaging the different stakeholders in the decision-making process to establish and enforce tangible groundwater use and protection policies and strategies, and (iii) adopt sustainable management practices for groundwater quantity and quality control.

Other Information

Published in: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101564

Funding

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

Qatar National Research Fund (BFC04-0719-200004), Integrated assessment of Climate Impacts on Ecosystem Functions and Productivity of Critical-Zone Eco-Hydrology (INTERACTION).

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Elsevier

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Hamad Bin Khalifa University
  • College of Science and Engineering - HBKU
  • Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute - HBKU

Geographic coverage

Qatar

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