Musaed Aklan earns PhD for research on finding a perfect balance between using indigenous knowledge and using new technologies

My research focuses on the use of renewable water resources in dry areas with focus on my home country Yemen, which has no lakes or rivers. The country’s water resources are remote, and its groundwater is depleting. In the 1970s, groundwater drilling and extraction began, and people started to rely heavily on groundwater for their water needs. People gradually abandoned traditional sustainable harvesting systems, and instead groundwater became a main source for irrigation and for many other uses. While in high school and while doing my bachelor studies I started to think about the loss of our traditional and sustainable techniques. Why are we facing droughts and flash floods? How could we revive the traditional practices that involved adapting to the environment and living sustainably in a way that helped to transfer the runoff to the adjacent agriculture lands and led to more infiltration, as well as leaving enough water for downstream settlers. Traditional systems don’t expose the water to evaporation or pose a risk for the downstream areas in the event of extreme floods, which is not the case with big modern gravity dams, of which many of them collapsed due to intense storm floods and led to an impact on the lives and properties of downstream locals.

To revive such practices, we need to identify the reasons behind their decline – this was part of my research. This is important because knowledge of these different factors and their degrees of impact will increase understanding of how to revive indigenous water harvesting systems and the potential benefits that this will bring. The study discussed the pros and cons of new technologies and how they can still help to improve water use efficiency and modernize indigenous water harvesting practices. Furthermore, the research developed the framework required to identity suitable sites for different indigenous rainwater harvesting systems in data poor areas. My results can serve as a guide for combining new technologies with indigenous knowledge to better face droughts and floods.

The most challenging part is not related to my PhD studies, but the ongoing war in Yemen. Being far from family, friends and colleagues who are suffering the consequences of war was very hard. I lost my grandfather and grandmother, who cheered me on and said goodbye when I travelled and whom I will never see or speak to again. The war also made conducting research in Yemen extremely challenging.

I hope to guide and advise policymakers so that they can take sustainable decisions and use renewable resources. Groundwater is now an urgent topic as too much is being extracted all over the world. We should think of ways to preserve and replenish this resource, while also working to replace its use with renewable resources. Using renewable resources is a way to tackle climate adaptation and mitigation. Something I am proud of is Supporting Yemeni students to obtain master's degree scholarships at IHE Delft. For about 15 years no Yemeni student enrolled or received a MSc scholarship. This MSc scholarships were resumed again in 2018, when the first student was accepted. Today, 4 to 6 students are accepted annually. Thank you to the Yemeni ambassador to the Netherlands and the Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment for their support.

I would say: "do not overthink - go ahead and write down your ideas and with time and further research you will find your way to sharpen the ideas. Thinking too much makes you lose time. When you think that you are lost, forget what you have, put it aside and put yourself in the start point. Rethink as you have nothing will help to get out of the box and with time you find the way to  retrace everything or most of that you have done before: you will find yourself again.”

The Factors Behind the Decline of Indigenous Water Harvesting Systems and Reasons to Revive Them

Currently, water scarcity, flood hazards, groundwater depletion, water insecurity and the disruption of water networks are real concerns in many dry areas. Some 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries, of which 733 million face high and critically water-stress. Nevertheless, the use of indigenous water harvesting practices is declining. This study aims to assess the factors behind the decline of these indigenous systems and how to revive them for the purpose of addressing the problem of drought and reducing flood hazards. The findings show that the availability of easily accessible groundwater and the accompanying role and policy of the governments are the overriding factors in the decline of indigenous water harvesting systems. The results also show that already revived systems bring positive change in water supply, particularly in conflict zones, where other sources become scarce. Indigenous water harvesting systems are decentralized, cost-effective and constructed by local people using local materials. The decline of water harvesting practices not only leads to the loss of infrastructure but, more importantly, the loss of indigenous knowledge. Government support and the adoption of indigenous water harvesting in policies and strategies essential for the revitalization process and thus the alleviation of multiple existing water problems.