phd thesis on watershed management

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Ecosystem services for watershed management and planning

Adem Esmail, Blal (2016) Ecosystem services for watershed management and planning. PhD thesis, University of Trento.

Human wellbeing in cities, often associated to availability of engineered structures, is increasingly linked to the conservation of ecosystems. This is the case of the urban water sector where the focus is shifting from adequate infrastructural arrangements to the key role of ecosystem services, thus offering a unique opportunity to achieve sustainability transitions. The urban water sector entails significant complexities and uncertainties, which no longer can be addressed effectively with traditional approaches. A new paradigm of “adaptation and integration”, emerging as a collective effort of stakeholders that engage themselves in a process of social learning, is needed. However, real-life implementation is arduous: it requires linking diverse stakeholders and knowledge systems, across management levels and institutional boundaries. Three innovative concepts can help face this challenge, namely, ecosystem services, boundary work and learning organizations. Ecosystem services provide a holistic approach for framing socio-ecological issues and for integrating different biophysical and socio-economic data. Boundary work, i.e. the effort put in place to facilitate transfer of knowledge into action, informs active management of the tension at the interface between stakeholders that have differing views on what constitutes relevant knowledge. A learning organization is one that is skilled at creating and acquiring knowledge and modifying its behavior to reflect new insights. In this study, these three concepts are jointly explored to build operative approaches to support the implementation of adaptive management. To this end, the work is driven by four specific objectives presented hereafter. The first objective is to frame the urban water sector from an ecosystem services perspective, synthesizing the most relevant aspects related to the exchange of water between watershed and city, and within the city. The proposed framework highlights the role of the urban water sector in (i) linking ecosystem service production and benefit areas, (ii) bridging spatial scales ranging from the watershed to the household level and (iii) adopting ecosystem service-based responses to drivers of water vulnerability. The second objective is to explore practices of boundary work in adaptive watershed management. Thus, an empirical investigation of how boundary work can facilitate knowledge co-generation and cooperative application in a case study of adaptive management in the Fuhrberg watershed (Germany) is conducted. The results suggest that scientific insights have been crucial for "enlightenment", "decision-support", and in "negotiations" between a water utility and stakeholders in Fuhrberg watershed management. The successful implementation of adaptive watershed management is attributed to boundary work deployed by the water utility and ultimately to its high institutional capacity. This study, which is one of the first empirical assessments of boundary work in practice, presents many promising approaches for initiating boundary work in the case of water utilities. Yet, more comparative research is required to understand the influence of contextual differences on appropriate methods and potential outcomes of boundary work. The third objective is to build and test an approach for designing and assessing impact of watershed investments, aiming to implement adaptive management. The proposed approach is structured to facilitate negotiations among stakeholders. Its strategic component includes setting the agenda, defining investment scenarios, and assessing the performance of watershed investments. Its technical component consists of tailoring spatially explicit ecosystem service models, generating future land use scenarios, and modeling impacts on ecosystem services. The approach is applied to a case study in a data-scarce context: Toker Watershed (Eritrea), considering soil erosion -related challenges. It produced spatially explicit data, which has been aggregated to assess quantitatively the performance of watershed investments, in terms of changes in selected ecosystem services, thus answering key management and planning questions. By addressing stakeholders’ concerns of credibility, saliency, and legitimacy, the approach is expected to facilitate the negotiation of objectives, definition of scenarios, and assessment of watershed investments. The fourth objective is to explore water utilities as learning organization implementing adaptive watershed management. A conceptual framework for evaluating the institutional capacity of water utilities is used to characterize the water utilities in Hanover and Asmara. In particular, the institutional capacity of the “Hannover Water Utility” and “Asmara Water Supply Department” is investigated based on the available information from documents, literature and the previous results, and an interview with a key informant. The results show that the institutional capacity of Hanover Water Utility can be classified as Level 5 – “Progressive water utility” and Asmara Water Supply Department can be classified as Level 2 – “Basic water utility”. An empirical pathway to test the results, by involving senior managers and informed scientists from both case studies, is proposed. In any case, the preliminary results highlight the attributes that determine the capacity of water utilities to become a central actor in the in the implementation of an adaptive watershed management. This research, by jointly exploring the innovative concepts of ecosystem services, boundary work and learning organizations, builds operative approaches that can support the implementation of adaptive watershed management. Further work is needed to address some of the complexities and uncertainties underlying the proposed approaches, including data resolution, model calibration, and above all participation of real-life stakeholders

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Status and challenges of integrated watershed management practices after-project phased-out in Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia

• Original Article
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• Published: 04 April 2021
• Volume 8 , pages 1253–1259, ( 2022 )

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• Tirhas Gebregergs 1 ,
• Kassa Teka 1 ,
• Gebeyehu Taye 1 ,
• Eskinder Gidey 1 &
• Oagile Dikinya 2  

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Land degradation in the form of soil erosion is one of the major causes for declining ecosystem functions in the northern highlands of Ethiopia including the Eastern Tigray. Hence, different integrated watershed management practices were introduced in the last few years to avert the problem. Currently, most of these practices are phased out. However, the status and challenges of these practices after phase-out are not well documented and required scientific research. On-field measurement from nine sample plots having a size of each 50 m*50 m at 200 m interval was conducted to assess the status and challenges of these practices. Results of the assessment showed that physical soil and water conservation structures were deteriorated by 47–64% after IWM project phased out. The key problems were lack of periodic maintenance, and limited support by biological conservation measures. The study results suggest that Watershed technologies are highly challenged after project phase-out. Hence, integration among the community, government and non-governmental organizations are needed to sustainably manage these resources.

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Introduction

Land degradation in the form of soil erosion, sedimentation, water pollution, soil nutrient depletion, deforestation and overgrazing is the major cause for poor land productivity (Bekele 2003 ; Berry 2003 ; Arabia et al. 2013; Temesgen et al. 2013 ; Balasubramani et al. 2015 ). Several studies reported that soil erosion in the Ethiopian highlands ranged from 42 t ha –1 y –1 on arable land to 179 t ha –1 y –1 on range lands (Hurni 1993 ; Shiferaw and Holden 1999 ). More than 50 percent of Ethiopia's highlands were substantially eroded (FAO 1986 ), which led to reduced land productivity by 2.2 percent annually (Tamene et al. 2006 ). On the other hand, the total land area deteriorated in the country, between 1981 and 2003, was 297,000 km 2 (FAO 2006 ). Land degradation accompanied by population pressure and climate variability constrained agricultural productivity (Deressa and Hassan 2009 ; Teka et al. 2014 ). This, in turn, resulted to severe consequences, such as food insecurity and environmental hazards, such as chronic drought and poverty (Tekle 1999 ). To avert these challenges, since the 1970s and 1980s, many land restoration initiatives, such as soil and water conservation measures, have been implemented with a financial support from the international community, particularly the World Food Program (MoARD 2005 ; Zeleke et al. 2006 ; Nyssen et al. 2007 ; Gashaw 2015 ). However, due to the top–down approaches followed (no to low community participation), limited number of watershed practices (poor integration) and large/unmanageable watersheds (for monitoring and management), most of the implemented measures failed (Temesgen et al. 2013 ).

These challenges call for a societal shift towards a sustainable development model, which encompasses community participation, and objectives integration (CCME 2016 ; Teka 2019 ). Hence, the Ethiopian government in collaboration with partners (Irish development co-operation programme, Irish Aid) has implemented a range of integrated watershed management practices, such as soil and water conservation (both physical and biological) and exclosures to keep land free from human and livestock interference in Tigray since 1997 (Bekele and Tilahun 2007 ; Chisholm and Woldehanna 2012 ). Integrated watershed management is a method of continuous restoration, growth and efficient use of available natural resources in a watershed, and a multidisciplinary approach to soil depletion pause (Mekonen and Fekadu 2015 ; Karpuzcu and Delipinar 2011 ). Hence, until 2014, the total area delineated and treated with integrated watershed management activities in the region was 12,425,869 hectares (BoARD 2016 ).

Studies showed that the implemented integrated watershed interventions increased infiltration and decreased runoff production (Nyssen et al. 2007 ; Taye et al. 2013 ); improved soil fertility (Vancampenhout et al. 2006 ; Nyssen et al. 2007 ); improved vegetation regeneration and soil build-ups (Mekuria et al. 2007 ); improved soil fertility (Vancampenhout et al. 2006 ; Nyssen et al. 2007 ); improved vegetation regeneration and soil build-ups (Mekuria et al. 2007 ; Etsay et al. 2019 ); improved groundwater (Nyssen et al. 2010 ). However, most of the watersheds are phased out about five years after implementation. Phase-out refers to the withdrawal of project inputs without continuity of support or arrangements of watershed management practices of the government and non-governmental organizations (Zeleke 2014 ). Nevertheless, none of the above and other studies dealt on the status and challenges of the implemented watershed interventions after Watershed project phased out. Hence, this study aimed at providing information on the status and challenges of watershed management activities after their phased-out so as to support planners, researchers and practitioners in sustaining project development intervention.

Materials and methods

The study was conducted in six watersheds (Adikesho, Deberewahabit, Gemad, Debretsion, Laelay wukro and Tsigerda) located in the Kilte Awlaelo district of Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia (Fig.  1 ). These watersheds represent the midland areas (1500–2300 m.a.s.l) of the Tigray region, which occupy 86.9% of the land mass. Geographically, the study district is located at 13°33′ 00″ and 13°58′00″ North and 39°18′ 00″ to 39°41′00″ East at an elevation between 1760 and 2720 m.a.s.l.

Location map of the study area

The total land mass of the district is 101,758 ha comprising farmlands (21,620 hectare), grazing lands (7,930.85 ha), exclosures (44,134 ha) and unproductive hills and residential areas (28,073.15 ha) (MoARD 2007 ). The kilte-Awulaelo district is characterized by Degua/cool, humid highland zone (13.1% of the land mass) which is located at an altitudes of above 2300 m above mean sea level, and midland/Weina-Douga (86.9% of the land mass), which is located at an altitude that ranges between 1500 and 2300 m above mean sea level (Rabia et al. 2013 ). The mean annual rainfall ranges from 500 to 1200 mm. Maximum temperature (34 °C)) was observed in May and June; while minimum temperature (16 °C) was observed between September and December. The study area is dominated by igneous and metamorphic rocks (Precambrian, Paleozoic) (Rabia et al. 2013 ). The main reference soil groups are classified as Leptosols (36.8%), Calcisols (15.84%), Vertisols (14.64%), Cambisols (9.01%), Regosols (5.83%), Arenosols (5.72%), Phaeozems (5.13%), Luvisols (3.44%), Fluvisols (2.17%), Kastanozems (1.26%) and Stagnosols (0.16%) (Rabia et al. 2013 ). Community’s livelihood mainly depends on agriculture, which is characterized as mixed farming in which crops are produced and livestock reared, and managed on the same farm. The major crops grown are barley ( Hordeum vulgare ), wheat ( Triticum sativum ) , teff ( Eragrostis teff ) and millet ( Eleusine coracana ). While, the major livestock herds are sheep, camel, mule, bees, donkeys, cattle, chicken and goats.

Methods of data collection

Site selection.

The studied watersheds were deliberately selected for having an age of seven years after the watershed project phased out, and representing the midland agro-ecology. The selection of these six watersheds was carried out in consultation with Watershed experts and district administrator. The selection considered three successful and three unsuccessful watersheds following the criteria set by the Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Bureau put three major categories to classify watersheds into successful and unsuccessful (threshold > 50%): (i) Ecological (vegetation cover, ground water recharge, flood reduction, surface run-off reduction and animal diversity); (ii) socio-economic (irrigation water availability, women participation, and fodder production); (iii) Status of implemented soil and water conservation measures (biological and physical).

On-field measurement

In each Watershed, 3 transect lines were laid along the slope to determine the status of soil and water management systems and their challenges. For sampling purposes, each Watershed was divided into three parts according to the FAO ( 2006 ): upper slope (> 25 percent), middle slope (15–25 percent) and lower slope (< 15 percent). Nine (9) sample plots having a size of 50 m*50 m were laid within each transect at a 200 m distance as suggested in (Demissie and Fisseha 2016).

Social survey

Additional information on the status and challenges of watershed management activities after phased-out watershed projects was obtained from household watershed beneficiaries’ interview and focus group discussions. The sample size was determined by the following equation proposed in Glenn (1992). Interviewees were selected from the identified three locations (upper user, middle user and lower user) following a systematic random sampling method.

where n  = sample size; N = household size of the population; e = acceptable sampling error (10%).

Data analysis

Data were initially tested for normality. The numbers of physical soil and water conservation measures lost and damaged in each watershed were not usually normally distributed. Hence, no normality was changed to log1, using SPSS version 20 statistical software. The lost or impaired physical soil and water protection measures were compared against the successful and unsuccessful measures using an independent two sample t test. Descriptive statistics were also used to examine the major problems facing integrated watershed management activities at the watershed and the major physical soil and water conservation measures.

Implemented IWM practices

Several physical conservation measures with the purpose of reducing surface runoff and increasing infiltration were implemented through governmental and non-governmental organizations in the study watersheds. The major physical IWM structures constricted on the upper, middle and lower slope of the study watersheds include hillside terrace, terraces, stone bund, shallow trench, deep trench, half-moon, percolation pond, gabion check dams, lose stone check dam and hand dug well (Tables 1 and 2 ).

Status of the implemented IWM practices

The results indicated that broken shallow trench with stone band structure in the upper slope was statistically different ( P  < 0.022) between the successful and unsuccessful watersheds. About 64 percent and 47 percent of the IWM physical measures were damaged in both unsuccessful and successful watershed, respectively (Table 3 ). The demolished hillside terrace and stone band note significant variations between P  < 0.005 and P  < 0.004 (57.2 percent and 70.5 percent), respectively, on the active watershed.

The ruined IWM physical measures on the middle slope showed a significant difference ( P  < 0.05) between the successful and unsuccessful watersheds (Table 4 ). The ruined hillside terrace on the middle slope of unsuccessful was by 14.4 percent higher than that on the successful watershed. Similarly, the ruined half-moon structure was slightly higher (by 19 percent) on the unsuccessful watershed than that on the successful watershed. On the other side, stone bund destruction on unsuccessful watersheds was by 14.3 percent higher than that on the successful one.

The IWM measures on the lower slope had a significant different between Watersheds (Table 5 ). The lost gabion check dam on the lower slope of the unsuccessful watersheds was by 47.8 percent higher than that on the unsuccessful one. Similarly, broken deep trench with stone bund, loose stone check dam, percolation pond was by 20.6 percent, 14.1 percent, and 6.4 percent higher on the unsuccessful watershed, respectively (Table 5 ).

Major challenges of IWM practices

The key challenges of the implemented IWM activities stated by the beneficiaries included lack of facilities (Gabion and cement), lack of maintenance, overgrazing and limited capacity to maintain the implemented measures (Table 6 ). More than 42 percent of the surveyed households in Deberewahabit and Gemad watersheds perceived lack of facility was the major challenge for poor success of the implemented measures. Moreover, more than 33% percent of the respondents in Adikesho indicated lack of maintenance as the major challenge. The major challenges stated for the unsuccessful Watersheds were overgrazing (26 percent for Debretsion), and Lack of facility (18.5 percent for Laelay Wukro and 21.3 percent for Tsigerda).

The major implemented IWM measures in the studied watersheds were shallow trench with stone bund, Hillside terrace, Stone bund, Half-moon, Deep trench with stone bund, Gabion check dam, Loose stone check dam and Percolation pond. Studies in Maego watershed, of northern Ethiopia (Dimtsu 2018 ) also reported such physical IWM measures implemented on the farmlands, closure areas and grazing land. These practices are also influenced by slope variation, in which, shallow trench with stone bund, hillside terrace and stone bund at the upper slope; hillside terraces, half-moon, and stone bund at the middle slope; deep trench with stone bund, gabion check dam, loose stone check dam, and percolation pond at the lower slope. The number and the spacing between IWM structures in the watersheds depend on the slope gradient. Gessesse et al. ( 2009 ) and Dimtsu ( 2018 ) reported that when the spacing decrease slope gradient increases.

After IWM projects phased out, all IWM practices had shown a reduction in size and quality. The damage was pronounced in 40 percent (for hill side) to 70.5 percent (for stone bund) of the IWM practices on the upper slope. Furthermore, on the middle slope, damage between 38.7 percent (for half-moon) and 65.9 percent (for stone bund) was observed. It was also observed that IWM practices on the lower slope had shown a reduction after IWM project phased out ranging between 32.5 percent and 80.3 percent (for gabion check dam). This finding supports the study results of Nyssen et al. ( 2004 ) that reported about 40 percent destruction of check dams after two years of project phased out in Watersheds around Hagere Selam, northern Ethiopia.

The major reasons for the failure of the implemented IWM activities after IWM project phased out were lack of inputs, such as gabion and cement, lack of maintenance, overgrazing and limited capacity to maintain the implemented measures, as shown in Table 6 . Similarly, Zeleke et al. ( 2006 ) estimated that 25 percent of the implemented stone bunds and 60 percent of the hillside terraces were destroyed due to lack of maintenance. Furthermore, Mekonen and Tesfahunegn (2011), for Medego watershed in northern Ethiopia, reported that lack of maintenance was one of the factors for soil and water conservation activities failure. In south-east Ethiopia Goba District Tiki et al. ( 2016 ) reported that 100 percent of the stone bunds are lost due to lack of maintenance and overgrazing. At the Wyebla Watershed, Northwest Ethiopia, 84.6 percent of the check dams was destroyed in which free grazing and lack of maintenance were the major drivers (Walie 2016 ). Limited technical and supply supports were also reported as drivers elsewhere (Alemu and Kidane 2014 ). The IWM implementation and phasing-out process was also characterized by lack of strong local institutions and poor community engagement. Lack of effective community engagement, poor technology implementation, insufficient policy, lack of stakeholder participation and lack of ownership strongly contribute to failure of IWM practices (Pretty and Ward 2001 ; Habtamu 2011 ; Meshesha and Birhanu 2015 ).

The Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) practices implemented in the studied watersheds range from loose stone check dam to percolation pond. The type and quantity of these measures vary by variation in slope. After IWM projects phased out, all IWM practices, regardless of slope variation, had shown a reduction in size and quality. The major reasons for the failure of the implemented IWM activities after IWM project phased out were lack of inputs, such as gabion and cement, lack of maintenance, overgrazing and limited capacity, to maintain the implemented measures. It can be argued that integrated watershed management activities after IWM project phased out, regardless of the IWM class (successful and unsuccessful) are not sustainably kept. Hence, community engagement in all IWM processes is of paramount importance to sustainably manage the IWM practices.

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Gebregergs, T., Teka, K., Taye, G. et al. Status and challenges of integrated watershed management practices after-project phased-out in Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia. Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 8 , 1253–1259 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-021-01108-5

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-021-01108-5

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Watershed management, groundwater recharge and drought resilience: An integrated approach to adapt to rainfall variability in northern Ethiopia

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Rainfall variability coupled with poor land and water management is contributing to food insecurity in many sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia. To address such challenges, various efforts have been implemented in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term impacts of different soil and water conservation and water harvesting interventions on groundwater and drought resilience of the Gule watershed, northern Ethiopia. The study involved: (i) documentation of the approaches followed and the technologies implemented in Gule since the 1990s, (ii) monitoring the hydrological effects of the interventions for ten years, and (iii) evaluation of the effects of the interventions on groundwater (level and quality), spring discharge and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in runoff. Results showed that interventions were implemented at different stages and scales. As a result of the interventions, the watershed was transformed into a landscape resilient to rainfall variability: (a) dry shallow groundwater wells have become productive and the level of water in wells has raised, (b) the groundwater quality has improved, (c) SSC in high floods has reduced by up to 65%, (d) discharge of existing springs has increased by up to 73% and new springs have started to emerge. Due to improved water availability, irrigated land has increased from less than 3.5 ha before 2002 to 166 ha in 2019. Communities have remained water-secure during an extreme drought in 2015/2016. Implementation of watershed management practices has transformed the landscape to be resilient to rainfall variability in a semi-arid environment: a lesson for adaptation to climate variability and change in similar environments.

• Climate change
• Green and blue water
• Landscape restoration
• Water harvesting

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

• 10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.08.009 Licence: CC BY-NC-ND
• https://edepot.wur.nl/641623 Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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• Drought Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Ethiopia Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Rainfall Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Groundwater Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Integrated Approach Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Watershed Management Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Groundwater Recharge Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
• Investigation Earth and Planetary Sciences 50%

T1 - Watershed management, groundwater recharge and drought resilience

T2 - An integrated approach to adapt to rainfall variability in northern Ethiopia

AU - Woldearegay, Kifle

AU - Grum, Berhane

AU - Hessel, Rudi

AU - van Steenbergen, Frank

AU - Fleskens, Luuk

AU - Yazew, Eyasu

AU - Tamene, Lulseged

AU - Mekonnen, Kindu

AU - Reda, Teklay

AU - Haftu, Mulu

PY - 2023/9/4

Y1 - 2023/9/4

N2 - Rainfall variability coupled with poor land and water management is contributing to food insecurity in many sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia. To address such challenges, various efforts have been implemented in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term impacts of different soil and water conservation and water harvesting interventions on groundwater and drought resilience of the Gule watershed, northern Ethiopia. The study involved: (i) documentation of the approaches followed and the technologies implemented in Gule since the 1990s, (ii) monitoring the hydrological effects of the interventions for ten years, and (iii) evaluation of the effects of the interventions on groundwater (level and quality), spring discharge and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in runoff. Results showed that interventions were implemented at different stages and scales. As a result of the interventions, the watershed was transformed into a landscape resilient to rainfall variability: (a) dry shallow groundwater wells have become productive and the level of water in wells has raised, (b) the groundwater quality has improved, (c) SSC in high floods has reduced by up to 65%, (d) discharge of existing springs has increased by up to 73% and new springs have started to emerge. Due to improved water availability, irrigated land has increased from less than 3.5 ha before 2002 to 166 ha in 2019. Communities have remained water-secure during an extreme drought in 2015/2016. Implementation of watershed management practices has transformed the landscape to be resilient to rainfall variability in a semi-arid environment: a lesson for adaptation to climate variability and change in similar environments.

AB - Rainfall variability coupled with poor land and water management is contributing to food insecurity in many sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia. To address such challenges, various efforts have been implemented in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term impacts of different soil and water conservation and water harvesting interventions on groundwater and drought resilience of the Gule watershed, northern Ethiopia. The study involved: (i) documentation of the approaches followed and the technologies implemented in Gule since the 1990s, (ii) monitoring the hydrological effects of the interventions for ten years, and (iii) evaluation of the effects of the interventions on groundwater (level and quality), spring discharge and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in runoff. Results showed that interventions were implemented at different stages and scales. As a result of the interventions, the watershed was transformed into a landscape resilient to rainfall variability: (a) dry shallow groundwater wells have become productive and the level of water in wells has raised, (b) the groundwater quality has improved, (c) SSC in high floods has reduced by up to 65%, (d) discharge of existing springs has increased by up to 73% and new springs have started to emerge. Due to improved water availability, irrigated land has increased from less than 3.5 ha before 2002 to 166 ha in 2019. Communities have remained water-secure during an extreme drought in 2015/2016. Implementation of watershed management practices has transformed the landscape to be resilient to rainfall variability in a semi-arid environment: a lesson for adaptation to climate variability and change in similar environments.

KW - Climate change

KW - Green and blue water

KW - Landscape restoration

KW - Water harvesting

U2 - 10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.08.009

DO - 10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.08.009

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85171580025

SN - 2095-6339

JO - International Soil and Water Conservation Research

JF - International Soil and Water Conservation Research

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Joint PhD Programme in Integrated Management of Water, Soil, and Waste

Application period.

Applications are accepted all year round (see Application Procedure ).

Vacancy announcements related to funded Doctoral Researcher positions

• The degree is jointly offered by the United Nations University and the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
• The focus of the programme is on integrated management of water, soil, and waste using a Nexus Approach, making it the first of its kind
• The programme has a strong focus on developing countries
• Students have access to the facilities and services of TU Dresden, one of eleven Universities of Excellence in Germany, as well as the network of UNU institutes
• Doctoral research includes close cooperation with UN agencies and programmes as well as other international organisations

PhD in Integrated Management of Water, Soil, and Waste

United Nations University ( UNU ) was established in 1973 and is comprised of research institutes and programmes in 12 countries around the world. UNU is a research-oriented think tank addressing the needs of the UN System and its Member States, serving as a bridge to the academic world and offers postgraduate training and education programmes at various levels.

The Technische Universität Dresden ( TU Dresden ) is one of Germany’s Universities of Excellence and one of the top universities in Europe. As a modern comprehensive, multidisciplinary university, TU Dresden unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities and social sciences, as well as medicine. The broad and diverse scientific spectrum seeks to help promote interdisciplinarity and integration of science and society.

The Joint PhD Programme established at the United Nations University Institute for the Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at TU Dresden is one of the select doctoral programmes UNU currently offers.

The main objective of this doctoral programme is to provide graduate students with detailed knowledge, critical understanding, strategies, and tools to take an interdisciplinary and integrated approach towards the management of environmental resources.

The Joint PhD Programme aims at creating a new generation of environmental scientists, engineers, and managers to conduct, promote, and provide guidance on the sustainable management of environmental resources. These resources and their sustainable management are of concern to the United Nations and its Member States, particularly to developing countries and emerging economies.

Research Scope

The Joint PhD Programme of TU Dresden and UNU, launched in 2015, is embedded within UNU-FLORES’s nexus-oriented research agenda and the corresponding research interests at TU Dresden. The established doctoral research projects , co-supervised by researchers from UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden, are designed to reflect nexus thinking on particular problems of environmental resources management.

UNU taps on its research to inform policymaking and promote positive global change. The work of all UNU institutes contributes to the advancement of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 to inspire global action to overcome the world’s biggest challenges. In line with the mission of UNU, policy relevance is a decisive feature or the research conducted at UNU-FLORES, and therefore also the research conducted by doctoral researchers.

While each individual doctoral research project must have a clear focus – preferably associated to a case study in a particular country – it must also be framed within the broad picture of integrated resources management as part of the Resource Nexus . The latter aims to connect the generation of evidence-based scientific knowledge to (adapted) management and policies, thus addressing also public services and associated risks.

Due to the focus on integrated management of environmental resources, UNU-FLORES’s research is mainly – but not exclusively – relevant for:

• SDG 2 ( Zero hunger ), e.g., related to sustainable intensification of agriculture, including safe use of wastewater in agriculture , the integration of organic waste into small-holder farming or water productivity in irrigated agriculture
• SDG 6 ( Clean water and sanitation ), e.g., related to water quality indicators and monitoring , nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment , monitoring of rural water supply systems or groundwater quality in wastewater treatment systems
• SDG 11 ( Sustainable cities and communities ), e.g., related to decision support frameworks for water resources management
• SDG 12 ( Responsible consumption and production ), e.g., related to integration of organic waste and wastewater into biomass production , nexus-oriented waste management
• SDG 13 ( Climate action ), e.g., related to climate impacts on water and soil management and respective climate adaptation strategies
• SDG 15 ( Life on land ), e.g., related to managing multifunctional land-use systems to secure soil- and water related ecosystem services , particularly in dryland areas
• SDG 17 ( Partnerships for the goals ), e.g., working with consortium partners to address the challenge of drought risk monitoring

Research projects may address these issues from various perspectives in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner, using a broad range of approaches and methods and building on a diverse set of both quantitative and qualitative data. Typically, our research projects – including doctoral research – are implemented with partners in respective Member States or from international organisations, universities, and research institutions.

About the Programme

The programme is the first international doctoral programme addressing integrated resources management in a truly holistic way. Prospective students are expected to come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. To ensure that students have an evenly-matched starting point, and to introduce the basic concepts of the Resource Nexus, the programme comprises of 35 course credits (see Courses ) in addition to 175 dissertation credits. The total of 210 credits span over seven semesters. The credits are defined in terms of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

All coursework is science-based and all courses require basic knowledge in physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics at undergraduate level. In addition, the courses also require basic knowledge in the social sciences. Courses are offered by academic staff at both universities. In line with UNU-FLORES’s research agenda (see Research ) and a matching research agenda of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, research topics for doctoral dissertations are focused on solving current challenges related to the Resource Nexus.

Doctoral dissertations are co-supervised by advisors from both universities. Successfully graduating students receive a joint degree certificate.

Image: Defne Altiok/UNU-FLORES

Admissions Criteria

Tuition and fee.

The doctoral programme is tuition-free . However, students are responsible to enrol themselves with TU Dresden and are required to pay a semester contribution each semester. Included is access to TU Dresden facilities and services and a ticket for public transport and nextbike, a bike-sharing company in Dresden. The contribution also entitles students to various perks such as discounts at the university cafeterias and for many cultural and leisure activities in Dresden. Applicants are responsible for covering the costs of living and other expenses related to their stay in Dresden. To cover all costs of living, secured funding is to range between 1,200 and 1,600 euros per month (see FAQ ).

Therefore, the respective applicants must include in their application a proof of funding to satisfy step 1 of the Application Procedure . In case there are any restrictions on the research themes as imposed by the respective sponsors, this should be explained in the letter of motivation (see step 2 of the Application Procedure ). It is understood that any such restrictions would still fall within the scope of UNU-FLORES’s and TU Dresden’s research programme. Letters of admission will only be issued  upon admission to the programme with secured funding .

Qualifications

• Engineering
• Natural sciences
• Social sciences
• Other closely related field
• All applicants are also required to have  a research-based master’s degree  related to environmental resources management.
• Important note : The applicant needs a final master’s grade of 2.5 or better (German grading system) to meet the minimum requirement of a successful application. Applications that do not meet this minimum requirement and do not provide a grade conversion to the German grading system (see Application Form ) will be automatically rejected. Please consult the grade conversion formula .
• UNU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply and become part of the organisation.
• Experience related to the Resource Nexus will be considered an asset.
• IELTS: required level is 7.0
• TOEFL: required level for paper-based test is 600 points and internet-based test is 100 points

If the medium of instruction of previous university degrees is English, please provide the supporting evidence (see Application Form ).

Applicants are invited to submit a completed and signed application form and a proof of funding to [email protected] . Please note that secured third-party funding from individual scholarships or from governmental organisations must be provided for the entire duration of the programme (36 months). Applications without a proof of funding will not be considered. Please note that only selected candidates will be invited to move forward to step 2.

Only once step 1 will be cleared, applicants will be invited to submit the following application documents:

• Letter of motivation
• the intended research topic
• an explanation of how and why you consider yourself a suitable candidate for this topic
• an outline of how you would approach the topic methodically
• Curriculum Vitae
• Copies of ALL university transcripts
• Copy of TOEFL/IELTS or evidence proving that English is the language of instruction for at least one of the previous successfully completed degree programmes, in the form of a letter issued by the relevant university authority
• Abstract of MSc thesis (or equivalent)
• Two reference letters

Applicants should send their application material in one single PDF file to  [email protected] .

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

The doctoral programme includes mandatory and elective courses. The courses can be further categorised into thematic courses (to be taken in the first and second semester) and methodological courses. In addition, students have the opportunity to take courses at the Graduate Academy of TU Dresden . Courses and workshops offered in the framework of the Graduate Academy are of short duration (typically 1–2 days) and without credits.

Students devote the first semester to learning the basic concepts of the Resource Nexus and the important aspects of Governance and Capacity Development in addition to two other courses that will help improve the skills necessary to conduct their research. Doctoral researchers start working on their research topics during the first semester. In terms of credits, half of the second semester is again course-based while the other half is devoted to preparation of the final dissertation proposal and defence. In agreement with the supervisors, doctoral researchers can choose additional courses focusing on specific skills required for their research topics. From the third semester onwards, doctoral candidates concentrate fully on research. In most cases, this involves some months of field work and stays abroad accordingly in collaboration with partner institutions. This is defined on a case-by-case basis.

Download the Curriculum

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Application requirements.

• What kind of qualifications do I need to have if I want to apply for the programme? Required qualifications of the applicant can be found here .
• Do I have to submit certificates for the TOEFL or IELTS tests? Applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency. If you are not a native English speaker, one of the following documents need to be submitted:
• Evidence that English is the language of instruction for at least one of your previous successfully completed degree programmes, in the form of a letter issued by the relevant university authority
• Copy of TOEFL (required level for paper-based test: 600 points, internet-based test: 100 points)/IELTS (required level: 7.0)

Admission Process

• When can I apply for the Joint PhD Programme?  Applications can be submitted all year round (see Application Procedure ). Please note that doctoral researcher positions funded via specific third-party projects or other specific funding programmes may be advertised on our website . We encourage you to follow our website , Facebook page , or Twitter account for the latest updates.
• Where can I find the application form? The application form can be found here .
• Which documents do I need to submit? A detailed list of the required documents can be found here . Please make sure you have included all documents and submit them in one single PDF file to  [email protected] . Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• How does the selection procedure work? What is the current status of my application? You will receive an automated confirmation after submission via email, which indicates that your application is officially received. The evaluation will take place within 1–3 months. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed remotely. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Fees and Funding

• Are there tuition fees? The Joint PhD Programme is tuition-free. A semester fee of approximately 250–300 euros needs to be paid for the enrolment at TU Dresden.
• Do I have to secure funding/a scholarship? Can I fund myself? Applicants are required to have secured third-party funding for the entire duration of the programme (36 months). The proof of funding is a required document (see Application Procedure ). Doctoral researcher positions funded via specific third-party projects or other specific funding programmes may be advertised on our website . We encourage you to follow our website , Facebook page , or Twitter account for the latest updates. Self-funded students will not be accepted.
• Can you suggest some funding opportunities? When coming from abroad, national/regional scholarship programmes are typically the first options to consider. Different donors located in Germany have different requirements and rules for scholarships. Information regarding funding/scholarship opportunities can be found on the webpage of TU Dresden here .
• What would be the typical costs of living in Dresden, Germany? Dresden offers a high quality of living for moderate costs in comparison to other German cities. To cover all costs of living, doctoral scholarships secured are to range between 1,200 and 1,600 euros per month.

Other General Questions

• Can I take part in the programme part-time, through distance learning or an online platform? The Joint PhD Programme is a full-time programme. We do not offer doctoral courses through distance or online learning.
• Are all doctoral courses provided in English? Do I need to speak German? All doctoral courses are taught in English. Some basic level of German could be helpful for living in Dresden.

For further questions related to the Joint PhD Programme, please email us at [email protected] .

Application Form: Doctoral Programmes

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Curriculum: Doctoral Programmes

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Summary of PhD Thesis: Groundwater Recharge Mangement in Saurashtra: Learnings for Water Governance

Related Papers

Dr Srinivas Mudrakartha

International Journal of Rural Management

An innocuous diversion of rainwater into their farm wells by a few farmers two decades ago has triggered a water-centric social movement popularly known as the Saurashtra groundwater recharging movement in the southwestern part of Gujarat, India. Since irrigation is a socio-technical phenomenon, this paper attempts to capture the social and technical factors that influenced and shaped the demands and responses, and the shaping of the irrigation technology on the livelihood canvas. Apart from income as a key indicator, as a part of the socio-technical approach, the paper also examines several evidences that contributed to the total income, including agricultural income. These include crops and cropping decisions, changes in cropping intensity, shift from unirrigated land to irrigated land, changes in the number and composition of pump sets, well structuration in terms of depth, radial horizontal bores and depth limitations. The paper also analyzes the quantum of recharge estimated at the village level with the stage of groundwater development. The agrarian livelihood decisions reflect farmers’ wisdom of adaptive techniques. The movement also got a boost due to the Gram Jyoti Yojana that provided an assured supply of energy for a certain number of hours every day. Article International Journal of Rural Management 7(1&2) 43–82 2011 Institute of Rural Management SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC DOI: 10.1177/0973005212459827 http://irm.sagepub.com Srinivas Mudrakartha, M.S. Rathore and Sudhanshu International Journal of Rural Management, 7, 1&2 (2011): 43–82

Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies

Dipankar Saha

Easy access, round the year availability even in the draught years and lack of regulations coupled with advanced and cheap technology to create extraction structure have been major factors responsible for indiscriminate extraction of groundwater. With a rise in population leading to increasing water requirement, the untapped groundwater resource has been the biggest bone of contention amongst multiple stakeholders with a threat of serious depletion in many parts of the world especially regions without perennial surface water availability and arid or semi-arid climate. India is the largest extractor of groundwater and the alarming situation has already tapped in. Semi-arid region of Saurashtra has the most extreme case with just 500 mm of rainfall and almost 40 percent of coefficient of variation leading to frequent drought-like condition. Saurashtra&#39;s almost 83 per cent of the total irrigated area is through groundwater. High extraction of groundwater of Saurashtra caused major ...

Audrey Richard-Ferroudji

In the Indian water policy, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is considered as one of the best supply side water management options to face groundwater depletion. It is expected to optimize the resource as well as attain environmental sustainability and meet water demands and social justice. It is also expected to be implemented with a paradigmatic shift in water management. From policy to practices, at the local level, numerous recharge structures exist, are built or planned and reveal controversial implementation. With a socio-historical approach, our paper analyses the trajectory of MAR implementation in the Pondicherry Region (South India). Through interviews and observations, the trajectories of two local projects are scrutinized, The Tank Rehabilitation Programs in Pondicherry district and a recharge shaft in Kiliyanur. Stakeholders&#39; strategies and values regarding MAR are analysed and how local appropriation leads to adaptation and diversion. Finally, there is no paradigmati...

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Sonal Bhatt

Sanmugam Prathapar

R. Packham , Basant Maheshwari , Pennan Chinnasamy , Yogita Dashora , Ramesh Purohit , Sanmugam Prathapar , Kamal Yadav , Michael Chew , Pratap Rao

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