Multicriteria Analysis For Water Productivity in the Jordan Valley

Abstract

Multiple variables associated with agricultural sector, including crop water consumption, salinity tolerance, marketing, evapotranspiration and other factors related to industrial sector, were incorporated into a multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The MCA utilized Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) which resulted in the prioritization of water use for management in the Jordan Valley. The inputs to the MCA were generated through metrological variables for the Jordan Valley for the period 1980 to 1999. Soil data and crop data were evaluated using the EVAPOT program, the KCISA program, and the ISAREG model to estimate reference evapotranspiration, crop coefficiency, crop water requirement, and calculations of water productivity for agricultural and industrial sectors. The results of the MCA make recommendations for enhancing long-term sustainability of water resources in the Jordan Valley, while allowing for water utilization and economic growth. The MCA ranked the date palm as the highest priority crop with respect to the goal of sustainable agricultural use of water. Apparel manufacturing was the most sustainable industry. Overall, the industrial sector seems to perform better with regards to water productivity than the agricultural sector. It can be concluded that the MCA tool and ISAREG model are potentially positive contributions to the process of decision- making for selection and ranking of alternatives for help in solving problems that include conflicting criteria.