CEPS Undergraduate Named Best Student by X-Culture
Panorama
Exploring Issues in Intercultural Communication: A Case Study
Mind Over Matter
SQU Team Concludes Visits to Italian Universities
News Update
Green Nanotechnology
for Environmental
Remediation
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 322
View Point
Hostility on the Road
Careless driving puts innocent people’s lives at risk. Hence crackdown on unsafe driving is very important. Like many countries in the world, unsafe driving practices are quite common in our place too. Research in traffic psychology
suggests that poor driving is shaped by far more than carelessness or a subset of
“problem drivers”. Even the most skilled road users are subject to loss of social
awareness, intuitive biases, contradictory beliefs, and limits in cognitive capacity. It is a good sign that SQU recently hosted a driving safety program for young
drivers, conducted by a car manufacturer. Safe driving tips for young drivers
really matter a lot. This prompts to scribble a few lines about safe driving.
Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani
Editorial Supervision
Santhosh Muthalath
Senior Editor
Sara Al Gheilani
Nasebah Al Muharrami
Translation
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Salim Al Sudairi
If someone accidentally walks into us on the street or their shopping trolley
bumps into ours, the usual reaction is to apologize and move on. But when driving, near misses are often met with instant anger or road rage. Research shows
that drivers more readily dehumanise other drivers and pedestrians in ways
they wouldn’t when interacting in person. Research shows that prolonged honking, tailgating, and other aggressive behaviours are more likely if the aggressor
believes they are the more important driver. These judgements are often based
on the vehicles involved, with no knowledge of the person behind the wheel:
larger cars generally outrank smaller cars and newer cars trump older ones.
Drivers of more expensive cars are also more likely to behave aggressively toward pedestrians!
Next time when we are behind the wheel and feel annoyed or frustrated, we
should ask ourselves: are we falling prey to any of the abovementioned aggressive behaviors?
Circulation
SQU-info
According to a report “Bad driving: what are we thinking” which appeared in
“the Guardian”, aggressive drivers often fail to realize that they are being aggressive; or they don’t care. We all have had the experience of a vehicle looming
in our rear view and hanging on the bumper. Many of us will also have tailgated,
blocked or other people in ways we wouldn’t dream of doing in a face-to-face
situation. Research shows that younger drivers who score higher on personality
measures of sensation-seeking and impulsiveness are more likely to behave aggressively behind the wheel. These drivers show less sensitivity to punishment,
which means that simple punishments or traffic fines are unlikely to change the
most antisocial road users.
@SQU-info
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of
articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions
to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors
and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a
month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50,
P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
30 October 2015
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
News Update
ICE Convention Discusses
the Future of Engineering
SQU Team Concludes Visits
to Italian Universities
SQU hosted the 4th Middle East and Africa Convention
of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), focusing on
the theme “Shaping the future, respecting the past” .
The opening ceremony was held under the patronage
of H.E. Dr. Rasheed bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, Chairman
of the Tender Board. The convention was jointly organized by Sultan Qaboos University, The Research Council, Oman Society of Engineers and ICE.
SQU delegation, led by H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the ViceChancellor, concluded its visit to Italian universities and educational
institutions. The SQU delegation visited Expo Milano and the Opera
in Milan. It also visited Bocconi University during which the delegation viewed major academic and research programmes in disciplines
of economy and tourism. Both sides agreed to activate cooperation
in economy and tourism fields, as well as exchanging students and
visits.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon. Prof. Khalifa Al Jabri,
Head of the Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering of the College of Engineering at SQU, said that
the selection of Sultanate of Oman to host the ICE convention is appropriate because of the country’s rich cultural, environmental and architectural heritage. Prof. Al
Jabri hoped that the ICE convention would provide a
forum for knowledge sharing, discussion and networking around a common theme, bringing together engineers from across the region and an opportunity for the
students from the Civil & Architectural Engineering
Department to explore the activities of the ICE and the
services provided to them as students as well as graduates. “It will provide valuable opportunity for SQU to
discuss with ICE delegates the future cooperation in
terms of the different approaches and mechanism’s for
SQU graduates to become professional engineers who
will have the professional capabilities to contribute immensely in the development of the country”, he added.
At the University of Milan, the delegation viewed major aspects of
possible cooperation between the two universities. Both sides agreed
to cooperate in genetic and oncology research, as well as finding vacancies for students at the SQU College of Medicine and Health Sciences in clinical training field. The delegation also visited University
of Pisa during which it viewed programs of joint concern in fields of
economy, higher studies and radiology techniques for various disorders. Dr. Al Bimani was accompanied by HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona
bint Fahd Al Said, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for International Cooperation, Dr. Said bin Mubarak Al Mahrami, Dean of the College of
Economics and Political Sciences and other SQU officials.
Symposium Discusses
Sport and Environment
Commenting on various sessions of the convention, Dr.
Rashid Ali Al Balushi, Chairman of Oman Society of
Engineers, underscored the need to revise the engineering curriculum in universities based the technological
and social changes of the present era. “The convention
will discuss this topic along with other major aspects
including the future of engineering; professional status,
competence and quality in engineering fields; in country value”, he said.
Prof. David Balmforth, President of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, in his address, said that the theme of
the convention is particularly appropriate. “It reflects
the long historic development of Oman and in particular the excellent work of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
bin Said in developing the comprehensive modern infrastructure which has enabled this country to prosper.
It recognizes the long history that civil engineering has
had in securing the world economy and, in sustaining
society and in protecting the environment”. The three
day convention which began on 19 October, included
oral presentations, discussions and site visits.
The College of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University hosted a seminar titled “Towards a Sustainable Environmental
Sport” under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sa’ad bin Mohammed
Al- Sa’adi, Minister of Sports Affairs. Several dignitaries including Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Zubair, Chairman of Oman
Olympic Committee (OOC), were present on the occasion. The seminar was organized by Oman Sports and Environment Committee
(OSEC) of the OOC in support of the march adopted by the OOC
to support the global trends to exploit more eco-friendly resources
in sports that have mass popularity. The seminar was aimed at raising the level of awareness of the importance of sport in the spread
of sustainable environmental concepts and addressed many of the
negative environmental practices and calls to reduce manmade factors that lead to climate change and environmental impact.
P3
30 October 2015
Insight
Green Nanotechnology for
Environmental Remediation
Dr. Rengaraj Selvaraj
Nanotechnology is a subject which has been popular within the scientific and technology industries for many years. Now, with the ever
growing advancement in technology, nanotechnology is picking up
the pace and has got a lot of people talking. Scientists are studying
ways that nanotechnology can be made beneficial to the environment.
This has been branded as ‘green nanotechnology’ since it focuses on
challenges within the nanoscale that need to be overcome to ensure
eco-friendly processes and products. The objectives of nanotechnology
are to create eco-friendly designs with nanotechnology and use it to
reduce health and environmental hazards by seeking methods to replace present applications with green nanotechnology products. There
are several proposed environmental remediation techniques that use
nanotechnology. For example, solar photocatalysis using semiconductor nanoparticles can degrade pollutants like volatile organic compounds and nitrous oxides and consequently has been used in cement
and commercial plants. Paints enriched with nano titanium dioxide,
replacing organic biocides, are used to keep the surfaces of buildings
clean. Soil remediation of abandoned industrial sites has become a
great challenge in industrialized nations. Trials have been set-up using
nano zero-valent iron and iron oxides and the results have been quite
promising. However, there are environmental concerns regarding the
impact of nanoparticles on the soil.
Dr. Rengaraj Selvaraj, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry of the College of Science at SQU, was instrumental in establishing the environmental nanotechnology and photocatalysis research
laboratory at the college of science to carry out environmental remediation studies. The lab provides education in key areas of nanotechnology, including fundamental chemistry, physics, and engineering of
nanostructures or nanosystems and training with the same modern
instrumentation techniques used in research and development in these
emerging technologies. It would serve as a specialized laboratory for
synthesis and characterization of nanostructured photocatalytic materials and aims for water and wastewater treatment and environmental
protection. The motivation for establishment of environmental nanotechnology lab dealing with this topic stems from the challenges science and society face from climate change and energy supply. Already,
30 October 2015
P4
photocatalysis is commercially used to passively degrade pollutants. It
is simple, renewable, clean and cost effective technology which will play
an important role as a promising science for future applications.
Dr.Rengaraj Selvaraj and his research group, consisting of Prof. Salma
Al Kindy and Dr. Bushra Al Wahaibi, academics from the Chemistry Department, are currently working in the area of development of visible
and solar light active nanostructured photocatalytic material in order to
harvest solar energy and application for environmental remediation. The
solar energy utilization processes is gaining much more importance due
to increasing energy demand and avoid environmental pollution. His
research group applied this technology for the degradation of endocrine
disruptor chemicals (EDCs), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, toxic organics,
dyes and reduction of Chromium (VI) and NOx present in water and
wastewater. “We will try to identify common organics, pesticides and
dye pollutant which are widely used in Oman. Currently we actively
conduct research in the area of development of various photocatalytic
reactors for both batch and continuous flow studies for water and waste
water treatment. The semiconductor nanomaterials have several physico-chemical properties which will be helpful for development of other
fields such as sensors, semiconductor devices in Oman. The research will
promote solar energy research at SQU and help develop alternative energy resources to benefit Oman”, Dr. Rengaraj said.
The development of efficient photocatalysts active under visible and
solar light is in great demand to supply potable water purification systems. This environmental nanotechnology lab helps to educate Undergraduate, Post-graduate and Ph.D students in Analytical and Applied
Environmental Chemistry. This lab will integrate research and education and promote teaching, training and learning at all levels at SQU.
Dr. Rengraraj revealed that his lab has the research collaboration with
many reputed foreign universities and research institutions such as the
Stockholm University, Sweden, Lappeenranta University of Technology,
Finland, Kwangwoon University, South Korea, and University Sains
Malaysia. Over the years, this work has attracted several undergraduate
and postgraduate students. He hopes that the collaboration would provide training to young Omani scientists in environmental nanotechnology. The research carried out in environmental nanotechnology lab will
strengthen the multidisciplinary research capacity of the Department at
SQU and foster the development of the frontiers in new materials –based
Energy and Environmental research in Oman.
Mind Over Matter
Exploring Issues in Intercultural
Communication: A Case Study
By: Dr. Sandhya Rao Mehta
Department of English
College of Arts and Social Sciences
It is more than just an axiom that in today’s global society, intercultural communication plays a pivotal role, not only as an academic
pursuit but as a practical, lived experience. In order to trace the
role and extent of intercultural communication in the Arab world, a
study was made on prevalent perceptions held by Omani youth towards the largest expatriate group in Oman, the Indian community.
Participants were chosen from among university students whose access to the ‘other’ is more common and pronounced as Indians permeate significant layers of Omani society. The study attempted to
assess and understand the relationship which the Indian expatriate community has with the host society of Omanis, given
the civilizational and historical relations between these
two groups of people. Based on open ended questionnaires and focus group interviews, this qualitative
study found that, while major gaps appear to exist in
terms of intercultural communication, there appears
to be an acceptance and desire for further
opportunities and platforms which
would enable a more effective relationship between these
two communities.
Intercultural communication is defined as a
way in which people from
different cultures create shared meanings.
Having gained import with the increase in global
trade and travel at the turn of the new millennium, research on this
area has focused on communication between different nationalities
as well as within the larger spectrum of race, gender, and region.
The primary impulse for the academic study of this area, however,
arises from the works of Eric Kramer whose notion of cultural fusion
focused on the idea that the human mind can add to its learning
with an increase in personal experiences. Thus, immigrants or host
communities can learn new ways of approaching each other without
having to ‘unlearn’ their previous knowledge.
While most literature in the Arab world, particularly in the Arab
Gulf has contained itself to discussions on intercultural communication with the western world, almost no effort has been made to
explore the implications of not establishing effective intercultural
communication within its geographical boundaries, given that so
many inhabitants of these countries come from different parts of the
world. It is imperative that the huge demographic shift in the countries in the Gulf region would lead to some changes in social perceptions and fears about usurpation of culture, language and everyday
life. It is precisely to address some of these concerns that it is important to understand the way in which other communities affect the
host nation. As Indians comprise a large part of the expatriate community in the Gulf region, they could be a significant point of study
in terms of the intercultural communication existing between them
and the countries in which they reside.
Based on the fact that the university community would have a
deeper knowledge and awareness of the complexities of social life,
a questionnaire was given to students and interviews conducted
with three university professors of Sultan Qaboos University in
order to gauge social perceptions as well as general awareness of
young Omanis towards Indians. The students selected were in different cohorts of the university, ranging in age from 20 to 23. Two
interviews were conducted with Omani faculty members and one
with an Indian faculty member to unpack the complexities in communication from both points of view. As Sultan Qaboos University
is located in the center of the capital of Oman, Muscat and as such,
it has a diverse population within its campus, including western expatriate teachers and Indians at various different levels.
Students often encounter Indians as they drive down
the campus in the form of gardeners, cleaners and
maintenance staff. They also tend to see them
in classrooms as instructors, lab technicians as
well as in official, secretarial roles.
The results of the questionnaire
largely pointed to
the gap in the way
that communication is affected within these
two communities. Students’
awareness
of
India as a geographical unit focused on specific areas such as the cities of Mumbai and
Hyderabad. They were very knowledgeable of Bollywood actors,
television series and other aspects of popular culture such as dress
and food. However, most students could not name any specific languages spoken in India, nor were they aware of public figures such
as the President or other personalities such as famous scientists. The
study concluded that students were very keen to learn more about
India through films and dramatic presentations, such as the ones
presented by cultural programs of university students. They recommended the establishment of Oman-Indian cultural centers which
would create opportunities for intercultural understanding.
It is interesting to note that, although most research on the area of
intercultural communication between Indians and Omanis in Oman
tends to point to the absence of constructive relationships, most
studies also note the potential consequences of the absence of such
relations. From a macrocosmic perspective, the void that exists between host nation and the expatriate workers who are increasingly
a significant part of the social landscape of the nation could only
be seen as worrying. While there is no doubt that continuing gaps
between these two communities will need to be more usefully addressed, the precise way in which this would take place remains
open to debate. As the analysis of this study showed, students’ attitudes are positive towards a group of people who are an integral
part of their public life. This attitude in turn opens the doors for further research into creating ways in which these communities could
interact in ways which could benefit the host nation as well as those
residing in it. Establishing a more effective relationship between
these two communities is not impossible but it is most definitely
imperative.
P5
30 October 2015
News Round Up
Workshop Throws Light on
Genomic Resources
Regional Trade Policy
Course Begins
The College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, hosted a workshop on “Analyzing Molecular Databases of
Plant and Animal Genetic Resources” led by experts from the Ministry
of Agriculture & Fisheries. Around 15 participants including masters
students and technicians from SQU and researchers from the Ministry
of Agriculture & Fisheries attended the workshop. The event was officially opened by Dr. Rashid Al Yahyai, Dean of the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, in the presence of Prof. Osman Mahgoub,
Assistant Dean for Training. As many as 23 international trade experts from 11 countries in the region
are participating in the second Regional Trade Policy Course (RTPC) for
the Arab and Middle East region, organized jointly by Sultan Qaboos University and WTO Secretariat. The course commenced at SQU today and
will continue until 10 December. The course, organized as a part of the
WTO’s trade capacity building programme, is aimed at enhancing the human and institutional capacities of beneficiaries to take full advantage of
the rules-based multilateral trading system (MTS), to deal with the emerging challenges and to enforce their rights and obligations.
Dr. Badar Al Qamashoui from Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,
the trainer, said that genetic resources, both plant and animal, are key to
maintaining national food security, economic and biological diversity.
“Therefore, studying genetic diversity is aimed at conserving and sustaining these resources is a priority for every state. Assessing genetic
diversity of any species based on advanced molecular tools is an essential step to achieve the greatest conservation strategy. In this regard,
molecular markers are tools used to estimate genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship and assess conservation priorities of different populations, breeds or species” he said. The Arab world is among regions
that possess vast genetic biodiversity, which could be attributed to its
strategic geographical location at the center of the main domestication
centers and to the active prehistoric exchange with the ancient civilizations. Dr. Badar added that the workshop provided hands-on and
theoretical training on analysing molecular database using molecular
genetics and different population genetics software for researchers
in biological diversity fields. “Collections of genetic resources have
served the needs of molecular biologists, providing valuable sources
of materials for molecular studies of biodiversity and facilitating longterm archival of samples from published studies. However, the needs
are rapidly changing and contributing to an increasing demand for
high-quality genetic resources”, he said.
Dr. Hussain Boughanmi, WTO Chair holder and academic coordinator of
the WTO Regional Trade Policy Course, said the course content is aimed
at capacity building in Arab countries to better understand the rules and
regulations of TWO and to implement WTO agreements in the respective countries. “The course contains 16 modules covering the principles of
WTO. The course covers agriculture, services, tariff and non-tariff barriers for trade, rules of WTO regarding trade facilitation and trade negotiations. The course also includes professional days during which the participants can visit local organizations dealing with international trade”, Dr.
Boughanmi said.
As many as 21 resource persons from WTO Secretariat, Geneva and 4 regional speakers will lead the training course. It is worth mentioning that
SQU hosts the WTO Chair and the eight-week Regional Trade Policy
Course and this is in recognition of the university’s commitment and leadership to educate generations of leaders in Oman and in the Arab region.
The Chair programme of WTO aims at supporting academic institutions
from developing countries in curriculum development, teaching, research
and outreach activities. SQU is one of the seven WTO Chairs awarded
in 2014 through a highly competitive selection process involving 77 academic institutions.
Used Book Fair Attracts Crowd
copies, in addition to the 560 titles in English, 13502 copies.
All books were sold at less than one riyal price. All colleges at SQU took
part in the exhibition, including the colleges of Engineering, Science,
Education, Agriculture and Maritime Sciences, Medicine & Health Sciences, Nursing, Law, Economics & Political Science, in addition to Languages Center and the Medical Library. The Used Book Fair at SQU is
held every two years. The first used books fair was held by the university in 1997, then fairs are held every alternate year by the Procurement
Department of the university.
The 9th Used Books Fair at SQU was held from on 21 to 29October. The
opening ceremony was held under the patronage of Dr. Hamad bin Sulaiman Al Salmi, SQU Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Administrative and
Financial Affairs. This year, the fair featured 72 titles in Arabic, 9199
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The sale of used books offers the opportunity to obtain books at deeply
discounted price. For students, obtaining books at second hand prices is
a great money saver. One of the greatest benefits of buying used books
is the fact that it means that less new books need to be printed, therefore
there is less harm to the environment. This is a great way to do our part
to help save our planet.
Panorama
CEPS Undergraduate Named
Best Student by X-Culture
A student from the Department of Management of the College of Economics & Political Science at Sultan Qaboos University, has
been selected as one of the best students at
the X-Culture, a cross-cultural global competition in international business during
Spring 2015. Farah Abdullah Amur Al Kasbi
brought accolades to SQU and Oman by presenting her project titled “Internationalizing
Sakona: A Business Proposal for the Gaming
Entertainment Company”. A total of 14 students from the Department of Management
at SQU had participated in the competition
this year. Thousands of people from around
the world take part in X-Culture competition
and try to develop solutions for a number of
business challenges.
As the work place goes global, working in
multi-national environment becomes very
essential. With appropriate training, going
global is exciting and rewarding, both economically and personally. X-culture is a project where students from around the world
work together in virtual teams (Global Virtual Teams) in order to learn best practices
of cross-cultural collaboration through personal experience; it allows business students
an opportunity to experience working on a
Global Virtual Team.
Every semester, thousands of students and
professionals from over 40 countries take
part in X-Culture competition. For several
months, they work together on business projects presented by our corporate partners.
They compete, collaborate, learn the challenges and best practices of international
business consulting.
Farah Abdullah Amur
Al Kasbi said that this
project was part of the
International
Management course of
the College of Economics & Political
Science at Sultan
Qaboos University.
“When the instructor of this course,
Dr. James Rajasekar
introduced this project in the class, I
was very interested
and enrolled in the
project. The purpose of the project
was to develop a
business proposal for an international company from the team members’ choice and
we were trained by the instructor/global
X- culture committee and were given hands
on training. Also, there was a weekly guidance and feedback about the tasks that we
performed on a weekly bases. The project
started by forming virtual teams, about 6
members per team and each member was
from different country. Then we worked together for several months by using social
media tools, which eased the communication
between us”, she said.
Farah Al Kasbi added; “I am so proud for
getting the best student award because it
wasn’t easy to compete with as many as 3000
students from around the world. Only 100
students were selected out of 3000 students
and 116 parameters were used to select the
best students. My vision behind this project
was to develop my awareness of how to prepare a market entry plan for a multinational
company. Moreover, I wanted to work with
students from different countries, from 6 continents, to share creative ideas and experiences which have improved my working skills
in different environment and this cannot be
learned in university’s classrooms. The project has enhanced my personal skills such as
communication, time management, coordination, and leadership. All of those skills are
important for my studies and future career”.
During the project, Farah faced some challenges which she was able to overcome successfully. The first challenge was in forming
a virtual team as she spent two weeks in order to find her colleagues contacts information and gather them in a Whatsapp group.
The second challenge was the differences in
time zone, where she was dealing with students from USA, Brazil, Malaysia, and Pakistan. All these countries have different time
zones which was challenging because they
couldn’t meet virtually in the same time, so
Farah planned and suggested to meet in certain hours each week which suited everyone.
“I would like to express my special thanks
of appreciation to my instructor, Dr. James
Rajasekar who gave me the excellent opportunity to do this great project which also
helped me in doing a lot of research”. I came
to know about so many new things that I am
really thankful to him. Secondly I would also
like to thank my parents and friends who
helped me in finalizing this project”, Farah
Al Kasbi said.
P7
30 October 2015
Straight Talk
Artificial Recharge of
Groundwater Imperative
Prof. Heinz Hötzl
Prof. Heinz Hötzl, Professor Emeritus of Hydrogeology, comes from the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His research interests included
aquifers, groundwater quality and transport, groundwater contamination
and remediation, tracer hydrology, hydrology of arid areas and water resources management. From 1986 to 1992, Prof. Hötzl served as the President
of the International Association of Tracer Hydrology and from 1990 to 1994,as
the President of the German chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. Prof. Heinz Hötzl gave the keynote address on “Options and
problems of managed aquifer recharge under semi-arid conditions” at the
Seventh Environmental Symposium if German-Arab Scientific Forum for
Environmental Studies, hosted by the College of Science at Sultan Qaboos
University. This interview is based on his presentation at SQU.
the current climatic conditions, annual rainfall
in these regions is generally low and poorly distributed over the year. When rain does fall, it is
commonly in intense storms with subsequent
strong but short flash floods. The surface water
resources exist usually over a short period. This
leads to aquifers being severely over pumped
and exhausted. Water scarcity in many countries
is approaching critical levels. On the other side,
still a large proportion of scarce rainwater is lost
through evaporation or through flash foods discharging in saline basis or the sea.
Horizon: To what extent improved technologies
can help to optimize reclamation of rare water
resources?
Prof. Hötzl: The history of water harvesting in
semiarid regions covers only surface runoff collection and storage of this water in large reservoirs. The disadvantage of this system is great
loss of stored water due to evaporation during
the dry periods. In order to overcome this problem, several technologies have been developed to
store temporarily the dispensable surface water
of the yearly wet periods like the flash floods in
the underground. This can be done in a kind of
underground water harvesting by subsurface
dams or by artificial discharge stimulation of aquifers. International and national organizations
see great potential for recharge enhancement to
increase the security and quality of water supplies in water scarce areas. Improved technologies, like managed aquifer recharge or reuse
techniques for reclaimed waste water, are necessary to optimize the rare water resources for human utilization.
Horizon: Could you explain on some MAR projects that you carried out in the Middle East?
Prof. Hötzl: Within an integrated water resources management project in the Lower Jordan
Valley financed by the German Ministry of Science, several MAR studies were done between
2007 and 2014. The Wadi Ishe project proved
that sufficient water harvesting can be achieved
even with small yearly precipitation rates down
to 150 mm. The project explored underground
water harvesting small wadi channels with alluvial sediment filling. The project illustrated the
benefits of runoff storage in alluvial aquifer channels by subsurface dam as an alternative water
supply for rural arid areas of Jordan. The project
proved that underground reservoirs for grazing
or irrigation purposes can be realized economically without big technical inputs.
Horizon: Could you explain the significance of
groundwater and aquifers in an arid region like
Oman and the present scenario of these water resources?
Prof. Hötzl: Ground water is the main drinking
water source in most of the semi-arid regions in the
world. In the past, these natural underground water
resources satisfied the demand of villages and small
cities enabling limited productive agriculture. The
fast increasing population and the development of
industry has now raised the water consumption in
an extreme way and deteriorates the serious situation of water scarcity in arid and semiarid countries. Climate change makes matter worse. Under
30 October 2015
Horizon: Could you explain on your experience
with Wadi Wala karst aquifer? How was it different from the Wadi Ishe project?
Prof. Hotzl: In this case flood water is stored
at first in a large surface reservoir. However the
floor of the reservoir exists of highly karstified
limestone. This means that the stored flood water
could infiltrate in a short time from the reservoir
via the permeable reservoir floor in the underground and recharging the groundwater in the
karst aquifer, which is used further downstream
by a well group for the water supply of Amman,
the capital of Jordan.