Abstract
Aflaj in Oman are sustainable ancient techniques of irrigation based on open channels draining water from wadis, springs or aquifers to communities of users. Omani authorities reported the existence of 4112 aflaj of which 3017 are live systems; about 1000 have underground qanats (dawoodi aflaj). Agriculture in Oman relays mainly on irrigation by means of aflaj. They currently provide 680 million cubic meters yearly and irrigate around 26,500 ha of farmlands. Their water is being managed by an administration headed by a wakil. Falaj Al-Khatmeen is a dawoodi falaj among the five Omani aflaj inscribed in the World Heritage List since July 2006. It irrigates the lands of Birkat Al-Mouz in Wilayat Nizwa. This paper provides an overview about aflaj in Oman and, through the case study of falaj Al-Khatmeen, highlights the main concepts of this traditional knowledge and water management system besides the rights and equity in access to water for stakeholders. Water is shared by athar (30 min) according to a very precise irrigation scheduling and rotation (dawaran) that can be updated depending on seasons and changes in falaj ownership and water flow. The survival of falaj Al-Khatmeen relays mainly on the efficiency of its management.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Al Amri S, Al Ghafri A, Abd Rahman N (2014) Water management of Falaj Al Khatmain in Sultanate of Oman. J Earth Sci Eng 4(2014):127–133
Al-Ghafri A, Inoue T, Nagasawa T (2003a) Irrigation scheduling of Aflaj of Oman: methods and its modernization. In: Adeel Z (ed) Sustainable management of marginal drylands: application of indigenous knowledge for coastal drylands. In: Proceedings of a Joint UNU-UNESCO-ICARDA international workshop, Alexandria, Egypt, 21–25 September 2002. The United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan, pp 147–166
Al-Ghafri A, Inoue T, Nagasawa T (2003b) Daudi Aflaj: the Qanat of Oman. In: Proceedings of the third symposium on Xinjang Uyghor, China, 11 November 2003. Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, pp 29–36
Al-Marshudi AS (2007) Institutional arrangement and water rights in aflaj system in the Sultanate of Oman. In: Proceedings of the international history seminar on irrigation and drainage, 2–5 May 2007, Tehran, Iran. IRNCID-ICID, Tehran, pp 31–42
Beaumont P (1971) Qanat systems in Iran. Bull Int Assoc Sci Hydrol 16:39–50
Buhagiar K (2007) Water management strategies and the cave dwelling phenomenon in late medieval malta. Med Archeol 51:103–131
Costa PM (1983) Notes on traditional hydraulics and agriculture in Oman. World Archeol 14(3):273–295
El-Baz F (2002) Wadis of Oman: satellite image atlas. Office of the Advisor to his Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
English PW (1968) The origin and spread of qanats in the old world. Proc Am Philos Soc 112(3):170–181
Hermosilla J, Moussa M (2011) Las Galerias de Agua Tunecinas. Las Gobernaciones de Kebili, Tozeur, Gafsa y Gabès. ESTEPA, Valencia, Spain
Megdiche-Kharrat F, Moussa M (2014) The qanat as a crucial antique water acquisition system common to arid zones’ communities: two case studies, foggaras In Tunisia and Aflaj in Oman. The International Journal Research Publications, Singapore (TIJRP)—Research Journal of Social Science and Management—RJSSM, vol 3, no 12. https://www.theinternationaljournal.org/ojs/index.php?journal=tij&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=2864. Accessed Apr 2014. ISSN: 2251-1571
Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources-MRMWR (2008) Aflaj oman in the world heritage list. MRMWR, Muscat, Oman
Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources-MRMWR (2009) Experimental project for archiving ownerships and norms and Sunan and data related to aflaj. MRMWR, Muscat, Oman
Semsar Yazdi AA, Labbaf Khaneiki M (2013) Veins of desert: a review on the technique of qanat/falaj/karez, 2nd edn. IWRMO, Iran
Wessels JI (2005) Criteria for renovating and using ancient qanats in Syria-case studies. In: Proceedings of the international frontinus symposium, 2–5 October 2003. Frontinus-Gesellschaft, Walferdange, Luxemburg, pp 249–262. ISBN: 3-9806091-2-X
Acknowledgments
It is a pleasant duty for the authors to thank all those who helped in this research, and especially Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghafri and Sheik Khamis Al-Dreishi.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Megdiche-Kharrat, F., Moussa, M., Rejeb, H. (2017). Aflaj’ Water Management in Oman: The Case of Falaj Al-Khatmeen in Birkat Al-Mouz, Wilayat Nizwa. In: Ouessar, M., Gabriels, D., Tsunekawa, A., Evett, S. (eds) Water and Land Security in Drylands. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54021-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54021-4_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54020-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54021-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)