Prioritizing Water Infrastructure under Conditions of Agricultural Uncertainty in the West Bank, Palestine.
Vaughan, Eric.
2011
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Abstract: Many
developing countries such as Palestine are simultaneously fiscally limited and acutely
water constrained. It is vital that investments in water related infrastructure provide
maximum social welfare per dollar spent. Furthermore, infrastructure must be designed to
perform well under a wide range of social and environmental conditions which increases
the difficulty in making ... read moreeffective decisions. The presented methodology provides robust
and resilient water infrastructure investment guidance to policy makers under conditions
of agricultural uncertainty. Historic social and economic variability is incorporated
into estimations of demand for irrigation water in three West Bank districts, Bethlehem,
Jenin, and Jericho. Uncertainty in agricultural water demand is included in a general
water allocation optimization model in order to guide more robust and resilient
infrastructure planning. Results of the analysis show it is possible to identify
infrastructure investments such as wastewater treatment and reuse that operate well
under a wide range of conditions. Investments that improve the resilience of social
welfare by protecting society against disturbances such as prolonged periods of drought
are also identified.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2011.
Submitted to the Dept. of Civil Engineering.
Advisors: Richard Vogel, and Annette Huber-Lee.
Committee: Timothy Griffin.
Keywords: Environmental engineering, Water resources management, and Agriculture economics.read less - ID:
- bz60d7614
- Component ID:
- tufts:21038
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
