{"id":7297,"date":"2026-09-05T12:38:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T09:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/?p=7297"},"modified":"2026-09-09T12:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:40:14","slug":"first-water-productivity-observatory-in-wadi-hajar-established-with-international-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/details\/7297\/","title":{"rendered":"First Water Productivity Observatory in Wadi Hajar Established with International Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hadhramout \/ University Media \/ Special Report<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hadhramout University is currently participating in the establishment of the first specialized Water Productivity Observatory in Wadi Hajar<\/strong>, in cooperation with the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (Netherlands)<\/strong> and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)<\/strong>, as part of efforts to promote the sustainable management of water and agricultural resources in the region.<\/p>\n

The project, entitled \u201cWaPOR-Hajr,\u201d<\/strong> will run for 14 months<\/strong>, from November 2026 until December 2027<\/strong>, and is being implemented by the Center for Environmental Studies and Water Resources<\/strong> at Hadhramout University in partnership with local institutions concerned with water and agriculture, as well as water user associations in the valley.<\/p>\n

Wadi Hajar is located approximately 70 kilometers west of Al\u2011Mukalla<\/strong> and covers a basin area of 9,160 square kilometers<\/strong>. It contains a perennial water flow system and serves more than 90,000 inhabitants<\/strong>. The valley is home to an estimated two to three million date palms<\/strong>, in addition to crops such as sorghum, millet, and wheat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The traditional irrigation system in the valley suffered severe damage following the tropical storm that affected the region in June 2020<\/strong>, resulting in the loss of thousands of palm trees, a decline in date production of more than 65%<\/strong>, and increased reliance on diesel-powered groundwater pumping. At the same time, the spread of mesquite (Prosopis juliflora)<\/strong> intensified pressures on water resource management.<\/p>\n

The project relies on WaPOR platform data<\/strong>, remote sensing technologies, and field observations to establish a baseline for water productivity and develop a reference water accounting framework for the valley covering the period 2018\u20132027<\/strong>. This includes the use of Sentinel\u20112 satellite imagery<\/strong> and analyses of evapotranspiration, biomass production, and the productivity of major crops through field surveys conducted on approximately 40 farms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The project also includes research and educational components, such as the development of an open-access geospatial database<\/strong>, the preparation of policy briefs in Arabic and English<\/strong>, and the production of a scientific study for publication. In addition, a bilingual training program<\/strong> will be delivered to 25 specialists and students<\/strong>, and a new academic module entitled \u201cWaPOR for Agriculture in Wadi Systems\u201d<\/strong> will be developed for possible inclusion in the curricula of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Technologies<\/strong> within the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Marine Biology. The project will also support three undergraduate graduation projects<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The observatory will be established and operated within the Center for Environmental Studies and Water Resources at Hadhramout University<\/strong>, alongside the development of an open data-processing system. This will enable the university to issue an independent Date Palm Season Monitoring Bulletin for 2027<\/strong>, subject to scientific review by the international project partner.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the project will integrate the university into the WaterPIP KAN Network<\/strong> as a regional node for Yemen and the Middle East, while strengthening cooperation with regional and international institutions in the fields of water productivity, remote sensing, and digital agriculture<\/strong>. The project is expected to support farmers and relevant stakeholders through the provision of scientific information that enhances water-use efficiency, strengthens food security, and contributes to the protection of natural resources in Wadi Hajar and Hadhramout<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hadhramout \/ University Media \/ Special Report Hadhramout University is currently participating in the establishment of the first specialized Water … <\/i>View More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/58d976cc-f9d7-4a81-800b-cb99cde607b8.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7299,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7297\/revisions\/7299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hu.edu.ye\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}