Many small-scale water development initiatives are accompanied by hydrological research to study either the shape of the intervention or its impacts. Humans influence both, and thus one needs to take human agency into account. This paper focuses on the effects of human actions in the intervention and its associated hydrological research, as these effects have not yet been discussed explicitly in a systematic way. In this paper, we propose a systematic planning, based on evaluating three hydrological research projects in small-scale water intervention projects in Vietnam, Kenya, and Indonesia. The main purpose of the three projects was to understand the functioning of interventions in their hydrological contexts. Aiming for better decision-making on hydrological research in small-scale water intervention projects, we propose two analysis steps: (1) being prepared for surprises and (2) cost-benefit analysis. By performing the two analyses continuously throughout a small-scale hydrological intervention based project, effective hydrological research can be achieved.
In supporting sustainable water resources management in developing countries, small-scale water development initiatives play an important role. Such projects are usually initiated and/or supported by local non-governmental groups, but also by larger donors such as USAID and others (Van Koppen, 2009; ECSP, 2006; Warner and Abate, 2005). Typical small-scale intervention projects include water harvesting development, improving small-scale irrigation schemes, and small dams for water use or hydropower (Lasage et al., 2008; Ertsen et al., 2005; Falkenmark et al., 2001; Farrington et al., 1999). Small development activities have been well studied. Phalla and Paradis (2011), Gomani et al. (2009), and Das et al. (2000) discuss hydrological research and local participation in interventions with the goal to improve decision-making about the options for interventions. In order to properly implement an intervention, theories and practices of adaptive management have been suggested as potential beneficial approaches (Fabricius and Cundill, 2014; Beratan, 2014; Von Korff et al., 2012). Furthermore, local participatory approaches in hydrological monitoring throughout the world have shown to be potentially effective – e.g. in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and India (Kongo et al., 2010; Vincent, 2003; Das, 2003; Das et al., 2000). However, the combination of the two – hydrological research management and local participation in the hydrological research – has been rather absent from the literature. Currently, a more systematic overview of issues on planning hydrological research within small-scale water intervention projects is lacking. This paper aims to fill this gap.
In developing our analysis, we focus on hydrological studies in three areas: Vietnam, Kenya and Indonesia. Some information on and understanding of the local hydrology is typically required for design, construction and management of small-scale water interventions. Even though such a hydrological study may be limited in scope – both in terms of time and detail – it still takes considerable effort performing the study and collecting the data. This holds especially for building and maintaining (informal) networks and relationships for successful local data collection (Mackenzie, 2012). Despite this, most studies on small hydrological studies related to interventions – if available at all – focus on negative events like theft and vandalism (see Kongo et al., 2010; Mul, 2009; Gomani et al., 2009). Even when these events are discussed, they seem to be perceived as simple bad luck, which could happen every time and everywhere during a research. As theft and vandalism usually result in less data, and data sets would have been relatively limited anyway, studies using such limited data are typically difficult to be accepted in the scientific research areas (Winsemius, 2009). We argue that human agency – both positive and negative – should be an integral aspect of designing, performing, and evaluating intervention-based hydrological research.
Many small-scale interventions are located in areas that have been studied less well. In 2003, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) initiated the Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) initiative with the objective to promote the development and use of improved predictive approaches for a coherent understanding of the hydrological response of ungauged and poorly gauged basins (Sivapalan et al., 2003). This paper links to PUB as all catchments in our study areas were originally ungauged and were similarly approached. Available data came from stations far from the study area and satellite data providers. One of the topics in PUB that related to our case studies is investigating the dominant processes by using a multi-method approach (Mul et al., 2009; Hrachowitz et al., 2011). Our researches were primarily field campaigns, with the disadvantage of financial constraints (Mul et al., 2009; Hrachowitz et al., 2011); they were performed in short periods. Furthermore, as with the PUB challenges (Hrachowitz et al., 2013), the case studies were located in remote areas in three different developing countries. These conditions challenged us in setting up a proper field campaign. On-site measurements were much dependent on the support of the local communities.
Human changes the landscapes through interventions for many purposes due to human demands (Ehret et al., 2014). Hence, human agency is continuously changing future hydrology, which means we need to build deeper understanding of human–water dynamics (Sivapalan et al., 2014; Ertsen et al., 2014). As in our cases, it turns out to be highly relevant to look at the interactions between humans (as a proposer and/or stakeholder of intervention and/or research itself) and the complex hydrological system. Likewise, as the interventions influence society – beneficially or not – society needs to create an awareness and overall understanding of the interventions. Hydrological change usually occurs after a certain intervention has been implemented. On the other hand, society actually interacts before, during, and after the intervention as well, which are crucial phases in deciding the type of intervention to be implemented. Therefore, the potential interactions with possible feedbacks and changes not only show that humans play an important role in determining much of the behaviour of catchments, but also may already influence hydrology and society before the intervention takes place.
In tracing the social processes relevant for the development of research and intervention in our three cases, we looked for patterns. In the current context, as hydrologists who cannot be separated from the socio-hydrological world (Lane, 2014), we searched for a better way of conducting small-scale hydrological research in the future. How can hydrologists make better decisions when planning hydrological research realizing that humans make decisions on a daily basis that will affect the intervention development and hydrological research itself? Our objective is to propose a systematic process of performing hydrological research in small-scale water intervention projects. We propose two related steps: (1) being prepared for and respond to surprises, and (2) cost-benefit analysis.
In terms of planning for surprises, we have found the frameworks as developed by the RAND cooperation on how to be prepared when facing “surprises” in planning extremely useful. Dewar (2002) (see also Dewar et al., 1993) discusses such surprises and provides a tool for improving the adaptability and robustness of existing plans by making assumption-based planning (ABP). With ABP, one would double-check the planners' awareness of uncertainties associated to any plan, including assumptions that might have been overlooked. In terms of cost-benefit analysis, research budgets for small-scale interventions are usually constrained (e.g. Phalla and Paradis, 2011). What to do with such limited budget, how human action affects research activities and budget, and how to deal with possibly costly surprises are important questions to prepare oneself for. In terms of time constraints, a very useful example of how to optimize short-term data is offered by Hagen and Evju (2013). To understand a certain water intervention, ideally a hydrological researcher would prefer measurements being conducted at many locations, for a long time and with high frequency. However, within that general preference and given financial constraints, much remains to be chosen by the researcher (Hamilton, 2007; Soulsby et al., 2008). This suggests that different researchers would select different actions and measurement techniques, even when performing a similar type of hydrological research. As such, choices can be studied in terms of costs and benefits.
Despite this potential of looking at uncertainty in planning of small-scale hydrological research related to human actions, there is still a long way to go. The above-mentioned bias towards not publishing small-scale studies not only may limit understanding of the hydrology of small-scale water systems, but it also prevents understanding the nature and performance of the small-scale studies in relation to the intervention itself. Any intervention can be understood in terms of cooperation and negotiation between actors in the process (re)shaping its design (Ertsen and Hut, 2009). In other words, water planning and management are typically organised or “co-engineered” by several agencies or actors (Daniell et al., 2010). This co-engineering will also be the case in shaping the hydrological research itself – and thus principally the science of hydrology as well. In this paper, we evaluate co-engineering of the hydrological sciences in action. We scan for solutions, explicitly analyse the research management in the three cases, and define how it can be improved in practice (see Sutherland, 2014). Daily realities of performing small hydrological studies are our focus. Based on evidence of the effectiveness of our own learning, we contextualize our personal experiences to extrapolate general principles how to improve knowledge development for researchers and practitioners (Beratan, 2014).
We start with an overview of the three case studies, discussing the hydrological research and the social realities of the project. These hydrological overviews are not exhaustive, but meant to allow the discussion on scenario development in the second part of this paper. Finally, we propose how to plan hydrological research in a (surprisingly) surprise-rich context in a systematic way.
Contour trenching is one of the water harvesting techniques implemented to increase water availability in semi-arid and arid region. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defined it as contour furrowing. Its implementation differs in size, depending on its purpose. In agriculture, it is meant for effective crop production. A study on trenches in Chile by Verbist et al. (2009) suggested that few efforts were observed to quantify the effect of runoff water harvesting techniques on water retention. On the other hand, Doty (1972) found that there is almost no change in soil water between with and without trench.
In our Vietnam study, we investigated recharge processes of contour trenching after events by conducting a multi-method approach. One of the important aspects in modern approaches in understanding catchment dynamics, as Tetzlaff et al. (2010) pointed out is integration of field-process studies. Here, we applied a similar approach during a single wet year in 2009. Our field measurements explored physical parameters to be used in Hydrus (2-D/3-D) modelling. Moreover, we performed an isotope study; as such studies on recharge are known to allow improved understanding of catchment dynamics (Soulsby et al., 2003; Rodgers et al., 2005; McGuire and McDonnell, 2007).
The study area is located in the Phuoc Nam Commune, in the Ninh Phuoc district, with latitude 11
Only during one 6 month period (June to
November 2009) data of rainfall, water levels and groundwater levels were simultaneously available. On 11 October 2007, before the
construction of contour trenches, we installed two rain gauges (Casella tipping buckets, 0.2
From September 2009 to November 2009, 72 water samples were collected in 2
The vertical flow paths at the bottom of the trench were checked using dye tracer. Dye tracer in forms of powder and low cost was
available in the nearby market. Initially, we dug about
Hydrus (2-D/3-D) (Šimůnek et al., 2008) was chosen to simulate the
process of infiltration and recharge. It is a physically-based model using
finite-elements that solves numerically the Richards' equation for
unsaturated and saturated flows in porous media:
According to four nearby meteorological
stations, the long-term average of annual rainfall is 810
Compared to other trenches, ponding at the first uphill trench took a longer time to infiltrate because of sedimentation. Fine material was brought by runoff into the trench. Also during storms, sand from uphill was brought to the first trench, which filled up the trench about half full. Ponding in the smaller trenches showed lower water levels. The ponded water infiltrated quicker, because there was little fine sediment and the main soil type was grey sand. Thus, a high infiltration capacity was predicted. Additionally, the smaller trenches were not affected by external runoff such as in trench 1 to 7.
The groundwater level responded in two ways to these inflows
from rain and runoff: a slow annual increase and an instant increase after events (Fig. 3). From uphill to downhill of the
observation wells, the gradient between Well 4 and Well 6 (100
Some references of the range of hydraulic conductivities of loamy sand and granite in semi-arid areas were used to compare our
infiltration tests. At granite terrain in Hyderabad, India, the hydraulic conductivities were estimated by Chandra et al. (2008), at a maximum of 7.9
Three parameters were sensitive to fit the measurements of infiltration (surface water
drawdown) and groundwater level fluctuation. The three parameters were the subsurface (the main Ks in the domain), Ks at BC, and
the porosity. We set first the Ks values according to the point measurements. In reality, it would be hard to obtain all Ks of the
subsurface, especially in depths of more than 3
The simulation results provide visualization of the infiltration mechanism to the subsurface. Sedimentation at the bottom of the trench retains water for longer periods but water infiltrated merely in a downward direction with very little horizontal flow to the side of the trench walls.
Comparing the simulation and measurements (Fig. 4), it appears that the selected subsurface properties in the modelling to allow
similar infiltration as observed were lower than the range of the measured ones. The minimum infiltration measurement found was
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The rainfall analysis produced a local meteoric water line. For our short period of
observations MLWL is
Initial groundwater composition at Well 4 before the events was
The signal of dye was searched by digging into the sediment about tens of centimetres. It was found to be about 30
The combination of field measurements, the isotope technique, and modelling over a 6 month period has given us the understanding of the recharge process at contour trenching plots in Vietnam. Based on the groundwater level measurements, we conclude that artificial recharge took place in the trench area. It seems reasonable to explain this with the recharge in the trenches, although it is hard to simulate the measured groundwater level based on the obtained isotope signature. Isotope analysis suggests that one out of four wells (Well 4) responded to the signal of a mixed rainfall with groundwater. Because the flow path from the trench to the observation well screen would need more time, recharge processes may have been influenced by a short cut (macro pore).
From the modelling in Hydrus (2-D/3-D), the estimated values of parameters used were focused on matching the true scenarios of possible hydraulic conductivities and porosities. Even though the geology of observation wells was available, those data cannot be simply interpolated. Also between Wells 6 and 7 the groundwater system is disconnected. Infiltration requires a few days to two weeks. Sedimentation occurs after events and reduces the infiltration capacity. During the dry season the artificial recharge that yields subsurface water storage can be maintained up to 2 months.
On the long term, infiltration in the trenches will increase the groundwater levels based on the events during the wet season. The quick groundwater level increase is followed by gradual drawdown during the dry season. For the time being, the trenches seem to benefit short-term subsurface storage.
In Amboseli, a semi arid area in Kenya, contour trenching started in 2002. Until recently, the hydrological long-term impacts of this construction were not well documented. Previous studies showed impacts of similar water harvesting techniques in different dimensions and semi-arid areas. For example, Makurira et al. (2010) concluded that fanya juus (infiltration trenches with bunds) increased soil moisture in the root zone. Singh (2012) stated that rainwater-harvesting structures enhanced vegetation growth and biomass production. Mhizha and Ndiritu (2013) showed that depending on the soil type conditions, modified contour ridges resulted in crop yield benefits. Three studies indicated that those techniques reduced soil erosion.
An attempt was made to answer two research questions on the impacts of contour trenching eight years after construction. First,
what is impact of trenching to the vegetation growth? With the absence of ground data from the past, an effort by using satellite
imagery analysis for this period was conducted. In the absence of rain gauges, satellite images can be source of data (Nesbitt
et al., 2004; Su et al., 2008). Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) quantified rainfall “best” between 50
The contour trenching area is located about 30
There were two types of trenches. The first are small trenches (1
For vegetation growth, two types of satellite images were used; Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
(TRMM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time series were downloaded freely from
TRMM is a joint project by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) launched in November 1997 to study tropical and sub-tropical
rain systems (Kummerow et al., 2000). The images have a spatial resolution of 25
MODIS-NDVI is a readily satellite image of cloud-free vegetation activity available in three spatial resolutions (250, 500, and
1000 m) and temporal resolutions of 8, 16 day, monthly, quarterly and yearly composite. In this study, MODIS in 250
The analysis was based on NDVI values by investigating its increase after the construction of the trenches. In case of success,
vegetation growth should not only increase NDVI values, but also remains high throughout the year. An independent two samples
Fallout Cesium-137 (
For soil redistribution or the impact to erosion-sedimentation in the trench area, soil samples (using split tube sampler,
Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equipment) with a depth of 40
In total 16 soil samples were oven-dried at temperature of 1050
NDVI values of areas with trenches (WT1 refers to small trenches and WT2
refers to large trenches) were compared to areas without trenches (WOT1, WOT2, and WOT3) using a fixed area size; for the small
trenches 2
The average of NDVI with trench throughout 2002 to 2010 was 0.3 and without trench 0.27. The
An attempt to correlate TRMM with NDVI values of the trench area was performed. Martiny et al. (2006) showed a lag of 1 month in
western Africa and 1.5 month in southern Africa between rainfall and NDVI peaks. Also, the relation between soil moisture and the
greenness index may lie in the order of a few weeks (Cheema et al., 2011). Thus, by shifting TRMM values up to 2 month earlier to
its actual month, it is expected that a lag correlation could be obtained. However, results show low values of correlation
(1 month lag
Overall, it has been possible to study monthly NDVI values between 2002 and 2010. The results of MODIS images indicate that NDVI values fluctuate in time because of alternating dry and wet seasons. Thus, there is no clear signal that contour trenching increases the NDVI (or “greenness”) throughout the year, but it does show short-term effects.
Comparisons of 128 between the reference (R1 and R2) and the area that is not affected by trenches (U1 to U3); between the reference (R1 and R2) and the area assumed to be affected by trenches (D1 to D4, and U4 to U6); amongst the samples in the trenches (T1 to T4).
The trench area is an eroded area that has a low concentration of
Inside the trench area that is surrounded by stone walls, sediments show layering of high and low
This
The signal of greenness found was most likely due to alternating dry and wet seasons, but does show short-term
effect. Furthermore, TRMM is correlated to NDVI where results show low correlation between TRMM and NDVI. The results of the
erosion and sedimentation analysis show the study area is previously an eroded area. Sediments found in the trench area are
a combination of local and external sources; early deposition originates from local sources and followed after about 30
The province of Maluku, Indonesia, consists of many scattered small to big islands that demand a high investment to build up its energy infrastructure. On the other hand, sustainable and qualitative growth for developing economics and habitat requires increased energy input (Dudhani et al., 2006). One of the important elements to support economic growth is providing local communities with a reliable electricity supply. Currently, the state electricity company of Indonesia (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) provides electricity that dominantly uses diesel generators. However, Indonesia has abundance of water resources that can be used to create hydropower as a valuable source of energy. Most of large capacities of micro hydro were installed in North Sumatra, Central Java, West Java and Bengkulu (Suroso, 2002; Hasan et al., 2012).
For hydropower to be useful and effective, a potential location has to meet demands on technical and economic feasibility. An example of an economic feasibility study of potential hydropower using GIS approach has been conducted for the La Plata basin (Popescu et al., 2012). Also, Kosnik (2010) carried out research on construction cost-effectiveness of micro-hydro in the US.
This study is particularly focusing on Aboru village on Haruku Island, where the project intended to build a micro-hydro power plant that could improve the socio-economic situation of the local community (Balakrishnan, 2006; Anyi et al., 2010). The main objective of the research was to map locations with high-energy heads and assess the minimum available annual discharges for potential micro-hydro in Aboru. The second research effort is aiming at finding potential locations for micro-hydro power plants on the Maluku islands.
The Maluku islands are located in the eastern part of the Indonesia archipelago. In total, there are 1027 islands. Most Maluku
islands are mountainous (about 57 %). The climate is humid, affected by monsoons, with an average annual temperature of
26
The general equation to estimate the potential of micro-hydro is
The potential of micro-hydro depends on the main two parameters; the river discharge and the energy head. The river discharge was measured uphill of the planned micro-hydro plant. Two divers (Schlumberger Water Services Delft, the Netherlands, measurements at 30 min intervals) were installed in the river to measure the pressure of surface water levels. To compare the discharge results, a test using the dilution gauging method (Calkins and Dunne, 1970) was also performed several times at different locations.
Similar to a study by Mosier et al. (2012), a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used. Data was downloaded from
The estimated monthly discharge during one wet year resulted to
about 0.2
Most of the potential locations are found on Buru and Seram Island (Fig. 9). The two islands are mountainous and are the two largest islands compared to others in the Maluku region. On Buru Island, high heads are located on the western part, very close to the western coast. On Seram Island, high heads are found along the northern and southern coasts, at the middle of the island. Halmahera Island also has some hills, however, the available heads in the river on this island are considered low and thus no potential was identified.
At the proposed location for micro-hydro, in Aboru village, the
rainfall–runoff process is determined by a quick response. The discharge observed ceased within days after a rainfall event. This
suggests that a higher potential of micro-hydro will most likely be limited to the wet season, which is 5 months. One usually
designs the installation with the average monthly discharge. However, a daily discharge would not represent the monthly discharge
that is taken as the design capacity of a micro-hydro power plant. For a continuous annual operation of micro-hydro, it is
suggested to take the minimum discharge during the dry season (see Table 2 and Fig. 10). At this area, it is safe to take a low
capacity of about 3.5 kW, in accordance to the local head (35
Maluku islands have a small potential for micro-hydro power plants. Extrapolated discharges that can be used range from
0.03
In the Kenyan case two rain gauges were installed close to the study area. One rain gauge in front of the manyatta was destroyed by elephants and afterward removed by local people. The other one had a data logger that could not be retrieved. Soil moisture analysis would have indicated correlations with rainfall events and the impact of trenching. However, it could not be performed due to disappearance of tubes and difficulties getting labour. Local people seemed to prefer other work (easier to be conducted without the need for a long trip to the study area).
In an attempt to look at these anecdotal experiences more systematically, we started first by identifying participative actions from local people during the process of intervention and hydrological research. The time periods of three hydrological intervention-based research projects can be seen in Table 3. In each of the three interventions – in Vietnam, Kenya and Indonesia – local people were engaged (see Tables 4–6). This included the hydrological research, especially where it was part of the intervention itself. Our analysis will focus on community participation, including what went differently in the hydrological studies than expected and the issue whether in the future such developments could be anticipated upon. Based on the results, we develop suggestions how hydrological researchers can include considerations on human agency when planning and performing field research. As already mentioned, for this we incorporated results from RAND studies on being prepared for uncertainties.
Human agency in intervention and research can be related to existing theories on community participation. There are many participation theories; Arnstein (1969) introduced the ladder of participation for urban development where the scale was from non-participation to being able to make decision (citizen empowerment). The scale influenced other fields and was further developed, for example by Choguill (1996). Her ladder of participation was based on the scale of willingness of government in community projects. One recent participatory spectrum is IAP2 (2007), where along the spectrum the impact of public participation increases. Another participation framework during intervention phase was proposed by Srinivasan (1990), where this was meant for training trainers in participatory technique. We found this last approach useful in analysing our case studies, as the community participation scale from Srinivasan (1990) allows for differentiating attitudes towards change, by sorting them along a scale showing varying degrees of resistance or openness (see Fig. 11). Therefore, we found this potential to “measure” attitude even more interesting because our results suggest that these attitudes of stakeholders change over time, during the intervention and research itself.
As an example, we use the Vietnam case to gain an overview how the local community participated in the intervention phase and how
this altered over time. The implemented scale of community participation (Srinivasan, 1990) is shown in Fig. 12.
0 to 6; at the start of the project, none of the landowners agreed with the intervention, especially because they had not
yet seen a successful example in their particular area. After negotiations, a monk organization was willing to provide their
land as an example case [#6A]. 6 to 3; after construction of large trenches, the monk organization did not like the design. The rejection of the large
trenches enforced the proposer to reconsider the trench dimensions. Thus, the proposer provided a smaller design of contour
trenches. Despite the smaller design, the monk organization still refused to continue implementing the new design on its
remaining land. 3 to 6; consequently, the proposer introduced the smaller design to other farmers and fortunately one farmer accepted
it. The smaller trenches were then implemented in one farmers' area. `6 to 7; the acceptance of the smaller design by other farmers continued. Farmers living nearby requested also the small
trenches to be constructed on their land. After the monks' organization saw the results at several farmers' land, the monk
organization eventually requested the proposer to construct small trenches on their remaining land. The decision of local people
who wanted to have contour trenches occurred after seeing an example of a smaller design.
Within the context where intervention was done simultaneously with hydrological research – the Vietnam case [#6] – the actual
shape of the final intervention was decided upon within several rounds of discussions between project team and the local
communities. Agreement was obtained through a negotiation process. The actual shape of the hydrological research was heavily
dependent upon knowing the definitive location of the intervention. As the decision process went, however, measurements were
conducted in the vicinity of the possible locations of the intervention. On-site measurements had to be re-evaluated from time to
time due to changes of intervention locations. The intervention period and financial support for research were both limited and
limiting as well. Most likely, in conditions of simultaneous intervention and research, changes require adjustments to a new
setup, which often means increasing financial expenditure for measurements. Therefore, any decision to start either intervention
or hydrological research is troublesome and needs careful thought.
In general, we find different processes of involvement and different human actions related to the three hydrological research projects (see Table 4a, on events labelled with [#]). The implementation of the hydrological research was strongly correlated to social relations and aspects. For example, in Vietnam and Kenya, access tubes [#3, #9A] were stolen. Also, in Vietnam the divers were stolen [#4]. In Kenya, one rain gauge was damaged by elephants, and thus, removed by the local people [#7]. Next to human agency affecting the hydrological research, other events affected the research activities. In Vietnam, one rain gauge clogged [#1] because of fine sands from strong winds, and the screen of the observation wells [#5] proved to be not suitable for local conditions. Obviously, these events could have been avoided. Rain gauges could have been checked and maintained on regular basis, especially when realizing that local conditions and climate might affect the measurement. When planning to conduct isotope analysis, observation well structures should have been constructed for a proper sampling. However, there were also problems that probably could not have been avoided, especially technical failures of data loggers [#2, #8, #10, #11] from tipping buckets and divers.
Table 2b also provides the detailed results in terms of timing and type of human actions during intervention processes. For example, the Vietnamese intervention could only be constructed after many negotiations between the proposer and the end user. Such a decision could change the final location of the intervention, which in turn affected directly the hydrological research. In the Vietnam case, intervention design and location were determined by the local people, who had the power to choose their preference of intervention and decided whether it could be implemented on their land or not. In the Kenyan case, intervention design and location were simply accepted by the local Maasai and decisions were made by KWS. In this case, the intervention existed first and was evaluated later. In addition, negotiating about reasonable labour costs for the field study in 2010 resulted in lack of local assistance for soil moisture measurements. In the Indonesian case, the intervention was not, as was preferred before, an outcome as a recommendation from the hydrological research. The end user of the intervention shifted from a pilot at a village to a micro hydro model at a local university. The intervention was cancelled due to insufficient funding, even when the hydrological research went smoothly.
The Srinivasan scale allows for analysing the changes in attitudes and possible actions concerning an intervention over time. However, the scale seems to be less relevant for the hydrological research itself, which is actually interesting as it suggests that stakeholders may have different attitudes and ideas on interventions. Compared to the research, reflecting on human actions towards the three hydrological studies, motivation of stakeholders when deciding what action to take clearly plays an important role. To what extent this motivation is always directly linked to an attitude towards the intervention, however, remains an open question. Take the Vietnam case, where some measuring devices were stolen. Possible reasons behind the stolen access tubes and divers are that someone rejected the project, did not want any intervention to be constructed on the land, had negative impressions of the intervention or was not satisfied with the proposer's offer. On the other hand, the attractiveness of the device itself and/or curiosity could make people eager to have such devices. Therefore, the resulting human action to remove the device may not have been a rejection of the project at all, but just a desire to own a device with a unique appearance.
In all our three case studies, we conducted different measurement techniques depending on the research objectives per case study. What all case studies had in common was that the projects had to be changed due to local negotiations. No matter the scale of neither stakeholders' participation in hydrological research nor their motivations, one will have to face human actions – disappearance of measurement devices, changes of locations, etcetera – when designing a field research. The events we experienced in our own field research could possibly have been anticipated upon – let alone (partially) avoided – but usually are treated as surprises or unforeseen side-effects. Learning from our own experience, we claim that they should at least be anticipated upon. For example in the Vietnam case, when the divers disappeared, a stronger cover for the observation wells might have been used. In the Kenya case, a more secure location for some devices could have been prepared to cope with communities outside the research area (“third party surprises”). The RAND studies provide guidance for an approach that anticipates on known surprises (Dewar, 2002). In planning for surprises, as outcomes of local negotiations are not known before, we envision that a hydrological field researcher prepares the study taking into account several scenarios. Thinking in scenarios for hydrological fieldwork instead of one single approach allows for making decisions based on expected implications of events on the hydrological results, and should minimize the costs of improvisation.
We developed three research budget scenarios for the three cases, where we defined effectiveness in terms of process understanding
and important model input. First, we evaluated the technical approaches per case study (see Tables 7–9) in terms of performance
(Blume et al., 2008), which is the effectiveness of measurements in understanding hydrological processes. Then, expenditures
included in our (fictitious) budgets are labour and financial costs, which are shown in ranges of EUR; (
Either collecting more data and/or different data is usually the choice we have to make to confirm certain underlying dominant hydrological processes due to an intervention. We used cost-benefit analysis (Sassone, 1978) in research scenarios that were developed based on the Delphi method (Linstone and Turoff, 1975). Each scenario specifies a budget; the measurements that can be conducted within that budget and the dominant hydrological processes studied. In changing the budgets, we could explore changes in and differences between probable field campaigns, especially in gaining better understanding of dominant mechanisms of the intervention.
We tested the scenario approach with a group of experts. We offered three scenarios. Scenario 1 was approximately at the lowest budget, which was estimated by considering the experiences gained by the author during the hydrological research. As it was already known how the research went, the lowest cost scenario was drafted by eliminating the measurements that failed or were not used in the analysis. This combined at least a desk study with field measurement data. Also, this was a theoretical baseline scenario for good understanding of the intervention.
Scenario 2 and 3 covered a longer research period. Extension of measurement and performing other methods were proposed. There were
several options related to parameters that were selected and added, with various spatial and temporal combinations. Those options
were:
extension of the measurement period; additional samplings; additional measurement devices; Additional analysis.
Option C and D are connected since having another type of measurement might use the same or require a new (commercial) software
program or service.
Scenario 2 was set with a budget increase of about 20 %. Options for an extension of the measurement period and more samplings were preferred.
Scenario 3 used an approximately 80 % increased budget. It implies a condition with an expansion of the second scenario combined with much more room for additional parameters in the field campaign.
Some assumptions for the budgeting were set as follows:
related research budget components like transportation to the site, meals, and accommodation were not considered; a researcher was categorized as a non-paid labour in the research area, since s/he receives salary from the researcher's
institution. Thus, the researcher's expenses were ignored; shipping cost of devices and samples, taxes of research devices, and research permit costs were excluded; there were no subsidies from research institutions for measurements devices or models; none of the scenarios took into account decisions made for a particular intervention and its development. 1–5.5 6–7.5 8–8.5 9–10
For Scenarios 2 and 3, the end result of possible field campaign and analysis were discussed with ten experts from different Dutch
institutions, who were selected from the working environment of the author. Each scenario had its own specific hydrological
objective that fits to an expertise (i.e. hydro-geology, hydrology, remote sensing), but the experts were expert from any
hydrological background. The implemented research with the results and proposed scenarios of several field campaigns were
explained to the experts to clarify the content and objective of the research. Subsequently, s/he had to grade the scenarios based
on the level of additional understanding (if any) that would be achieved. The required budget itself was not mentioned to allow
experts to objectively value the proposal without any economic consideration. The author picked the Dutch grading scale with set
up of the 4-level of understanding as follows:
In the last part of the interview, the experts were also given the opportunity to provide his/her own alternative approaches that
could result in better understanding.
Even though this was a theoretical exercise and that it was not easy to provide clear-cut evidence for the scenarios to be realistic enough, results are useful. There may be many other options of optimization, such as cheaper measurement devices, modelling and different research institutions prefer different measurement devices, or software that are developed by certain institutions. Research institutions might already own measurement devices and software, thus do not want to spend money on others. This specific setup is merely an estimation in the context of the three case studies and may well vary from person to person due to people's preference. However, by asking ten experts for their input and analyze further their responses over the entire width of the scenarios, a good degree of objectivity, certainty and reality can be reached, if not in absolute, then at least in comparative terms. Our results are given in Fig. 13. We discuss the Vietnam case in more detail.
The lowest budget for having sufficient understanding of groundwater recharge gained in the actual research is reduced to almost 70 % of the expenses during implementation (see Appendix A, Table A1). Rainfall measurement is a must for the input of the model. The hydraulic properties of soil and infiltration test are important as well. The water level measurement is required to get the ponding in the trench correctly. These costs are not much compared to other measurements. Soil moisture measurement is removed from the field campaign since it is not only expensive, but also the access tubes are prone to be stolen by the local people. Isotope tracers are excluded, because the constructed observation wells were not suitable for groundwater sampling. In addition, the cost for this analysis is considered to be expensive. On the other hand, isotope tracer is beneficial and will provide signals as long as the observation wells would be better constructed. A minimum of 3 observation wells are set, since it is the minimum or triangle layout to get an idea on the groundwater flow direction. A short but sufficient period of measurements would be during the wet season, where the trench may be filled with rain water.
Even though the cost reduction is high, the conditions to apply these methods could remain uncertain. For example, when a researcher made a plan for scheduling the starting point of measurement at the beginning of a wet season, no one would expect at first that negotiating with the local community was difficult, even though it decides whether or not the intervention can be built or continued. There has to be willingness from the community to provide land for the intervention. After several discussions and meetings, a local to local approach was needed to convince stakeholders that the intervention would be beneficial to the local community. However, no one could predict when and where it could be realized. If the decision to be made for construction was delayed, the plan for hydrological measurements would have to wait until the next wet season, which is after one year. And if there is a tension to install the measurement devices for a “with and without” analysis, and the location shifts in time, new measurement set ups have to be adjusted. These conditions will result in lost of data and time for the hydrological research. As such, the minimum budget is somewhat artificial. The other way around, the big difference between the minimum budget and the actual budget suggests that in the Vietnam case, negotiations on the intervention brought along high costs.
When more budgets would be available, Scenario 2 (see Appendix A, Table A2) could expand the implemented program by constructing one new observation well and its groundwater level measurements. Also the sampling period for isotope tracer is added. The observation well should be placed in line with the existing wells and its screen should be along the pipe, from near soil surface to the bedrock. It would be expected that the recharge can be more apparent where the signal of infiltrated rainwater can directly infiltrate into the pipe. Thus, the groundwater fluctuation and sampling can confirm the result of the implemented research.
In Scenario 3 (see Appendix A, Table A3), an 80 % increased budget gives options for more applications and/or more advanced methods. Besides one new observation well and isotope samplings, three other wells should be constructed. The observation wells should be placed at the small trench area. A possible advanced measurement is by performing an Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) survey for subsurface imaging. Several cross sections of the subsurface could be obtained during the dry and wet period. By having these new wells combined with the analyzed ERT data, the hypotheses could be made more pronounced regarding the difference in groundwater behaviour with and without the intervention structure.
The results of the interview with the experts can be seen from Appendix B, Tables B1–B3. Comparing the three cases, the Vietnam case had more options, due to better financial conditions than the other two cases. Considering Scenario 2, 70 % of the experts believe an additional well and a 1 year continuation of the groundwater level measurements, including isotope samplings and analysis, would result in similar data collection to the implemented research. One expert considered that extra data might even lead to confusion. Another period of 1 year data could be used for validation, thus might give more confidence. A very long data series, from two to about ten years of groundwater level measurement would be very beneficial for better understanding the mechanism of the recharge. In the Kenya case, 60 % of the experts value the outcomes of additional soil moisture measurement, extension of rainfall and NDVI images as similar to the implemented research. The remaining 40 % think that new soil moisture measurements could lead to additional understanding. For Indonesia, 90 % of the experts think that the result of extending discharge measurement will not increase understanding. However, one expert says new data matter, as measurements could have been made during a very dry or very wet year.
In Scenario 3, with 80 % increase in budget, the value of measurements directs to similar results as in Scenario 2, with
some additional elements. For Vietnam, 80 % of the experts say that Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) measurements
could increase the understanding of mechanism of the recharge; provide more explanation of the disconnected groundwater
system. Thus, it could potentially confirm the groundwater profile and the groundwater level during recharge. Performing ERT
either during dry or wet seasons sometimes yields results hard to interpret, since ERT is a static measurement. In the Kenya case,
70 % of the experts say adding higher resolution of 10
In summary, a research plan with 20 % increased funding (Scenario 2) appears to obtain similar understanding as the reference result. On the other hand, an 80 % increase in funding may be capable of gaining a better understanding, but realizing the costly research plan for a small-scale intervention project may not be economic feasible and thus impossible to be implemented.
Despite all the problems we encountered in the three field research projects, we could develop a good understanding of the hydrological impacts of interventions in three different developing countries. In Vietnam, during the wet season, contour trenches contribute to recharge, but only for short-term impact, up to two months. In Kenya, vegetation growth in the trench area as reflected in the signal of greenness index was most likely due to the wet season, without a clear long-term effect from the trenches. In Indonesia, the potential of micro-hydro capacity on Maluku islands ranges from 6 to 40 kW. In the three cases local people participated during the implementation of the projects, both in the intervention and hydrological research. As a result, the field campaigns were not perfect in terms of hydrological standards. Measurement devices were damaged, removed, disappeared or not located at the final intervention. In the end, we ended up with less data of lower quality. Local participation and financial constraints forced us to deal with research and intervention as interacting with and affecting each other.
As this setting is not unique to our three small cases, balancing intervention and research is a general challenge. Tracing back the social reality and the way it shapes research and intervention with the associated budget allowed us to gain more insight into trade-offs between hydrological knowledge and hydrological research management. Based on our experiences, we propose that planning ahead is posisble and propose a new, systematic perspective on how to prepare hydrological research for a more effective way to implement small-scale water intervention research projects. Being prepared for surprises due to human actions can be achieved by developing scenarios that combine hydrological issues with cost-benefit analysis. Considering financial costs and specific research objectives of small-scale interventions, options for field campaigns and analysis that could answer the research questions can then be defined.
Baiocchi and Fox (2013) suggest six key issues to be prepared for and respond to surprises, (1) learn from experience: attract and retain the most experienced people, (2) address the negative effects of surprise, (3) assess the level of chaos in the work environment, (4) prepare for “third-party surprises”, (5) focus on building a network of trusted colleagues, and (6) conduct regular future-planning exercises. Their recommendations confirms our ideas: planning for surprise requires proper understanding of small interventions within their hydrological context and incorporating interdisciplinary knowledge, learning, and local participation (see Karjalainen et al., 2013; Rodela et al., 2012; Reed et al., 2010).
Similar to balancing development and conservation (Garnett et al., 2007), when financial constraints – and usually time as well – become important, a researcher should be able to balance what he/she can and cannot do. Since budgets and time for a small-scale intervention are usually limited, research should be well planned. In order to include the costs of performing hydrological studies and the efficiency (effectiveness) in planning for surprises, we discussed an approach applying cost-benefit analysis. Despite its simplicity, it appears to be a good way to quantify research efforts vs. the (probable) outcomes. The options or scenarios of research were developed based on the Delphi method.
The judgments on the outcomes were obtained from interviews with water experts. Sharing options with other experts adds value to the preparation. Each scholar has his/her own preferences, and thus there is no single solution. This was shown during the interviews with the experts, when they were forced to make a choice by pushing their preference in grading the available field campaign options. Eventually, even when incorporating experts' inputs, we as a researcher will still have to make decisions and will possibly select our own preferred choices. In the end, dealing with the local constraints is a decision to be made by the researcher. However, by doing the two analyses of scenarios and cost benefits continuously during planning and performing hydrological research, one will be better informed to make decisions.
The notion that the effects of human actions to be expected in hydrological field campaign are basically unspecified does not imply that they could not adequately and fruitfully be translated in specific planning, as we have shown. Taking into account human actions in planning field campaign for something that is usually seen as a single-scientific activity implies that each field design should be tuned to the situation under consideration: a designer cannot come up with a standard solution. Paradoxically, introducing such a multifaceted approach asks for hydrological researchers with higher qualifications. Planned improvisation needs scientific expertise, as much as it requires a specific attitude.
The authors would like to thank the funding agencies and key people for their support in each of the three small-scale water projects; Royal Haskoning Vietnam, Marieke Nieuwaal, and local partners, both from the community and the Vietnamese government; International Foundation for Science, Sweden, Cox Sitters (Moi University, Kenya), Jeannis-Nicos Leist (University of Goettingen); the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture, and Innovation, and the project consortium (Noes Tuankotta, UKIM and IBEKA). We also would like to thank the local people who helped us in the field for technical and logistic assistance, but are not mentioned here one by one. Lastly, we thank the ten water experts for their participation in the interviews.
Cesium-137 analysis at the small (1
The top 10 potential capacity in Maluku Islands.
Time periods of three hydrological intervention-based research projects.
Continued.
Continued.
Continued.
Evaluation of technical approaches: gain vs. expenditure in Vietnam case.
Notes: (
Evaluation of the technical approaches: gain vs. expenditure in Kenya case.
Notes: (
Evaluation of the technical approaches: gain vs. expenditure in Indonesia case.
Notes: (
Scenario 1: to measure rainfall and groundwater level for a short period.
Scenario 2: to recheck the signal of recharge.
Scenario 3: to map the subsurface.
Scenario 1: to use remote sensing data.
Scenario 2: to retry one year soil moisture measurement.
Scenario 3: to maximize remote sensing analysis.
Scenario 1: to measure discharge of one river for one year.
Scenario 2: to investigate discharge of another river.
Scenario 3: to investigate discharges of four other rivers.
Vietnam case; the experts` opinions.
Kenyan case; the experts` opinions.
Indonesian case; the experts` opinions.
The location of the trenched area, rain gauge, and constructed wells. The study area is the shaded area on the lower map. Source: local produced map and Google Earth.
Schematization of the runoff entering the trench area.
The ground surface, interpolated subsurface layer, and groundwater levels.
Simulation result with main Ks 7
The
Location of studied contour trenching in Amboseli, Kenya (red dashed line). Source: Google Maps. Left bottom picture: an impression of greenness in the trench area during wet season.
The “small” contour trenches (about 2
The difference of NDVI values of with (WT) and without trenches (WOT) compared to monthly rainfall. The correlation between TRMM and NDVI of WT1 and WT2 are correlated at the right side.
The result of merged and processed DEM tiles on Maluku islands.
The locations of potential micro-hydro in Buru and Seram island.
The scale of community participation. Source: Srinivasan (1990, p. 162).
The implemented intervention based on the scale of community participation of Srinivasan (1990).
Summary of three cases; left panels: Scenario 2, right panels: Scenario 3.