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Using economic incentives and regulations to reduce seawater intrusion in the Batinah coastal area of Oman

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  • Zekri, Slim

Abstract

Excessive groundwater abstraction is a major problem in Oman, primarily in the Batinah coastal area where it results in seawater intrusion. The Government began to address the problem in the 1990s by encouraging the use of more efficient irrigation systems, replacing date palms with winter vegetable crops and using treated wastewater for municipal irrigation. However, 15 years later, seawater intrusion in the Batinah aquifers is still advancing at an alarming pace. This paper analyses the relative merits of strategies to control groundwater pumping based on water quotas, electricity quotas and electricity pricing. A cost benefit approach is used to evaluate the feasibility of three strategies over a period of 25 years and to compare them to the "business as usual" option. Results show that the net present loss to the community when no active policy is implemented amounts to (-$288) million. Imposing water quotas on tubewells would give a net present benefit of $153 million. However, such quotas would give the lowest present benefit and create inequity among farmers. Other possible approaches would be to control the pumping of groundwater from all wells - tubewells and dug wells - by enforcing energy quotas and by increasing the price of electricity used to pump water. The net present benefits would be greater and the costs to farmers would be more fairly spread. The results of cost-benefit analysis show that enforcing an electricity quota, coupled with removal of the subsidy on the electricity price, is the easiest and most equitable solution to implement.

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  • Zekri, Slim, 2008. "Using economic incentives and regulations to reduce seawater intrusion in the Batinah coastal area of Oman," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 243-252, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:95:y:2008:i:3:p:243-252
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew B. Ayres & Eric C. Edwards & Gary D. Libecap, 2017. "How Transaction Costs Obstruct Collective Action: Evidence from California’s Groundwater," NBER Working Papers 23382, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Kumar, M. Dinesh, 2009. "Opportunities and constraints to improving water productivity in India," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    3. Kumar, M. Dinesh, 2009. "Opportunities and constraints to improving water productivity in India," IWMI Books, Reports H042640, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Kumar, M. D. & Amarasinghe, Upali A. & Sharma, Bharat R. & Trivedi, Kairav & Singh, O. P. & Sikka, Alok K. & van Dam, Jos C., 2009. "Water productivity improvements in Indian Agriculture: potentials, constraints and prospects," IWMI Conference Proceedings 260570, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Ayres, Andrew B. & Edwards, Eric C. & Libecap, Gary D., 2018. "How transaction costs obstruct collective action: The case of California's groundwater," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 46-65.
    6. Zhang, Fan & Fogarty, James, 2015. "Nonmarket Valuation of Water Sensitive Cities: Current Knowledge and Issues," Working Papers 207694, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    7. Slim Zekri & Chefi Triki & Ali Al-Maktoumi & Mohammad Bazargan-Lari, 2015. "An Optimization-Simulation Approach for Groundwater Abstraction under Recharge Uncertainty," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(10), pages 3681-3695, August.
    8. Eric C. Edwards & Todd Guilfoos, 2021. "The Economics of Groundwater Governance Institutions across the Globe," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 1571-1594, December.
    9. Amar Oukil & Slim Zekri, 2021. "Investigating farming efficiency through a two stage analytical approach: Application to the agricultural sector in Northern Oman," Papers 2104.10943, arXiv.org.
    10. Adrian Werner & Darren Alcoe & Carlos Ordens & John Hutson & James Ward & Craig Simmons, 2011. "Current Practice and Future Challenges in Coastal Aquifer Management: Flux-Based and Trigger-Level Approaches with Application to an Australian Case Study," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(7), pages 1831-1853, May.
    11. Skurray, James H. & Pannell, David J., 2013. "Potential approaches to the management of third-party impacts from groundwater transfers: Managing externalities from groundwater trading," Working Papers 161074, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    12. M. Dinesh Kumar, 2016. "Distressed Elephants: Policy Initiatives for Sustainable Groundwater Management in India," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 5(1), pages 51-62, January.
    13. Kumar, M. Dinesh & Amarasinghe, Upali A., 2009. "Water productivity improvements in Indian agriculture: potentials, constraints and prospects," IWMI Books, Reports H042634, International Water Management Institute.
    14. Kumar, M. Dinesh & Amarasinghe, Upali A., 2009. "Water productivity improvements in Indian agriculture: potentials, constraints and prospects," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    15. Zekri, Slim & Madani, Kaveh & Bazargan-Lari, Mohammad Reza & Kotagama, Hemesiri & Kalbus, Edda, 2017. "Feasibility of adopting smart water meters in aquifer management: An integrated hydro-economic analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 85-93.

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