Successful Completion of the Sixth Water Accounting Training

Introduction

The “Sixth Water Accounting (WA) Training” held at the International Center for Bio-saline Agriculture (ICBA) Dubai from 21st to 27th October 2018 organized by OSRO 502 Project of FAO. Twenty (20) participants from three key ministries working in the water sector of Afghanistan viz. Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL), Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) along with FAO project participated in the training. The Introduction to Water Accounting Plus (WA+) was the sixth training package on WA (i.e. WA306) for implementation level participants. Water Accounting Plus (WA+) is a well-defined step-by-step procedure to quantify spatially distributed water flows, fluxes, and consumptive use based on earth observations. The raw satellite measurements are available online, and WA+ is essentially a progressive analysis that systematically processes data on various elements of the water, energy, and carbon balance. The results are summarized by several fact sheets. Additionally, WA+ produces imagery to zoom in on local conditions. The purpose of the training was to enable the participants to understand the major mechanics of WA+, the possibilities for longer term policy making (e.g. allocation and abstraction plans for safe water withdrawals), and its limitations (e.g. not for operational floods and droughts). The participants also should be able to explain the factsheet to policy makers in Afghanistan and convince them that WA+ could help in their water resources planning efforts.

This training was held over a period of five days, from September 22nd to the 26th, 2018, and was divided into 15 sessions (Annex 1). In the first day, participants received an opening address from Mr. Suman Sijapati and Dr. Puspa Raj Khanal, both from FAO. After this introduction, the following topics were discussed:

Day 1 - Opening Session and Basics of WA+ (Parts I and II)

Day 2 - Remote Sensing in WA+ and Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (Parts I and II)

Day 3 - Water Balances in WA+ (Parts I, II, and III)

Day 4 - Light Use Efficiencies and Crop Yield, Water Productivity and Availability, Water Scarcity, and Ecosystem Services

Day 5 - WA+ Fact Sheets, Sustainable Development Goals, and Opportunities to Improve Beneficial Water Use

There were 20 participants in the training, excluding trainers and observers. The ICBA training team was encouraged by the involvement and enthusiasm of the participants, and trust that they received valuable and applicable training regarding practical lessons of WA. Language at times was perceived as a learning barrier for some participants. At these times, care was taken to ask a few of the more English proficient participants to clarify matters of confusion in the local Dari and/or Pashtun languages. Participants were given lots of time to work on case studies individual, in small groups, and with the supervision of the training team. The enthusiasm of the participants to master the subject matter was evident by their involvement and participation. A total of five PowerPoint teaching modules were prepared, one for each day, using a uniform template. To make the material visually engaging appropriate visuals were added to each presentation. Additionally, a daily interactive Kahoot! quiz was developed to evaluate participants retention and

comprehension of the subject matter. These presentations have been compiled and stored by FAO staff, by the training team, and have been provided to all training participants via a dedicated FAO Water Accounting Google Drive folder.

Figure 1. Photograph of Participants After Session XV in front of ICBA headquarters in Dubai.

The hands-on portion of the training focused on the Harirod-Murghab watershed in north-western

Afghanistan. To prepare for the trainings, Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station

data (CHIRPS) precipitation data and ensemble mean evapotranspiration data were compiled and

processed. Land use was provided to the training team by FAO Afghanistan.

Conducting the Training

Session I - Opening Session

Session I started with introductory comments Mr. Suman Sijapati and Dr. Puspa Raj Khanal from FAO.

Mr. Suman talked about the global scope and importance of improving water management due to the

increasing pressures of population growth and economic expansion. He then went on to say that new

methods and tools would be necessary to support wise water management decisions, and one of these

tools is WA. Mr. Suman talked about the importance of WA locally to Afghanistan because of the

economic importance of water and the vulnerability of Afghanistan’s snow dominated hydrology to the

impacts of climate change. Dr. Puspa continued the opening session by highlighting the importance of

Afghanistan’s water management as a “headwater” country, with five different downstream countries

being affected by national Afghani water management decisions. More specifically, he talked about the

need to increase WP by getting “more crop per drop.” Mr. Davids then provided a brief introduction to

the purpose of WA306 and led an interactive review of the previous five trainings, leveraging Kahoot as

a dynamic evaluation of participants’ knowledge and learning of the subject.

Session II - Basics of WA+ (Part I)

Session II started with Dr. Wim Bastiaanssen providing some introductory remarks about Water

Accounting Plus (WA+). These remarks focused on the current water management setting in many

countries were demand has outpaced supply, causing acute water scarcity. Additionally, stakeholders

often don’t trust each or even share data, and therefore have difficulty moving beyond an opinion-

based argument. Dr. Bastiaanssen shared how remotely sensed data products can help to overcome

these barriers. The necessity of fact-based water management decisions was explored and discussed. A

timeline of WA+ development was shown to help participants to understand the development trajectory

over the last 20 years and next steps in the near future. The fact that WA+ is more than just a water

balance was discussed, including the main four groupings of land classifications used in WA+.

This was followed by a discussion of consumed vs. non-consumed water. Clearing defining terms like

consumption is critical to ensure that everyone is “speaking the same language” and means the same

things when they use the same words. The discussion continued with an exploration of utilized,

utilizable, and non-utilizable water resources. Dr. Bastiaanssen also presented information on

environmental flows, including how they are determined, and how they are represented in WA+.

Session III - Basics of WA+ (Part II)

Session III covered the topics of Green, Blue, and Grey water resources, beneficial and non-beneficial

water consumption, water for agriculture, environment, and economy, and various WA+ pilot studies.

Dr. Bastiaanssen provided a detailed description of the water balance and the rootzone, catchment, and

basin scales. The different types of consumptive uses were explored, along with the benefits that society

gains from them. Examples of the separation between Green, Blue, and Grey water resources were

shown from South Africa. Dr. Bastiaanssen highlighted the fact that the distinct colours of water have

different management options available, so there are often no “one size fits all” solutions. This was

followed by an introduction to the Budyko curve which can be used to partition ETgreen and ETblue

(Figure 2).

Figure 2. ICBA Training Auditorium, the 20 participants from Afghanistan, and Dr. Wim Bastiaanssen delivering a lecture on the Budyko Curve and the relationship between ETact, ETo, and precipitation.

The partitioning of evapotranspiration (ET) into evaporation (E), transpiration (T), and interception (I)

was then discussed and participants completed their first practical WA+ spreadsheet-based exercise.

The exercise focused on the following three steps. First, participants calculated annual volumes of

precipitation (P) and ET. Second, the annual aridity index was calculated and then used to partition

ETgreen and ETblue. Finally, ET was partitioned into E, T, and I, and each flux was determined to be

either beneficial or non-beneficial.

Day 2

Session IV - Remote Sensing in WA+

Day two started with Mr. Davids leading a review and discussion of the previous day’s materials. The

remainder of the day focused on remote sensing (RS) and its role in the WA+ process. Dr. Bastiaanssen

covered the basic principles of remote sensing and how data are collected from open access websites.

The differences between solar and earth radiation, and active and passive satellites was explored. Dr.

Bastiaanssen shared his deep experience about how these images of the electromagnetic spectrum can

be used to learn things about the water, energy, and carbon cycles. The types of things remote sensing

can measure was covered including: land use and land cover, precipitation, ET, surface temperature

(LST), surface albedo (alpha), water levels, snow cover, cloud cover, leaf area index (LAI), vegetation

cover (VC), net primary production (NPP), total dissolved solids (TDS), chlorophyll, and water body area.

Several examples from around the world were then explored to illustrate the usefulness of RS for

addressing water management questions. Examples of RS measurements of soil moisture were also

explored.

Session V - Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (Part I)

Session V was focused on a thorough introduction to P and ET and the surface energy balance. Dr.

Bastiaanssen presented the surface energy balance, whereby net radiation (Rn) must be equal to the

sum of latent heat (LE), soil heat flux (G), and sensible heat flux (H). Participants explored the

implications of the surface energy balance and the linkage between the surface energy balance and the

water balance. The fact that temperature is at least partially a function of ET was explored and

discussed. Dr. Bastiaanssen discussed the various energy balance models available, along with their

periods of record and their strengths and weaknesses, including trade-offs between temporal and

spatial resolution.

This lecture was followed by a hands-on spreadsheet-based exercise were participants took P and LAI

data and computed fraction vegetation cover (VC) and I. The role of I in the partitioning of ET was

explored in greater detail. Figure 3 shows a screenshot from the example, which was spatially explicit by

land use at a monthly timestep for a period of one year from October 2013 through September 2014.

Figure 3. Screenshot of computation of fractional vegetation cover from LAI data.

Session VI - Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (Part II)

Day 2 ended with a continued discussion of P and ET and more hands-on examples. Dr. Bastiaanssen

delivered a lecture on crop coefficients, actual and potential ET, and water withdrawals from surface

water and groundwater. The practical spreadsheet-based exercises demonstrated to participants the

process of calculating T and E from biomass and Eta, the Budyko separation of ETgreen and ETblue, and

an energy balance example. These exercises also helped the participants to move from an annual

analysis, to a monthly timestep so that annual variations could be observed.

Figure 4. Dr. Bastiaanssen lecturing on the surface energy balance and its coupling with the water balance

Day 3

Session VII - Water Balances in WA+

Day three started with Mr. Davids leading a Kahoot review and discussion of the previous day’s

materials. Participants were also given the chance to ask any questions and clarify any points of

confusion. The rest of the day was dedicated to the discussion of water balances and their role in the

WA+ process. Dr. Bastiaanssen started this with a discussion of storage changes in the water cycle,

followed by a discussion of combining P, ET, and changes in storage (delta S). The FAO56 process of

calculating ET potential (ETpot) with crop coefficients and reference ET (ETo) was explored. Participants

were exposed to the linear relationship between vegetation cover or normalized difference vegetation

index (NDVI) and crop coefficient (Kc). The theory of how actual ET varies as a function of soil moisture

was discussed, and different methods for calculating soil moisture, including a remote sensing approach

based on the ratio between ETact and ETpot. Participants then calculated soil moisture for each land use

class and month as a continuation to the spreadsheet from day 2. Figure 5 shows the relationship

between crop stress (ETact / ETo) and soil moisture depletion.

Figure 5. Relationship between the ratio ETact / ETo and soil moisture depletion.

Session VIII - Water Balances in WA+ (Part II)

Session VIII continued the discussion on the role of water balances in WA+. Dr. Bastiaanssen presented

a lecture on a RS approach for determining fast runoff based on a modified Soil Conservation Service

(SCS) approach that leverages soil moisture deficit, P, and I as the controls on runoff. This was followed

by a continued discussion on runoff, and the differences in magnitudes and timescales of fast surface

runoff and slow groundwater baseflow. Several examples from around the world were presented to the

participants to solidify the concepts. The role of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

in validating estimates of changes in soil moisture was discussed. The session ended with additional

work on the hands-on spreadsheet analysis.

Session IX - Water Balances in WA+ (Part III)

Day 3 ended with Dr. Bastiaanssen’ s final remarks on the role of water balances in WA+. The remainder

of the afternoon was dedicated towards hands-on applications of the introduced theories in the

spreadsheet example for the Harirod-Murghab basin. After calculating soil moisture, the change in

storage within the root zone was calculated. Fractional vegetation cover was used to calculated Kc. The

change in storage in the root zone was calculated for each month and each land use. This provided the

basis for a calculation of fast runoff with the modified SCS method. The day ended with a discussion of

the meaning of the analyses, including the importance of soil moisture in the water balance. Figure 6

shows the input CHIRPS precipitation data used during the training.

Figure 6. Monthly CHIRPS precipitation data for the 14 land use classes within the Harirod-Murghab

basin.

Day 4

Session X - Light Use Efficiencies and Crop Yield

Session X was a continuation of Session IX to try and complete some of the remaining steps in the

Harirod-Murghab basin. Once the participants finished the day three work in the spreadsheet, the

discussion turned to light use efficiencies and crop yield. Dr. Bastiaanssen discussed the process of using

LAI to determine light interception. Light interception can then be used to constrain photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis can be used to estimate dry mass production, or biomass production. Biomass is the

sum of roots, stem, leaves, and fruit. Dr. Bastiaanssen then lectured on the process of using harvest

indices and average moisture contents to calculate yields. To facilitate these calculations, a good

understanding of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is needed, and PAR measurements are an

existing RS product. The linear relationship between absorbed PAR (APAR) and biomass was presented.

Session XI - Water Productivity and Availability

Session XI continued the discussion of PAR, APAR, harvest index, and yield. Dr. Bastiaanssen lectured

about the method of ultimately determining crop yield which can then be directly used in water

productivity estimates. The basic principles including the various definitions of land and water

productivity were discussion. Hands-on examples for calculating crop yield from biomass, harvest index,

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and moisture content were developed. Using the areas of the respective land uses, the water

productivity in kilograms per cubic meter of ETact was determined in the spreadsheet example. These

data were then combined with economic data on the market prices of the different commodities to

determine economic water productivity.

Session XII - Water Scarcity and Ecosystem Services

Day 4 ended with more work on the Harirod-Murghab analysis. Mr. Davids led a discussion on the

complications of combing datasets at spatial and temporal scales. In particular, the challenge of small

field sizes and larger average ET pixels was explored. This was followed by a discussion of the storage

potential of different reservoirs on the Harirod River (e.g. Salma Dam). The irrigation efficiency paradox

was then explored with a few practical examples. The main point was to illustrate that sometimes

changes in field scale irrigation efficiency can translate into increased consumptive use and increasing

basin scale water scarcity. Dr. Bastiaanssen led a short discussion on the factors affecting water

productivity, and the management decisions we can make to try and improve water productivity. This

was followed by a few case studies and discussions on when and where to invest in water productivity

gains. Finally, Dr. Bastiaanssen provided a brief overview of water scarcity and ecosystem services.

Day 5

Session XIII - WA+ Fact Sheets (Part I)

Day five started with a Kahoot review of key concepts from days three and four. This was followed by a

discussion of any questions from the previous materials. Dr. Bastiaanssen then provided a lecture about

the process of translating water accounting results into summaries that can be easily interpreted by

decision makers and ultimately incorporated into water resources planning processes. Using the only

sheet creation tool at www.wateraccounting.org, participants were able to create WA+ fact sheets for

the Harirod-Murghab watershed that was used as the example for the entire week.

Figure 7. Sample WA+ fact sheet - Resource Base - for the example analysis on Harirod-Murghab basin.

Session XIII - Final Examination

The late morning session of the fifth and final day focused on a comprehensive examination covering

topics from WA306. The examination had 20 questions with a mixture of theory, equations, and

diagrams. Most questions focused on assessing if participants had internalized the theoretical basics of

water accounting, including a working knowledge of the terms and definitions used therein. Questions

covered predominantly materials from WA306, but also included some review from previous trainings.

A final question assessed the participants ability to perform numerical computations to covert some

simple land uses and equivalent depths to volumes.

Session XV - Outlining Next Steps

The majority of the final session was dedicated to mapping out some concrete next steps for the water

accounting training participants to complete prior to the next water accounting training (i.e. WA307).

The water accounting team was divided into working groups and each group was assigned specific tasks

from the following list:

1. Investigate accuracy of remotely sensed precipitation products

a. Use ground-based precipitation stations to evaluate the reliability of remotely sensed

precipitation products

b. Perform the evaluation at a monthly and yearly timestep for the selected time period

2. Get as much streamflow data as possible

3. Get soil map

4. Evaluate reliability of remotely sensed ET products

a. Using available streamflow data, perform an evaluation of water balance closure to

select the most representative ET product (or products for an ensemble mean) for

Afghanistan

5. Determine surface water storage potential for all the reservoirs in the Harirod-Murghab

6. Get groundwater level data

7. Get soil moisture data

8. Investigate options for downscaling ETact data to 90 or 30 meters

9. Investigate options for downscaling LAI data to 90 or 30 meters

The training ended with a short closing ceremony where the participants where a group photograph was

taken. Participants were also encouraged to share any feedback about the training to the training team,

so that comments could be incorporated into future training packages.

Preparation of Water Accounting Training Materials

After the training was finished, final curation of the WA306 training package was performed, and next

steps were discussed. Additionally, the presentations, examples, case studies, sample data, results, and

reference materials were reviewed, edited, and compiled for use in future WA training activities.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Based on the experience during this fifth training session, and conversations with both participants and

the training team before, during, and after the training, the following conclusions were made:

1. There is a genuine interest and eagerness in Afghanistan to learn more about WA

2. Participants see the value and application of WA in their local contexts

3. The level of participation was high and discussions of points of interest or confusion often

continued through the break times and after the training

4. At times, language can be a significant barrier to the participants understanding and

internalizing the information

5. WA accounting training in Afghanistan should continue with the most enthusiastic and talented

participants

The following are recommendations for future WA work and WA training sessions:

1. A place should be provided, ideally at one of the ministries, so that the Afghan WA team can

regularly meet and work together on their WA related tasks. For example, perhaps they could

meet weekly (e.g. Thursdays) to collaborate on the necessary tasks.

2. The WA team should try and meet monthly to (1) discuss progress on the Harirod WA analysis,

and (2) other WA related questions, comments, and activities

3. A training on the use of Python, Microsoft Excel, statistics, and regression theory would benefit

the group

4. Focus should be turned to moving the participants in the class forward with practical water

accounting applications starting with small incremental steps that build on each other

5. A focus on hands-on activities should be continue, because this seemed to solidify the materials

covered during the lectures

6. To the extent possible, local academics should be involved in the training packages to further

embed the concepts in the curriculum of future water resource managers

7. There should continue to be a focus on developing a reproducible set of WA training packages

for use in other regions

8. Participants in the training should become the key advocates for data collection, data

transparency, and data sharing in Afghanistan

9. Participants should consider adopting the task of creating a collaborative and open data sharing

environment between the various ministries as a key goal of the WA group

10. Participants should use the Google Group to post examples of the WA working with the group

11. There are some conceptual and mathematical barriers for many of the participants that should

be specifically addressed and worked through; examples include the decision of when to

perform an average, a weighted average, or a summation