Latest news with #aflaj
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Climate
- Zawya
Oman: $5mln spent on maintenance work of aflaj across North Sharqiyah
Ibra – Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) has completed maintenance work of 162 aflaj in North Sharqiyah as part of efforts to sustain traditional water systems vital to agriculture and rural communities. The work, covering 90% of a total target of 179 aflaj across several wilayats, cost more than RO2mn. The effort is part of the ministry's broader plan to rehabilitate aflaj damaged by extreme weather events, including the Al Mutayr depression that affected the governorate last year. Hamad bin Rashid al Sawai from the Directorate General of Agriculture and Water Resources in North Sharqiyah said assessments were carried out by local agriculture and water departments in coordination with the Water Resources Department. These teams assessed the extent of damage, developed technical plans, issued tenders and monitored project execution on site. Of the total 179 targeted, 78 aflaj are in Dima wa al Taiyyin, 30 in Wadi Bani Khalid, 21 in Ibra, 19 in Al Qabil, 17 in Al Mudhaibi, ten in Bidiyah and four in Sinaw. North Sharqiyah has a total of 571 registered aflaj, many of which are the key source of water for farming and domestic use across the governorate's diverse terrain. These traditional irrigation channels, recognised as a Unesco heritage system in Oman, continue to play a critical role in managing water resources, especially in remote and agriculture dependent villages. © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Times of Oman
20-07-2025
- Climate
- Times of Oman
North Al Sharqiyah Governorate completes 90% of aflaj restoration project worth more than OMR2mn
Ibra: The Directorate General of Agriculture and Water Resources in North A'Sharqiyah Governorate is conducting comprehensive restoration of 179 aflaj (man-made water supply channels) to the tune of more than OMR2 million. The project seeks to maintain the sustainability of water resources in the governorate's Wilayats. Eng. Hamad Rashid Al Sawai, from the General Directorate of Agriculture and Water Resources in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, said that the project was prompted by the damage suffered by the aflaj following low-pressure systems that prevailed in the area and a tropical depression that hit the governorate last year. A total of 162 aflaj (about 90% of the total target number) were restored to normal working conditions, as follows: 21 in the Wilayat of Ibra, 19 in the Wilayat of Al Qabil, 17 in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi, 78 in the Wilayat of Dima W'Attayeen, 10 in the Wilayat of Bidiyah, 4 in the Wilayat of Sinaw and 30 in the Wilayat of Wadi Bani Khalid. As many as 571 aflaj exist across the North Al Sharqiyah Governorate. The active aflaj undertake a major role in providing water for irrigation and other purposes.
Zawya
23-06-2025
- General
- Zawya
Study finds aflaj vital for Oman's social and economic wellbeing
MUSCAT: Oman's traditional aflaj systems — centuries-old channels that once shaped where and how communities lived — are facing mounting threats that could undermine their role as cornerstones of Omani society. A new research study warns that rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, and changing social dynamics now endanger more than water access: They put at risk a long-standing model of cooperation, resilience, and balance. 'This isn't just about infrastructure or heritage,' says Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki, principal investigator of the study and UNESCO Chair on Aflaj Studies and Archaeo-Hydrology at the University of Nizwa. 'The aflaj are a living system that have sustained communities not only through water, but through social collaboration and shared responsibility.' The study, 'Aflaj Systems and Social Cohesion in Oman, Dakhiliyah Region', funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation under its Block Funding Programme, positions the aflaj as much more than functional irrigation tools. It finds that these systems have long served as organising structures for intertribal cooperation, economic interdependence, and conflict resolution — contributing to Oman's unique socio-environmental equilibrium. In challenging earlier anthropological portrayals of tribal societies as territorially insular, the researchers introduce the concept of 'hydro-tribalism' — a framework that explains how shared water management, rather than fixed land boundaries, has shaped tribal interaction in Oman. The falaj, they argue, functions as a unifying force, compelling cooperation due to the technical and geographic realities of water flow. 'Falaj systems cross tribal lines by necessity,' explains Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki. 'To maintain and benefit from a shared water source, tribes had to develop mechanisms of negotiation, joint investment, and trust. That's where the real power of the aflaj lies — it made collaboration essential.' The study's methodology combined ethnographic fieldwork in northern Oman, in-depth interviews with local falaj stakeholders, and a comprehensive literature review from archival and online sources. It reveals how falaj-based cooperation facilitated not only social cohesion but also supported a broader hydro-economic network —with communities investing collectively in farming systems, coordinating planting schedules, and sustaining commerce through waqf-funded infrastructure. These networks, the study suggests, have been instrumental in maintaining social balance and economic sustainability in often harsh environmental conditions. However, that equilibrium is increasingly fragile. 'With urban development encroaching on falaj zones and climate variability reducing water flow, the entire system is at risk of breakdown,' Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki warns. 'We're not just talking about losing an irrigation method — we're talking about the erosion of centuries of social architecture.' The report calls for urgent action, including legal protection for falaj routes, educational efforts to revive traditional knowledge among younger generations, and integrated planning policies that recognise aflaj as both environmental and cultural assets. The researchers stress that the value of the system lies not only in its technical ingenuity, but in the social intelligence it embodies. 'Falaj governance is rooted in equity and consensus. It's a model of sustainability that deserves more than admiration — it demands protection,' says Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki. The research, published in the Journal of Arabian Studies and GeoJournal, was conducted by a multidisciplinary team including Dr. Abdullah Al Ghafri, Amjad Al Rawahi, Dr. Khalifa Al Kindi, Dr. Nasser Al Saadi, Zahra Al Abri, and Ishaq Al Shabibi — each contributing critical expertise in hydrology, history, and cultural studies. © Muscat Media Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Times of Oman
22-06-2025
- General
- Times of Oman
Study finds aflaj vital for Oman's social and economic wellbeing
MUSCAT: Oman's traditional aflaj systems — centuries-old channels that once shaped where and how communities lived — are facing mounting threats that could undermine their role as cornerstones of Omani society. A new research study warns that rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, and changing social dynamics now endanger more than water access: They put at risk a long-standing model of cooperation, resilience, and balance. 'This isn't just about infrastructure or heritage,' says Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki, principal investigator of the study and UNESCO Chair on Aflaj Studies and Archaeo-Hydrology at the University of Nizwa. 'The aflaj are a living system that have sustained communities not only through water, but through social collaboration and shared responsibility.' The study, 'Aflaj Systems and Social Cohesion in Oman, Dakhiliyah Region', funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation under its Block Funding Programme, positions the aflaj as much more than functional irrigation tools. It finds that these systems have long served as organising structures for intertribal cooperation, economic interdependence, and conflict resolution — contributing to Oman's unique socio-environmental equilibrium. In challenging earlier anthropological portrayals of tribal societies as territorially insular, the researchers introduce the concept of 'hydro-tribalism' — a framework that explains how shared water management, rather than fixed land boundaries, has shaped tribal interaction in Oman. The falaj, they argue, functions as a unifying force, compelling cooperation due to the technical and geographic realities of water flow. 'Falaj systems cross tribal lines by necessity,' explains Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki. 'To maintain and benefit from a shared water source, tribes had to develop mechanisms of negotiation, joint investment, and trust. That's where the real power of the aflaj lies — it made collaboration essential.' The study's methodology combined ethnographic fieldwork in northern Oman, in-depth interviews with local falaj stakeholders, and a comprehensive literature review from archival and online sources. It reveals how falaj-based cooperation facilitated not only social cohesion but also supported a broader hydro-economic network —with communities investing collectively in farming systems, coordinating planting schedules, and sustaining commerce through waqf-funded infrastructure. These networks, the study suggests, have been instrumental in maintaining social balance and economic sustainability in often harsh environmental conditions. However, that equilibrium is increasingly fragile. 'With urban development encroaching on falaj zones and climate variability reducing water flow, the entire system is at risk of breakdown,' Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki warns. 'We're not just talking about losing an irrigation method — we're talking about the erosion of centuries of social architecture.' The report calls for urgent action, including legal protection for falaj routes, educational efforts to revive traditional knowledge among younger generations, and integrated planning policies that recognise aflaj as both environmental and cultural assets. The researchers stress that the value of the system lies not only in its technical ingenuity, but in the social intelligence it embodies. 'Falaj governance is rooted in equity and consensus. It's a model of sustainability that deserves more than admiration — it demands protection,' says Dr. Labbaf Khaneiki. The research, published in the Journal of Arabian Studies and GeoJournal, was conducted by a multidisciplinary team including Dr. Abdullah Al Ghafri, Amjad Al Rawahi, Dr. Khalifa Al Kindi, Dr. Nasser Al Saadi, Zahra Al Abri, and Ishaq Al Shabibi — each contributing critical expertise in hydrology, history, and cultural studies.
