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A comparative study of the Omani Aflaj and the Algerian Sahara Foggaras

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Abstract

Man has always wanted to exploit underground water and has thus developed extraordinary hydraulic works such as foggaras, Aflaj, qanâts, which are techniques and ancestral practices implemented in arid or hyper arid regions. These age-old techniques of great ingenuity consist of the underground drainage of aquifers and the efficient management of groundwater resources. This article is a comparative study of the Aflaj of Oman and the foggaras of the Algerian Sahara. It compares their techniques and mode of collection, their flow and distribution volumes, their type of water table as well as their geology. In so doing it analyzes the main concepts of these traditional systems of irrigation expertise and of water management. Moreover, this study focuses also on the conservation and the improved management of these water systems, using all available data (modern and traditional), and then puts forward recommendations and draws conclusions. The results of this study indicate that these techniques are facing serious challenges including the risk of imminent disappearance and depletion. Therefore, to preserve this heritage and help it surmount the many hindrances it faces, it is necessary to rehabilitate it, revalue it, and integrate it into a cultural and economically sustainable context.

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Data Availability

I hereby declare that all the data used in this article have been verified and double checked before submission, and are still available on the corresponding links mentioned in the reference section, and which are followed by the dates of last access for the sake of credit.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Chancellor of the university of Nizwa and also the staff in charge of external relations. My sincere thanks and my most distinguished respects go to the expert, Dr Abdullah Al-Ghafi, Director of the research unit of aflaj, for his help and hospitality. I also thank the entire research unit team of aflaj. Many thanks to Mr Salem Ben Ali Ben Hamed El Abri for having guided me until the source of falaj Misfat Al Abriyeen, and also or his hospitality. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the completion of this work.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Nature Sciences and Life of Earth Sciences, University Djilali Boumaama of Khemis Miliana, Ain Defla, Algeria

    Mohamed Bensaada

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Correspondence to Mohamed Bensaada.

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Bensaada, M. A comparative study of the Omani Aflaj and the Algerian Sahara Foggaras. Arab J Geosci 16, 360 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11403-3

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