Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process
Fresh water is indisputably a vital resource in ecosystems and its scarcity threatens the economy and society. Due to climate change, economic growth and unsustainable water management, water systems have become depleted and very contaminated worldwide. The scarcity and ecological degradation of wat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002112 |
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| author | Mattas Konstadinos Georgiou Pantazis Lazaridou C. Dimitra Mattas Christos Nastis A. Stefanos Seddaiu Giovanna Kombiok James Mantent Adjebeng-Danquah Joseph Ramson Adombilla |
| author_facet | Mattas Konstadinos Georgiou Pantazis Lazaridou C. Dimitra Mattas Christos Nastis A. Stefanos Seddaiu Giovanna Kombiok James Mantent Adjebeng-Danquah Joseph Ramson Adombilla |
| author_sort | Mattas Konstadinos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fresh water is indisputably a vital resource in ecosystems and its scarcity threatens the economy and society. Due to climate change, economic growth and unsustainable water management, water systems have become depleted and very contaminated worldwide. The scarcity and ecological degradation of water resources have threatened the sustainability of human life, socio-economic development and ecosystem services. The key element in an efficient management is the dynamic assessment of the status of water resources. Thus, this work developed a comprehensive evaluation indicator system based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).The study offers an applied-friendly way of assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment through a stakeholder engagement approach. This facilitates assessing and reporting the state of water resources in a selected watershed in Ghana. The analysis highlights the components of climate regime and mining activities to demonstrate the greater threats to the water systems of the region. The results clearly illustrate that strengthening stakeholders’ involvement, improvement of infrastructure and implementation of the existing policies are among the higher-ranked responses that would guarantee the sustainability of water resources in the region. Furthermore, the research provides detailed information on human activities and their impacts on water systems in a quick and easy way for local stakeholders and policymakers, so as to support sustainable water management. The overall approach can be easily implemented and expanded in several water management cases. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a22595c4e03491eabcc1eb627bc05f8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a22595c4e03491eabcc1eb627bc05f82025-08-20T02:57:05ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131310949710.1016/j.agwat.2025.109497Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy ProcessMattas Konstadinos0Georgiou Pantazis1Lazaridou C. Dimitra2Mattas Christos3Nastis A. Stefanos4Seddaiu Giovanna5Kombiok James Mantent6Adjebeng-Danquah Joseph7Ramson Adombilla8Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; Corresponding author.Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Thessaloniki 54124, GreeceAristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management, Karpenisi 36100, GreeceAristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Geology, Dept. of Structural, Historical & Applied Geology, Thessaloniki 54124, GreeceAristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Thessaloniki 54124, GreeceDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39A, Sassari 07100, ItalyKundok Development Consult (KDC), No 1 Target Avenue, Vittin Residential Area, P.O. Box TL, Tamale 7022, GhanaCSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box TL 52, Nyankpala, Tamale, GhanaCSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box TL 52, Nyankpala, Tamale, GhanaFresh water is indisputably a vital resource in ecosystems and its scarcity threatens the economy and society. Due to climate change, economic growth and unsustainable water management, water systems have become depleted and very contaminated worldwide. The scarcity and ecological degradation of water resources have threatened the sustainability of human life, socio-economic development and ecosystem services. The key element in an efficient management is the dynamic assessment of the status of water resources. Thus, this work developed a comprehensive evaluation indicator system based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).The study offers an applied-friendly way of assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment through a stakeholder engagement approach. This facilitates assessing and reporting the state of water resources in a selected watershed in Ghana. The analysis highlights the components of climate regime and mining activities to demonstrate the greater threats to the water systems of the region. The results clearly illustrate that strengthening stakeholders’ involvement, improvement of infrastructure and implementation of the existing policies are among the higher-ranked responses that would guarantee the sustainability of water resources in the region. Furthermore, the research provides detailed information on human activities and their impacts on water systems in a quick and easy way for local stakeholders and policymakers, so as to support sustainable water management. The overall approach can be easily implemented and expanded in several water management cases.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002112Sustainable water managementAnalytic Hierarchy ProcessDPSIR frameworkAssessment of water resourcesExpert-based method |
| spellingShingle | Mattas Konstadinos Georgiou Pantazis Lazaridou C. Dimitra Mattas Christos Nastis A. Stefanos Seddaiu Giovanna Kombiok James Mantent Adjebeng-Danquah Joseph Ramson Adombilla Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process Agricultural Water Management Sustainable water management Analytic Hierarchy Process DPSIR framework Assessment of water resources Expert-based method |
| title | Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process |
| title_full | Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process |
| title_fullStr | Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process |
| title_short | Assessing sustainable water management in a resource-scarce environment (Ghana, West Africa) via the Analytic Hierarchy Process |
| title_sort | assessing sustainable water management in a resource scarce environment ghana west africa via the analytic hierarchy process |
| topic | Sustainable water management Analytic Hierarchy Process DPSIR framework Assessment of water resources Expert-based method |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002112 |
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