Models & Software

Catchment Water Allocation Tool (CaWAT)

Catchment Water Allocation Tool (or CaWAT) is a Microsoft® Excel-based computer decision support system for rural water resources management to support integrated irrigation and aquaculture development in small to medium watersheds. The tool allows for a number of interventions to be made in an interactive manner in the development, allocation and use of water resources to support rural livelihoods through the integration of agriculture, aquaculture and domestic uses.

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Global Environmental Flow Calculator (GEFC)

The Global Environmental Flow Calculator (GEFC) is a software package for desktop rapid assessment of Environmental Flows (EFs). The EF estimation technique in GEFC is using monthly time step series reflecting “natural” / unregulated flow conditions and its corresponding Flow Duration Curve (FDC)- a cumulative distribution function of flows. The FDC is represented by 17 percentage points on the probability (X) axis. EFs aim to maintain an ecosystem in, or upgrade it to some prescribed or negotiated condition – “Environmental Management Class (EMC).” The higher the EMC, the more water is needed for ecosystem maintenance and more flow variability needs to be preserved.

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Options AnalysiS in Irrigation Systems (OASIS)

OASIS (Options AnalysiS in Irrigation Systems) is a planning model for medium to large-scale canal irrigation systems (typically several thousand hectares). It specifically takes account of surface-groundwater interactions to assess the impacts on water use, depletion and productivity of a broad range of interventions in irrigated agriculture. Examples of such interventions include: lining of canals, development of storage, and introduction of alternative cropping patterns, water deliveries and on-farm irrigation practices. The model can thus be used to provide guidance to irrigation system managers and water policy-makers to make a more efficient and productive use of limited water resources in agriculture in the context of rising food demand, competitive water use from other sectors and the uncertainties brought about by climate change.

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PODIUMSim

PODIUMSim provides a framework to develop scenarios of water and food supply at river basin, sub-national and national level. It is an interactive tool that runs on a personal computer, and has a Microsoft Excel interface which has been configured using Visual Basic programming language code.

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