In a world inflamed by climate change and growing desertification concerns, Dar is working with communities and visionary clients to implement innovative, data-driven, and integrated solutions to restore and regenerate ecosystems, recharge natural groundwater aquifers, and engineer water resources to meet the needs of existing communities and future generations. In honour of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, leaders from across Dar’s Water and Environment sector shared leading and innovative strategies that have had exceptional impact on communities regionally and globally.

1. Using satellite-derived drought indices, next-generation remote sensing technology, and advanced modelling to detect ecological stress early and enhance water management:

One of the most critical challenges is detecting drought and ecological stress early, before it leads to scarcity and crisis. Next-generation remote sensing technologies are transforming how we detect, monitor, and manage water-related stress. Lead hydrogeologist Mohamed Awad explains: “For example, satellite-derived drought indices—such as the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)—provide near real-time insights into vegetation health, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration, empowering stakeholders to catch early indicators of droughts, water resources, or ecological stress.” These indices can help monitor vegetation cover and long-term trends, facilitating desertification risk mapping and temperature trend analysis to identify climate-induced stressors and inform planning approaches that tackles the drivers and impacts of desertification, water resource depletion and drought.

Critically, these technologies now provide unprecedented insights into one of the world’s most valuable finite resources: groundwater, the largest single supplier of drinking water. Next-generation remote sensing technologies—including GRACE satellite gravimetry, thermal infrared imaging, and microwave sensors—enable stakeholders to monitor groundwater depletion, land surface temperature, and hydrological changes with high precision, even in remote or data-scarce regions.

“Leveraging such innovation, Dar’s hydrogeological team integrates satellite imagery, thermal and microwave sensing, and land surface monitoring to generate high-resolution, thematic maps creating a powerful diagnostic platform for understanding water dynamics,” Mohamed explains.

From there, modelling becomes necessary to support decision-making and long-term planning. Dar’s lead groundwater specialist Mahmoud Bakr explains: “Dar employs stochastic groundwater modelling algorithms, which account for uncertainties across climate inputs, aquifer properties, and usage behaviours, enabling clients to make confident, evidence-based decisions that bolster groundwater resilience. By combining advanced remote sensing with dynamic and probabilistic modelling, we develop early warning systems that move groundwater management from reactive crisis response to proactive, data-driven resource stewardship.”

2. Strategically engineering dams and associated infrastructure to capture and utilise stormwater, manage surface water effectively, and facilitate groundwater aquifer recharge:

In water-stressed regions, rainfall often comes in intense bursts, leading to destructive flash floods and soil erosion. By designing innovative dams for stormwater harvesting and implementing Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) systems, Dar’s experts protect communities from flooding, create reliable reservoirs of water for dry periods, and help transform stormwater into a lifeline for arid regions. These solutions also support broader hydrological and ecological functions.

“By strategically attenuating peak flows, our dams reduce erosion, trap nutrient-rich sediments, and protect downstream landscapes from degradation,” explains Hesham Badry, Director and Head of Design Unit for dams. “The stormwater stored by these dams is also channelled into MAR systems, undergoing natural filtration while replenishing depleted groundwater aquifers. The key is that our designs integrate advanced hydrological modelling to maximise infiltration rates and minimise evaporation. We also use techniques such as recharge basins, injection wells, and soil permeability enhancements, to ensure optimal water retention even in highly porous terrains.”

“Solutions such as detention basins, graded bunds, and flood retention ponds are designed to moderate runoff, capture sediment, and enhance infiltration where it is most needed,” explains Vinay Kulkarni, Infrastructure Specialist for Stormwater Systems. “We implement tailored land-based interventions to improve soil structure, reduce erosion, and increase the land’s capacity to retain water. Techniques such as contour-based surface reconfiguration, stabilising vegetation, and localised water retention structures help rebuild soil fertility and reduce runoff, especially in semi-arid and erosion-prone areas.”

Specialised surface water management can also reduce land degradation and improve water retention. “Solutions such as bio-retention areas, engineered infiltration trenches, vegetated channels, storage ponds, and permeable surface designs are also integrated into the built and natural environment to reduce flood risks, improve water quality, and alleviate pressure on downstream infrastructure,” Vinay says, adding: “In arid environments, for example, we may modify ephemeral stream channels (wadis) with flow regulation structures that help control peak discharges and limit erosion. With extensive hydrological and hydraulic modelling, we can design and position spillways, diversion channels, and overflow pathways in a way that allows excess stormwater or surface water to be routed safely and purposefully.”

These measures not only slow the advancement of desertification but also support agricultural viability and natural ecosystem restoration.

3. Rehabilitating wadi systems to restore water corridors, retain stormwater, and revive fragile ecosystems:

One of the most promising solutions in the fight against desertification and drought comes from restoring the hydrological and ecological functions of wadis. These seasonal river valleys, once rehabilitated, serve as vital ecological corridors in arid regions.

Dar’s Water and Environment Department (Hydrology Design Unit), led by Associate Director Ayman Awadallah, applies integrated restoration techniques to bring these dry landscapes back to life. “Environmental restoration in wadis focuses on improving their natural functions and plays a central role in mitigating their negative impacts,” explains Ayman. His team combines detailed knowledge of the land with advanced engineering and ecological design to enhance water retention, restore natural flows, and support biodiversity.

A core technique involves water harvesting through check dams, which are small, strategically placed barriers that slow the flow of water, allowing it to infiltrate the ground and deposit sediment. Each dam is adapted to the local landscape, with careful material selection that ensures long-term function and cost-efficiency.

Other techniques the team applies include restoring the wadi’s sandy beds, reinforcing them with sand filters and rock riprap to slow water movement and trap sediments. Vegetative filters, made up of selected plants, are introduced to absorb nutrients and pollutants from runoff.  As Ayman emphasises, “the sandy beds of wadis can naturally filter water, while vegetative filters involving plants can help remove nutrients and pollutants, thus improving the water quality.” This approach works with the natural terrain to restore its function, improve water quality, and build long-term ecological resilience.

Following restoration, Dar recommends targeted ecosystem conservation measures to help limit overgrazing and protect native vegetation. These suggested efforts help stabilize soils, reduce erosion, prevent further degradation, and also support the recovery of the wadi’s natural structure. This potentially reverses the impacts of previous physical alterations such as channelization and silt buildup.

By restoring these conditions, Dar helps create healthier habitats that support biodiversity even in arid environments. “In one of our wadi restoration projects in Saudi Arabia, rehabilitation led to noticeable improvements in biodiversity,” Ayman shares. “Various species of flora and fauna were able to thrive again, despite the aridity, once the natural structure and ecological function of the wadi were restored.”

These interventions make the wadi system more effective at capturing and retaining stormwater, improving water quality through natural filtration, and replenishing groundwater.

4. Maximising water reuse through exceptional water and wastewater treatment:

Groundwater is a finite but infinitely precious resource. Increased water demands coupled with the fact that extracting water from underground aquifers can also increase seawater intrusion and deplete the quality of groundwater means that there is an increasing need for non-conventional water resources, derived through wastewater treatment and reuse, rainwater harvesting, and seawater desalination.

“Of those, wastewater treatment and reuse are perhaps the most sustainable option,” states Marcos Filippopoulos, Dar’s leading water treatment expert. “There are two types of wastewater that can be reused: grey water and blackwater. Grey water is the low polluted stream of domestic wastewater originating from bathroom sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines (but not kitchen sinks or dishwashing machines, which have higher pollutant loads). Usually, grey water accounts for 40 to 50 % of domestic water use and, after treatment, can be reused for toilet flushing inside buildings, irrigation and cooling purposes (for example as make-up water in cooling towers). Grey water treatment and reuse can reduce domestic water demand by at least 35 to 45 %.”

Blackwater is more complex. “Treated wastewater can be reused for restricted irrigation, for example, with crops that are consumed after boiling/cooking and landscaped areas with no access to the public,” Marcos explains, adding, “Treated wastewater can be further disinfected (for example by ultra-violet radiation so that it can be used for unrestricted irrigation or landscaped areas open to the public. Treated wastewater can also be reused for cooling purposes in cooling towers (after further polishing through reverse osmosis), in heat exchanges, as process water in certain factories, and more.”

5. Restoring degraded lands and revegetating environments with native or adaptive plant species:

In our projects, Dar’s experts work with clients and communities to guide targeted conservation efforts, protect biodiversity, and reduce vulnerability to desertification. “The first step is to conduct environmental assessments, including seasonal ecological surveys in ecologically-sensitive habitats, to establish a robust understanding of baseline conditions,” explains Riwa Derbas. “This informs a strict mitigation hierarchy—avoidance, minimization, restoration, and, where unavoidable, compensation through plant relocation and reforestation—to achieve net-zero or net-positive ecosystem gains.” Central to this approach is an ecosystem-based design that uses phytoremediation: deploying native or adaptive species – through key features such as constructed wetlands, water retention basins, and vegetated buffer zones – to stabilize and rehabilitate soils, restore degraded land, and naturally filter water.

Building on this foundation, the choice of plant species becomes critical to long-term success. “Non-native or poorly suited species - often chosen for their commercial value or rapid growth - often have a low survival rate and fail to establish resilient, long-term ecosystems,” explains Archie Waller. “On the other hand, planting schemes that use appropriate species can enhance water interception, retention and infiltration.”

How revegetation projects are carried out can be just as critical. “Whilst typically done using injection wells or infiltration basins, revegetation projects across large areas of degraded land can act as a form of Managed Aquifer Recharge,” Archie points out. “Plant root systems can increase infiltration rates and enhance macropore formation in soils, reducing surface water runoff from short, intense rainfall events and enhancing water storage. Wider effects include improved water security for the region and, in coastal regions, reduced risk of saltwater intrusion into freshwater resources.”

Dar’s approach also emphasises community involvement, incorporating public green spaces, nature trails, and environmental education programs to promote long-term stewardship. Together, these efforts offer a practical model for restoring land, conserving water, and supporting resilient development in arid and semi-arid regions.

6. Implementing smart irrigation systems to preserve water resources and optimise resource use:

Irrigation is a critical enabler of revegetation and a lynchpin in the fight against deforestation. But traditional irrigation methods often lead to substantial water losses due to over-application, evaporation, runoff, deep percolation, and even leakage in the system – hereby intensifying the problem of water scarcity.

Smart irrigation systems offer a transformative approach. They integrate sensors, data analytics, and automation to deliver water precisely when and where it's needed, and in just the right amount needed, minimising water losses, maximising crop yield, and optimizing plant appearance.

“At the heart of these systems are weather sensors that measure weather parameters linked to the evapotranspiration of plants, namely temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, rainfall, and soil moisture levels,” Sana Sawaya, Dar’s lead irrigation specialist explains. “This information is processed by the control system, often a computer or a cloud-based platform, which computes the actual irrigation demand. Based on this comprehensive analysis, the smart irrigation system calculates the optimal irrigation schedule and precisely delivers the amount of water required by plants, adjusting irrigation duration and frequency to match the specific needs of the plants.”

Critically, smart irrigation systems integrate reliable leak detection capabilities, often in the form of flow sensors, pressure sensors, and water meters distributed along the network at strategic locations to continuously monitor the hydraulic parameters in the system. Through its connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), the system immediately sends notifications to the user's platform allowing for prompt manual/automated intervention.

By intelligently managing when, where, and how much to irrigate—using real-time weather data, and by monitoring irrigation pipe networks for leaks—smart irrigation systems significantly enhance water-use efficiency, and conserve scarce water resources, while sustainably supporting the expansion of green areas in arid regions.

By using science-based, data-driven, and nature-based solutions, we’re working with clients and communities to align with global best practices in sustainable water and land management. Our ultimate objective is to generate ecosystems, replenish groundwater, and empower communities to build water-secure, climate-adaptive futures.