In this workshop, I first examined climate change and the patterns of dry and wet seasons in Halabja. Historical temperature data show a significant increase over the past 1,000 years, with the most dramatic rise occurring in the last 140 years. According to projections from the IPCC, the Kurdistan region is expected to experience a temperature increase of 4–5°C by 2100. Precipitation patterns are also projected to change, with most areas in Kurdistan facing reduced precipitation, particularly a decline in snowfall. Using 30-year climate data from climate-data.org, precipitation and temperature of Halabja were analyzed by plotting an ombrothermic curve. This curve revealed a six-month dry period in Halabja, highlighting the region's vulnerability to water scarcity. Next I presented water harvesting as a one of the most effective strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change. These methods can be categorized into several types: Atmospheric Water Harvesting (e.g., cloud seeding, Fog Quest) Rainwater Harvesting (e.g., rooftop collection, green roofs, and vertical gardens) Runoff Water Harvesting (e.g., terracing) Flood Water Harvesting (e.g., Khoshab, practiced in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran) Groundwater Harvesting (e.g., Qantas, ancient underground systems sustaining arid regions in Iran for centuries). Water harvesting systems can vary in scale from small micro-catchment systems to large macro-catchment systems. A typical system includes four key components: a catchment area for collecting runoff, a water transfer mechanism, a storage unit, and a target area where harvested water is ultimately used. Finally, I discussed two water harvesting systems with practical application in the Kurdistan regions. The Negarim System is a micro-catchment technique that divides sloped land into diamond-shaped plots with two distinct zones: The upper catchment area is made impermeable using materials like plastic sheets or cement to maximize runoff, while the lower target area receives this concentrated runoff for tree planting. For example, a Negarim system with a 7 m² catchment area and a 1 m² target area can amplify a 5 mm rainfall event with 90 % runoff efficiency to deliver 36.5 mm of water to the target zone- effectively multiplying the original rainfall by seven. Given that irrigated orchards typically yield 1.8 to 4.5 times more than rainfed ones in Iran, Negarim has been successfully implemented in several Iranian regions. During this presentation, I shared specific case studies of Negarim implementation in Shahrekord and Maraveh Tappeh (Golestan province), Iran, demonstrating how this technique has successfully enhanced orchard productivity in these regions. Another effective technique is water spreading, a Macro-Catchment method used for both flood control and groundwater recharge. This approach involves diverting river floodwater and spreading it across permeable land. Suitable sites for water spreading must have gentle slopes, permeable soils, and rangeland or forest cover.
