Talal Darwish | National Council for Scientific Research (original) (raw)

Papers by Talal Darwish

Soil Erosion - Rainfall Erosivity and Risk Assessment, 2019

Lebanese Science Journal, Mar 2, 2022

International journal of water sciences, 2013

Acta Geophysica, Jan 18, 2013

Journal of Arid Environments, May 1, 2021

Abstract This study aims to implement the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept on a test sit... more Abstract This study aims to implement the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept on a test site: the 309 km2 Nahr Ibrahim watershed Lebanon, by integrating soil erosion as an LDN indicator given its status as a land degradation driver and common concern of the Mediterranean region. Land degradation was mapped, and erosion risk maps were also established. Through LDN's response strategy, an alternative LDN based land use/land cover (LU/LC) scenario was obtained. The LDN scenario was then tested for adoption as a counter-erosion measure. Under current land occupation conditions, a 63.54% (194 km2), 4.20% (12.82 km2) and 32.32% (98.7 km2) distribution of lands being underutilized, managed within their capability, and being used in a manner that exceeds their capability, respectively, was found. Soil erosion risks under current conditions were distributed as 3.88%, 38.19% and 54.48% low, moderate and high erosion risks, respectively. Following the proposed LDN scenario, 86.7 km2 (28% of the basin) were restored, while erosion risks shifted to 5.19%, 45.66% and 45.71% for low, moderate, and high erosion risks, respectively. The presented approach revealed the efficiency of LDN not only as a land restoration tool, but also as a powerful counter-erosion measure.

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - memSIC, Apr 1, 2019

International audienc

Fréquemment assimilé aux politiques publiques qui ont accompagné la reconstruction postérieure à ... more Fréquemment assimilé aux politiques publiques qui ont accompagné la reconstruction postérieure à la Seconde Guerre mondiale, l'aménagement du territoire tel qu'on le concevait alors visait la modernisation du pays. Il était pensé comme facteur de progrès a priori et reposait sur une conception techniciste qui voyait dans des ingénieurs les seules autorités compétentes, excluant l'expérience des populations. Les nuisances et les bouleversements de tous ordres induits par les aménagements étaient considérés comme négligeables, le prix à payer dans l'intérêt général. Leur contestation ne pouvait être motivée que par l'ignorance ou l'égoïsme. Les dix-neuf contributions réunies dans ce livre proposent une vision nouvelle des aménagements territoriaux. Pensant les territoires comme des champs de négociation où s'affrontent des forces variées, elles cherchent à inclure dans l'étude de leur aménagement la façon dont l'environnement, que les sociétés cherchent à maîtriser et à mettre au service de leurs desseins, réagit à son tour à la transformation imposée. Considérant des aménagements effectués à toutes les périodes de l'histoire, elles cherchent à identifier leur impact économique, social, environnemental ou même culturel, y compris sur le long terme. Une tentative ambitieuse, tant il est vrai que même lorsque les aménagements passés sont identifiés comme des échecs, voire comme des réalisations néfastes, par leurs auteurs eux-mêmes, il est bien rare que cela soit exprimé publiquement

Milieu a fortes contraintes environnementales, la montagne impose des adaptations specifiques pou... more Milieu a fortes contraintes environnementales, la montagne impose des adaptations specifiques pour son exploitation agricole (lutte contre l'ero-sion des sols ; rigidite du systeme de petite hydraulique agricole ; cultures adaptees au climat), mais, paradoxalement, elle favorise aussi l'ingeniosite des societes pour trouver des solutions adaptees en matiere d'amenagement. C'est egalement un milieu fragile et donc tres reactif aux activites humaines. La reponse environnementale y est a la mesure des contraintes. Toutes ses caracteristiques font de la montagne un laboratoire de recherche privile-gie pour envisager les modifications environnementales et societales de la construction et de l'exploitation des territoires agraires en terrasses, gagnes sur le couvert forestier. En domaine mediterraneen, l'amenagement des versants en terrasses est effectif au milieu du III e millenaire en Grece cycladique et au Proche-Orient, demontrant en cela une structuration de l...

Desertification caused by land degradation and overexploitation of natural resources is threateni... more Desertification caused by land degradation and overexploitation of natural resources is threatening large parts of eastern and southern Mediterranean. The actual state of desertification sensitivity in Lebanon was spatially assessed using site specific environmental bio-physical indicators, demographic pressure and socioeconomic conditions. Bio-physical assessment included the aridity index derived from integrated assessment of the historical data for 48 climatic stations spread throughout the country, the new detailed soil map at 1:50,000 scale, and the updated land cover/use map at 1:20,000 derived from IKONOS 2005. The methodology also included livelihood conditions and poverty at local administrative “Caza” level. Results showed the integrated impact of local climate, soil and vegetation quality and socioeconomic conditions on sensitivity to desertification. A total of 78% of the territories have low and very low climate quality index preconditioning the sensitivity to desertifi...

Analysis of the state of water-quality deterioration and land degradation in the Litani River Bas... more Analysis of the state of water-quality deterioration and land degradation in the Litani River Basin (LRB) and the governmental response is elaborated in this chapter. This is based on the projects and programs run in the basin starting from the mid-1990. Results of the assessment showed that the main sources of contamination in the basin imply a chaotic urban expansion with resulting loss of arable lands and pressure on water resources in terms of both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Dumping of domestic sewage into streams caused significant bacteriological contamination. A dangerous disposal of liquid and solid waste, including industrial and municipal waste, was observed, which put an increasing pressure on the chemical contamination of surface waters. The LRB represents the most intensive agricultural areas of the country, and thus poor agricultural practices result in the excess use of chemicals and accumulation of nitrates and soluble pollutants in the soil–water ecosyste...

Soil Erosion - Rainfall Erosivity and Risk Assessment, 2019

Lebanese Science Journal, Mar 2, 2022

International journal of water sciences, 2013

Acta Geophysica, Jan 18, 2013

Journal of Arid Environments, May 1, 2021

Abstract This study aims to implement the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept on a test sit... more Abstract This study aims to implement the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept on a test site: the 309 km2 Nahr Ibrahim watershed Lebanon, by integrating soil erosion as an LDN indicator given its status as a land degradation driver and common concern of the Mediterranean region. Land degradation was mapped, and erosion risk maps were also established. Through LDN's response strategy, an alternative LDN based land use/land cover (LU/LC) scenario was obtained. The LDN scenario was then tested for adoption as a counter-erosion measure. Under current land occupation conditions, a 63.54% (194 km2), 4.20% (12.82 km2) and 32.32% (98.7 km2) distribution of lands being underutilized, managed within their capability, and being used in a manner that exceeds their capability, respectively, was found. Soil erosion risks under current conditions were distributed as 3.88%, 38.19% and 54.48% low, moderate and high erosion risks, respectively. Following the proposed LDN scenario, 86.7 km2 (28% of the basin) were restored, while erosion risks shifted to 5.19%, 45.66% and 45.71% for low, moderate, and high erosion risks, respectively. The presented approach revealed the efficiency of LDN not only as a land restoration tool, but also as a powerful counter-erosion measure.

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - memSIC, Apr 1, 2019

International audienc

Fréquemment assimilé aux politiques publiques qui ont accompagné la reconstruction postérieure à ... more Fréquemment assimilé aux politiques publiques qui ont accompagné la reconstruction postérieure à la Seconde Guerre mondiale, l'aménagement du territoire tel qu'on le concevait alors visait la modernisation du pays. Il était pensé comme facteur de progrès a priori et reposait sur une conception techniciste qui voyait dans des ingénieurs les seules autorités compétentes, excluant l'expérience des populations. Les nuisances et les bouleversements de tous ordres induits par les aménagements étaient considérés comme négligeables, le prix à payer dans l'intérêt général. Leur contestation ne pouvait être motivée que par l'ignorance ou l'égoïsme. Les dix-neuf contributions réunies dans ce livre proposent une vision nouvelle des aménagements territoriaux. Pensant les territoires comme des champs de négociation où s'affrontent des forces variées, elles cherchent à inclure dans l'étude de leur aménagement la façon dont l'environnement, que les sociétés cherchent à maîtriser et à mettre au service de leurs desseins, réagit à son tour à la transformation imposée. Considérant des aménagements effectués à toutes les périodes de l'histoire, elles cherchent à identifier leur impact économique, social, environnemental ou même culturel, y compris sur le long terme. Une tentative ambitieuse, tant il est vrai que même lorsque les aménagements passés sont identifiés comme des échecs, voire comme des réalisations néfastes, par leurs auteurs eux-mêmes, il est bien rare que cela soit exprimé publiquement

Milieu a fortes contraintes environnementales, la montagne impose des adaptations specifiques pou... more Milieu a fortes contraintes environnementales, la montagne impose des adaptations specifiques pour son exploitation agricole (lutte contre l'ero-sion des sols ; rigidite du systeme de petite hydraulique agricole ; cultures adaptees au climat), mais, paradoxalement, elle favorise aussi l'ingeniosite des societes pour trouver des solutions adaptees en matiere d'amenagement. C'est egalement un milieu fragile et donc tres reactif aux activites humaines. La reponse environnementale y est a la mesure des contraintes. Toutes ses caracteristiques font de la montagne un laboratoire de recherche privile-gie pour envisager les modifications environnementales et societales de la construction et de l'exploitation des territoires agraires en terrasses, gagnes sur le couvert forestier. En domaine mediterraneen, l'amenagement des versants en terrasses est effectif au milieu du III e millenaire en Grece cycladique et au Proche-Orient, demontrant en cela une structuration de l...

Desertification caused by land degradation and overexploitation of natural resources is threateni... more Desertification caused by land degradation and overexploitation of natural resources is threatening large parts of eastern and southern Mediterranean. The actual state of desertification sensitivity in Lebanon was spatially assessed using site specific environmental bio-physical indicators, demographic pressure and socioeconomic conditions. Bio-physical assessment included the aridity index derived from integrated assessment of the historical data for 48 climatic stations spread throughout the country, the new detailed soil map at 1:50,000 scale, and the updated land cover/use map at 1:20,000 derived from IKONOS 2005. The methodology also included livelihood conditions and poverty at local administrative “Caza” level. Results showed the integrated impact of local climate, soil and vegetation quality and socioeconomic conditions on sensitivity to desertification. A total of 78% of the territories have low and very low climate quality index preconditioning the sensitivity to desertifi...

Analysis of the state of water-quality deterioration and land degradation in the Litani River Bas... more Analysis of the state of water-quality deterioration and land degradation in the Litani River Basin (LRB) and the governmental response is elaborated in this chapter. This is based on the projects and programs run in the basin starting from the mid-1990. Results of the assessment showed that the main sources of contamination in the basin imply a chaotic urban expansion with resulting loss of arable lands and pressure on water resources in terms of both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Dumping of domestic sewage into streams caused significant bacteriological contamination. A dangerous disposal of liquid and solid waste, including industrial and municipal waste, was observed, which put an increasing pressure on the chemical contamination of surface waters. The LRB represents the most intensive agricultural areas of the country, and thus poor agricultural practices result in the excess use of chemicals and accumulation of nitrates and soluble pollutants in the soil–water ecosyste...