Application Of Hydrological Models In Poorly Gauged Watersheds: A Review Of The Usage Of The Soil And Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) In Kenya

Abstract

In water-scarce developing countries, river basins are some of the most valued natural resources, but many are poorly gauged and have incomplete hydrological and climate records. In the recent years, tropical rivers are increasingly becoming erratic, with many hydrologists attributing this variability to combined effects of landscape-specific anthropogenic activities and climate change. Uncertainties about the impacts of climate change compound the challenges attributed to poor and often inconsistent river monitoring data. Under data-scarce conditions and with the increasing land use intensification and urbanization, modelling approaches become a useful tool in planning and management of water resources. In this paper, we review the application and usability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in conventional planning practice in the management of water resources is poorly-gauged tropical watersheds of Kenya. We assess the technical implications of the model in Intergrated Water Resources management (IWRM) and its applicability as a planning and management tool for water resources in the era of climate change