Together with many colleagues and graduate students, I have researched and written about several aspects of water resources management, including institutional perspectives & water policy, transboundary waters & water allocation, water resources modelling, water management for rain-fed agriculture (green water management), sand rivers, irrigation water management, and capacity development. This page, together with linked pages, provides an overview. See also my profile at Google Scholar.
Several papers have been published in open access journals and books. Also many of the papers have been published in PhD theses, which in the Dutch system are also open access (see the page of PhD fellows). However, in some cases copyright laws inhibit the full papers to be freely available. If you want access to the full papers, please contact me by sending an email or commenting at the bottom of this page.
New!
| Belemtougri, A., R. Yonaba, C.I. Michailovsky, T. Stigter, L.A. Mounirou and P. van der Zaag, 2026. Where rivers sleep: mapping ephemeral sand rivers in the West African Sahel. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment 41, 101838 [doi:10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101838] [OPEN ACCESS]Amorocho-Daza, H., J. Susnik, J.H. Slinger and P. van der Zaag, 2026. A participatory system dynamics approach to assess transboundary nutrient pollution: modelling the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus in the Lielupe River Basin, Lithuania and Latvia. Ecological Modelling 513, 111417 [doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111417] [OPEN ACCESS]
Mohamed, A., M. Werner and P. van der Zaag, 2025. Beyond streamflow: plausible hydrological modelling for the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 59, 102290 [doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102290] [OPEN ACCESS] Amorocho-Daza, H., J. Susnik, P. van der Zaag and J.H. Slinger, 2025. A model-based policy analysis framework for social-ecological systems: Integrating uncertainty and participation in system dynamics modelling. Ecological Modelling 499, 110943 [doi:j.ecolmodel.2024.110943] [OPEN ACCESS] Yalew, S.G., P. Prasad, M. Mul and P. van der Zaag, 2024. Integrating equity and justice principles in water resources modelling and management. Environmental Research Letters 19, 111001 Ekka, A., Y. Jiang, S. Pande and P. van der Zaag, 2024. How economically and environmentally viable are multiple dams in the upper Cauvery Basin, India? A hydro-economic analysis using a landscape-based hydrological model, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 28, 3219–3241 [doi:10.5194/hess-28-3219-2024] [OPEN ACCESS] Prasad, P., A. Duker, D.Z. Velasquez, M. Chauruka, B.M. Karimba, C. de Fraiture, E. Manzungu and P. van der Zaag, 2024. From few large to many small investments: lessons for adaptive irrigation development in an uncertain world. Frontiers in Water 6, 1296262 [doi:10.3389/frwa.2024.1296262] [OPEN ACCESS] |
Godinez Madrigal, J., N. van Cauwenbergh, H. Ochoa-Garcia and P. van der Zaag, 2024. Can grassroots movements in water conflicts drive socio-technical transitions in water management systems? Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 51, 100837. [doi:10.1016/j.eist.2024.100837] [OPEN ACCESS]
Safi, C., S. Pareeth, S. Yalew, P. van der Zaag and M. Mul, 2024. Estimating agricultural water productivity using remote sensing derived data. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment 10 (1), 1203-1213. [doi:10.1007/s40808-023-01841-z] [OPEN ACCESS]
Amorocho-Daza, H., P. van der Zaag and J. Sušnik, 2024. Ethical considerations of using system dynamics in participatory settings: a social-ecological perspective. Systems Dynamics Review 40 (2), e1755. [doi:10.1002/sdr.1755] [OPEN ACCESS]
Ayenalem, A.Y., E. Fantini and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Popular culture and Nile hydropolitics: Amharic songs about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. International Journal of Water Governance 10 (1), 39–62. [doi:10.59490/ijwg.10.2023.7359] [OPEN ACCESS]
Chauruka, M., A. Duker, P. Prasad and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling. Water SA 49 (4), 355–362. [doi:10.17159/wsa/2023.v49.i4.4031] [OPEN ACCESS]
Ter Horst, A., V. Srinivasan, K. Wheeler, J. Timmerman and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Exploring the use of data and models in transboundary water governance. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 909-914. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2024.2304975] [OPEN ACCESS]
Bosuben, D.K., U. Wehn and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Lake Victoria water levels declining (2000-2006): the role of absent and uncertain data in a transboundary water controversy. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 942-954. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2022.2128299] [OPEN ACCESS]
Yalew, S.G., P. van der Zaag, B.N. Tran, C.I.B. Michailovsky, E. Salvadore, E. Borgomeo, P. Karimi, S. Pareeth, S.D. Seyoum & M.L. Mul, 2023. Open-access remote sensing data for cooperation in transboundary water management. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 955-974. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2023.2263226] [OPEN ACCESS]
Owusu, A., J. Zatarain Salazar, M. Mul, P. van der Zaag and J. Slinger, 2023. Quantifying the trade-offs in re-operating dams for the environment in the Lower Volta River. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 27, 2001-2023. [doi:10.5194/hess-27-2001-2023] [OPEN ACCESS]
Duker, A.E.C., S. Maseko, M.A. Moyo, B.M Karimba, A. Bolding, P. Prasad, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2023. The changing faces of farmer-led irrigation: Lessons from dynamic irrigation trajectories in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Journal of Development Studies 59 (9), 1317–1336. [doi:10.1080/00220388.2023.2204176] [OPEN ACCESS]
Amorocho-Daza, H., P. van der Zaag and J. Sušnik, 2023. Access to water-related services strongly modulates human development. Earth’s Future 11 (4), e2022EF003364 [doi:10.1029/2022EF003364] [OPEN ACCESS]
Den Besten, N., S. Steele Dunne, A. Mahmud, D. Jackson, B. Aouizerats, R. de Jeu, R. Burger, R. Houborg, M. McGlinchey and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Understanding Sentinel-1 backscatter response to sugarcane yield variability and waterlogging. Remote Sensing of Environment 290, 113555 [doi:10.1016/j.rse.2023.113555] [ OPEN ACCESS]
Prasad, P., A. Duker, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Irrigation development under uncertainty: a call for adaptive investment pathways. Environmental Science and Policy 140, 104–110 [doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2022.11.017] [OPEN ACCESS]
Institutional perspectives & water policy
Ekka, A., Y. Jiang, S. Pande and P. van der Zaag, 2024. How economically and environmentally viable are multiple dams in the upper Cauvery Basin, India? A hydro-economic analysis using a landscape-based hydrological model, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 28, 3219–3241 [doi:10.5194/hess-28-3219-2024] [OPEN ACCESS]
Godinez Madrigal, J., N. van Cauwenbergh, H. Ochoa-Garcia and P. van der Zaag, 2024. Can grassroots movements in water conflicts drive socio-technical transitions in water management systems? Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 51, 100837. [doi:10.1016/j.eist.2024.100837] [OPEN ACCESS]
Owusu, A., M. Mul, P. van der Zaag and J. Slinger, 2021. Re-operating dams for environmental flows: From recommendation to practice. River Research and Applications 37, 176–186 [doi.org:10.1002/rra.3624] [OPEN ACCESS]
Godinez-Madrigal, J., N. van Cauwenbergh, P. van der Zaag, 2020. Unravelling intractable water conflicts: the entanglement of science and politics in decision-making on a large hydraulic infrastructure. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 24, 4903–4921 [doi:10.5194/hess-24-4903-2020] [OPEN ACCESS]
Savenije, H.H.G., and P. van der Zaag, 2020. Water value flows upstream. Special issue “In Memory of Prof. Arjen Y. Hoekstra.” Water 12(9), 2642 [doi:10.3390/w12092642] [OPEN ACCESS]
Godinez-Madrigal, J., N. van Cauwenbergh, P. van der Zaag, 2019. Production of competing water knowledge in the face of water crises: Revisiting the IWRM success story of the Lerma-Chapala Basin, Mexico. Geoforum 103, 3-15 [doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.002] [OPEN ACCESS]
Fanaian, S., S. Graas, Y. Jiang and P. van der Zaag, 2015. An ecological economic assessment of flow regimes in a hydropower dominated river basin: The case of the lower Zambezi River, Mozambique. Science of the Total Environment 505, 464–473 [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.033]
Transboundary waters & water allocation
Ter Horst, A., V. Srinivasan, K. Wheeler, J. Timmerman and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Exploring the use of data and models in transboundary water governance. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 909-914. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2024.2304975] [OPEN ACCESS]
Bosuben, D.K., U. Wehn and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Lake Victoria water levels declining (2000-2006): the role of absent and uncertain data in a transboundary water controversy. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 942-954. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2022.2128299] [OPEN ACCESS]
Yalew, S.G., P. van der Zaag, B.N. Tran, C.I.B. Michailovsky, E. Salvadore, E. Borgomeo, P. Karimi, S. Pareeth, S.D. Seyoum & M.L. Mul, 2023. Open-access remote sensing data for cooperation in transboundary water management. Special Issue “Data and models in transboundary water governance”. Water International 48 (8), 955-974. [doi:10.1080/02508060.2023.2263226] [OPEN ACCESS]
Renner, T., S. Meijerink, P. van der Zaag and T. Smit, 2021. Assessment framework of actor strategies in international river basin management. International Environmental Agreements 21, 255-283 [doi:10.1007/s10784-020-09512-5] [OPEN ACCESS]
Verhagen, J., P. van der Zaag and E. Abraham, 2021. Operational planning of WEF infrastructure: quantifying the value of information sharing and cooperation in the Eastern Nile basin. Environmental Research Letters 16, 085006 [doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac1194] [OPEN ACCESS]
Renner, T., S. Meijerink, P. van der Zaag, 2018. Progress beyond policy making? Assessing the performance of Dutch-German cross border cooperation in Deltarhine. Water International 43 (7), 996-1015 [10.1080/02508060.2018.1526562]
Digna, R.F., M.E. Castro-Gama, P. van der Zaag, Y.A. Mohamed, G. Corzo and S. Uhlenbrook, 2018. Optimal operation of the Eastern Nile system using Genetic Algorithm and Benefits distribution of water resources development. Water 10 (7), 921 [doi:10.3390/w10070921] [OPEN ACCESS]
Kahsay, T.N., O. Kuik, R. Brouwer and P. van der Zaag, 2018. The transboundary impacts of trade liberalization and climate change on the Nile Basin economies and water resource availability. Water Resources Management 32 (3), 935–947 [doi:10.1007/s11269-017-1847-7]
Abdullah, Ali; Castro Gama, Mario; Popescu, Ioana; van der Zaag, Pieter; Karim, Usama; Al Suhail, Qusay, 2018. Optimization of water allocation in the Shatt al-Arab River under different salinity regimes and tide impact. Hydrological Sciences Journal 63(4), 646-656 [https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1446213]
Water resources modelling
Amorocho-Daza, H., J. Susnik, J.H. Slinger and P. van der Zaag, 2026. A participatory system dynamics approach to assess transboundary nutrient pollution: modelling the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus in the Lielupe River Basin, Lithuania and Latvia. Ecological Modelling 513, 111417 [doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111417] [OPEN ACCESS]
Mohamed, A., M. Werner and P. van der Zaag, 2025. Beyond streamflow: plausible hydrological modelling for the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 59, 102290 [doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102290] [OPEN ACCESS]
Amorocho-Daza, H., J. Susnik, P. van der Zaag and J.H. Slinger, 2025. A model-based policy analysis framework for social-ecological systems: Integrating uncertainty and participation in system dynamics modelling. Ecological Modelling 499, 110943 [doi:j.ecolmodel.2024.110943] [OPEN ACCESS]
Yalew, S.G., P. Prasad, M. Mul and P. van der Zaag, 2024. Integrating equity and justice principles in water resources modelling and management. Environmental Research Letters 19, 111001
[doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad7a8d] [OPEN ACCESS]
Enteshari, S., H. Safavi and P. van der Zaag, 2020. Simulating the interactions between the water and the socio-economic system in a stressed endorheic basin. Hydrological Sciences Journal 2020, 1-16 [doi:10.1080/02626667.2020.1802027] [OPEN ACCESS]
Bakhshianlamouki, E., S. Masia, P. Karimi, P. van der Zaag, J. Susnik, 2020. A system dynamics model to quantify the impacts of restoration measures on the water-energy-food nexus in the Urmia Lake Basin, Iran. Science of the Total Environment 708, 134874 [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134874]
Saraiva Okello, A., S. Uhlenbrook, G. Jewitt, I. Masih, E. Riddell and P. van der Zaag, 2018. Hydrograph separation using tracers and digital filters to quantify runoff components in a semi-arid meso-scale catchment. Hydrological Processes 32 (10), 1334-1350 [doi:10.1002/hyp.11491]
Green water management
Birhanu, A., I. Masih, P. van der Zaag, J. Nyssen and X. Cai, 2019. Impacts of land use and land cover changes on hydrology of the Gumara catchment, Ethiopia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 112, 165–174 [doi:10.1016/j.pce.2019.01.006]
Yalew, S.G., T. Pilz, C. Schweitzer, S. Liersch, J. van der Kwast, A.van Griensven, M.L. Mul, C. Dickens, and P. van der Zaag, 2018. Coupling land-use change and hydrologic models for quantification of catchment ecosystem services. Environmental Modelling and Software 109, 315-328 [doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.08.029]
Kiptala, J., M.L. Mul, Y.A. Mohamed and P. van der Zaag, 2018. Multi-objective analysis of the green-blue water uses in a highly utilized basin. Case study of Pangani Basin, Africa. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 144 (8), 05018010 [doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000960]
Kiptala, J., B. Laa, T. Hessels and P. van der Zaag, 2018c. An assessment of the value of an African landscape. The case of the Mara Basin, Kenya. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 107, 71–85 [10.1016/j.pce.2018.09.009]
Gebremicael, T., Y.A Mohamed, P. van der Zaag and E.Y Hagos, 2018. Quantifying longitudinal land use change from land degradation to rehabilitation in the headwaters of Tekeze-Atbara Basin, Ethiopia. Science of the Total Environment 622-623, 1581-1589 [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.034]
Sand rivers
Belemtougri, A., R. Yonaba, C.I. Michailovsky, T. Stigter, L.A. Mounirou and P. van der Zaag, 2026. Where rivers sleep: mapping ephemeral sand rivers in the West African Sahel. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment 41, 101838 [doi:10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101838] [OPEN ACCESS]
Prasad, P., A. Duker, D.Z. Velasquez, M. Chauruka, B.M. Karimba, C. de Fraiture, E. Manzungu and P. van der Zaag, 2024. From few large to many small investments: lessons for adaptive irrigation development in an uncertain world. Frontiers in Water 6, 1296262 [doi:10.3389/frwa.2024.1296262] [OPEN ACCESS]
Duker, A.E.C., S. Maseko, M.A. Moyo, B.M Karimba, A. Bolding, P. Prasad, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2023. The changing faces of farmer-led irrigation: Lessons from dynamic irrigation trajectories in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Journal of Development Studies 59 (9), 1317–1336. [doi:10.1080/00220388.2023.2204176] [OPEN ACCESS]
Prasad, P., A. Duker, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Irrigation development under uncertainty: a call for adaptive investment pathways. Environmental Science and Policy 140, 104–110 [doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2022.11.017] [OPEN ACCESS]
Duker A.E.C., Karimba B.M., Wani G.E., Prasad P., Van der Zaag P., De Fraiture C., 2022. Security in flexibility: accessing land and water for irrigation in Kenya’s changing rural environment. Cahiers Agricultures 31, 7. [doi:10.1051/cagri/2022003] [OPEN ACCESS]
Karimba, B. M., A. Duker, P. Prasad, P. Karimi, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2022. Irrigation on the move: How transient farming partnerships facilitate the expansion of smallholder irrigation along ephemeral rivers in dryland areas of Kenya. Agricultural Water Management 265, 107526. [doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107526] [OPEN ACCESS]
Duker, A.E.C., T.A. Mawoyo, A. Bolding, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2020. Shifting or drifting? The crisis-driven advancement and failure of private smallholder irrigation from sand river aquifers in arid Zimbabwe. Agricultural Water Management 241, 106342. [doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106342] [OPEN ACCESS]
Irrigation management
Chauruka, M., A. Duker, P. Prasad and P. van der Zaag, 2023. Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling. Water SA 49 (4), 355–362. [doi:10.17159/wsa/2023.v49.i4.4031] [OPEN ACCESS]
Chukalla, A.D., M.L. Mul, P. van der Zaag, G. van Halsema, E. Mubaya, E. Muchanga, N. den Besten and P. Karimi. 2022. A framework for irrigation performance assessment using WaPOR data: the case of a sugarcane estate in Mozambique. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 26, 2759–2778 [doi:10.5194/hess-26-2759-2022] [OPEN ACCESS]
Duker A.E.C., B.M. Karimba, G.E. Wani, P. Prasad, P. van der Zaag and C. de Fraiture, 2022. Security in flexibility: accessing land and water for irrigation in Kenya’s changing rural environment. Cahiers Agricultures 31,7 [doi:10.1051/cagri/2022003] [OPEN ACCESS]
Karimba, B. M., A. Duker, P. Prasad, P. Karimi, C. de Fraiture and P. van der Zaag, 2022. Irrigation on the move: How transient farming partnerships facilitate the expansion of smallholder irrigation along ephemeral rivers in dryland areas of Kenya. Agricultural Water Management 265, 107526. [doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107526] [OPEN ACCESS]
Den Besten, N., S. Steele-Dunne, B. Aouizerats, A. Zajdband, R. de Jeu and P. van der Zaag, 2021. Observing sucrose accumulation with Sentinel-1 backscatter. Frontiers in Remote Sensing 2, 778691. [doi:10.3389/frsen.2021.778691] [OPEN ACCESS]
Den Besten, N., S. Steele-Dunne, R. de Jeu and P. van der Zaag, 2021. Towards monitoring waterlogging with remote sensing for sustainable irrigated agriculture. Remote Sensing 13 (15), 2929. [doi:10.3390/rs13152929] [OPEN ACCESS]
Rap, E., and P. van der Zaag, 2019. Engaging with flows: embodied cognition in water provision. Water 11, 1751. [doi:10.3390/w11091751] [OPEN ACCESS]
Capacity development
Jonker, L., P. van der Zaag, B. Gumbo, J. Rockström, D. Love, H.H.G. Savenije, 2012. A regional and multi-faceted approach to postgraduate water education – the WaterNet experience in Southern Africa. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 16, 4225–4232. [doi:10.5194/hess-16-4225-2012] [OPEN ACCESS]
Pieter van der Zaag 
Dear Sir,
Feels very happy and nostalgic your academic records and your photographs. I am proud of being your student.
Kind Regards, Subha
Dear Pieter, Dear Subha
First Pieter, congratulations for your webe page and for sharing important documents about water resources management. My name is Carlos Saavedra (Agricultura Engineer) I work in Bolivia in the subject of integrated watershed management. With our project we are looking in how make “sustainable” intervention (implementation of watershed projects) at microwatershed level. As such i would really appreciate the oportunity to review the Phd thesis entitled “Sustainable watershed management: illusion or reality” written Subha Vishnudas. If you could availabel a pdf format i will appreciated very much. best regards Carlos