Application of decision analysis module in water resources allocation of inter-provincial river basins: A case study at the Bang Giang - Ky Cung river basin, Vietnam

Abstract

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method has been widely applied in numerous studies related to water allocation worldwide. However, in Vietnam, very few works have addressed the determination of priority orders and water allocation proportions using this method. This paper focuses on the application of AHP, integrated into the decision analysis module for Excel tool (DAME), to determine the priority order and proportion of water resource allocation for the Bang Giang - Ky Cung river basin using various input data, such as water usage, production values, growth rates, etc. The results, based on scenarios of socio-economic growth up to 2025 for Cao Bang, Lang Son, and Bac Kan provinces, taking into account four main water user categories (industry, livestock, agriculture, aquaculture), and considering the entire basin, indicate that the highest proportion of water resource allocation is for the agriculture, approximately 34%, followed by livestock at 33%, industry at 22%, and finally aquaculture at 11%. The findings of this paper can serve as a reference for near-future planning to promote the development of water sectors, increase production capacity, and effectively manage water resources to meet socio-economic development targets for the period from 2021 to 2025 in the provinces located within the basin.