Dr. Ziyana Al-Rawahi is a hydrologist specializing in water management in semi-arid regions, with a particular focus on Oman and the broader Arabian Peninsula. Her research explores environmental policy and the application of traditional water technologies to modern sustainability challenges. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University, where her dissertation, The Sustainability of an Ancestral Water Acquisition System: A Study on Falaj Daris, Nizwa, Oman, examined the long-term viability of one of Oman’s oldest qanat systems in the face of population growth, agricultural expansion, and climate change. Her work combined environmental modeling with policy analysis to develop recommendations for the continued sustainability of falaj Daris. A portion of this research was published in the Sultan Qaboos University Journal for Science (SQUJS 29.1, 2024). Recently, Dr. Al-Rawahi was an invited speaker at the Second International Workshop on Water Resources Management (Bechar, Algeria, October 2024) and has served as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Hydrology. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Al-Rawahi has served for over two decades in a senior role at the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in Washington, D.C., supporting the Office of the Ambassador. In this capacity, she has conducted policy analysis, coordinated liaison efforts with U.S. government agencies, and led strategic communications. She holds an M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Biology, with a minor in Sociology, from The George Washington University.
