Methodologies for Locating Suitable Areas for Rainwater Harvesting in Arid Regions: A Review

The present review article aims to address what is currently being studied in the field of identifying suitable regions for the implementation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in arid zones. The need for this study is supported by the growing interest in the topic, which has arisen due to growing environmental concerns and the search for sustainable development techniques. Through the application of Methodi Ordinatio, 37 articles produced between 2020 and 2025 were identified. Analyzing the results, it was possible to observe the widespread use of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as a Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) methodology. To a lesser extent, the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) were also used. The selected thematic layers, as well as the weights for the criteria, underwent a sensitive analysis by the researchers and may exhibit significant variation, even in studies conducted in nearby areas. The most commonly used thematic layers were slope (35 articles), land use/land cover (LULC) (28 articles), rainfall (26 articles), drainage (25 articles), and soil (25 articles). This study can be used as a methodological guide for future research and is important for the systematization of RWH studies in arid zones.