Assessment of Modern Approach of Water Governance in the Development of Water Exploitation Systems in Sistan Region
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Journal of Applied Research in Water and Wastewater 14 (2020) 127-136 Original paper Assessment of modern approach of water governance in the development of water exploitation systems in Sistan region Farzaneh Shahbakhsh, Mahdi Safdari*, Ali Sardar Shahraki Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT Development of water exploitation Modern Water governance systems approach MADM approach ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Water is the basis of life, the foundation of nature, and the pillar of social, economic, Received 27 July 2020 and cultural development of societies. So, the supply of safe and consumable water Reviewed 1 October 2020 has always been a concern. On the other hand, a major challenge of modern Received in revised form 5 November 2020 societies is the lack of precipitation and frequent droughts. Thus, the present paper Accepted 7 November 2020 assesses the principles of water governance in the Sistan region with respect to the development of water exploitation systems with an environmental approach and Keywords: presents an integrated multi-attribute decision-making model with a water Water governance governance approach in the Sistan region. The simple additive weighting (SAW) Economic assessment method that is used here is one of the multiple attribute decision making (MADM) Water resources methods. The indicators of water governance principles were derived from the Exploitation system development opinions of 30 water experts, faculty members, and water users in the Sistan region Drought by the SAW method, and weights were assigned to them to form MADM matrices. According to the results, six indicators were derived as the indicators determining the principles of water governance. ‘Traditional users’ was selected as the strongest system and ‘irrigation and drainage networks exploitation companies’ as the weakest system. Also, according to the results of water experts, the first rank was assigned to ‘irrigation and drainage networks exploitation companies’ (A2) with the final crisp score of 6.818 followed by ‘water user cooperatives’ (A4) with the final crisp score of 6.515 in the second rank and ‘private firms’ (A6) with the final crisp score of 6.308 in the third rank. ©2020 Razi University-All rights reserved. 1. Introduction that was once estimated at 130 billion m3 per year has declined to about 120 billion m3 (Sardar Shahraki et al. 2016; Sardar Shahraki. 2016). Water is a necessary element of life. Socioeconomic development Even when the recent five-year statistics are considered, this has been has always tied to water (Ahmadi and Badisar. 2017). Water is the main about 105 billion m3, implying a significant decline of per capita factor of prosperity and no prosperity can be imagined without it. On the renewable water (Sardar Shahraki et al. 2016). To complicate the other hand, water is a precious economic commodity that cannot be problem of water loss, the population has grown too. The result is that replaced (Sardar Shahraki et al. 2016). A deeper look at water and presently there is less than 1500 m3 of water available for each Iranian related crises implicate inappropriate, non-expertise, and precipitous and it has been projected that this may fall to below 1000 m3 in the next decisions for some problems of water (Afsari et al. 2018; Sardar 10 years (Hajimoradi et al. 2014; Sardar Shahraki and Karim. 2018). Shahraki et al. 2018). The amount of renewable water resource of Iran Water scarcity, especially the drawbacks in drinking water supply and * P a g e Corresponding author Email: [email protected] | Please cite this article as: F. Shahbakhsh, M. Safdari, A. Sardar Shahraki, Assessment of modern approach of water governance in the development of water 127 exploitation systems in Sistan region, Journal of Applied Research in Water and Wastewater, 7 (2), 2020, 127-136. Shahbakhsh et al. / J. App. Res. Wat. Wast. 7 (2020) 127-136 hygienic facilities, essentially emanates from incompetent management year. This is also responsible for its hot and dry weather. The rainfalls and inefficient regulations and institutions. Good governance is an in Southeastern Iran mainly originate from the Mediterranean systems element that can lay the ground for the implementation of integrated that come with western winds in cold seasons. The combination of water resource management (Jamali. 2017). In water resource different systems in cold seasons causes the regional rainfall to vary management issues, drought is a natural disaster that has a lot of across the years and exhibit substantial variations (Razeie et al. 2007). harmful impacts on ecological environments (Yaqob et al. 2015). The Sistan plain, which has been formed from the alluvium of the Drought is a transient and reversible status of climate that is mistakenly Hirmand river, is located to the north of the province. The plain in perceived to be a rare random phenomenon (Kariminazar et al. 2011). intermediate desert climate group has annual precipitation of less than Drought is more hazardous than other natural disasters in terms of 50 mm, but its evaporation exceeds 5000 mm. This has caused severe frequency of occurrence, intensity, duration, extensiveness, casualties, physical dryness of the region. In addition, when the input water of the socioeconomic losses, and severe long-term impacts, so it needs Hirmand river drops, fatal droughts develop in this region (Piri et al. special attention in decision-making (Nosrati and Kazemi. 2010; Sardar 2013; Sardar Shahraki. 2016). The water conditions of the Sistan region Shahraki et al. 2018). calls for a kind of integrated water resource management that considers Iran is located in the arid and semi-arid zone of the world and has management constraints of the region in terms of water. Water always been struggling with the challenge of water scarcity. Droughts governance and its principles can consider the special water conditions in this country have been aggravated in recent years, calling for special of the region with a modern approach and can take the necessary plans for water consumption (Afroozeh et al. 2011; Sardar Shahraki. measures. In this respect, the present study aims: Survey measures 2019). On the other hand, due to particular climatic location of the and policies in place for water governance in the Sistan region. Study country and inappropriate temporal and spatial distribution of of impacts the decision-making approach and integrated water precipitation (Daliri et al. 2009), the scarcity of surface water is more resource management with a water governance attitude have on water severe in central and eastern parts of Iran where officials should resources in the Sistan region. Accordingly, the objectives of the carefully consider the sound management of underground water present study can be summarized as the assessment of water resources (Gaedi et al. 2015; Sardar Shahraki. 2018). governance principles in the Sistan region with respect to the Covering an area of 181,785 km2, the province of Sistan and development of water consumption systems and the presentation of an Baluchistan is the largest province of Iran lying within the latitudes of integrated model of multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) systems 25°03' and 31°27' N. and the longitudes of 58°50' and 63°21' E. Since with an economic-environmental approach in the Sistan region (See the province is located in lower latitudes, it has a hot and arid climate Fig. 1). and is dominated by high-pressure tropical systems in over half of the Fig. 1. Study area in research As a major parameter influencing water resources, human being 2005). To use these water bodies correctly, appropriate managerial plays a decisive role in the sustainability of this complex system (REF). measures should be adopted (Gaedi et al. 2015). Below is a review of The conventional definitions stress out the political nature of water the literature that is related to our research topic. governance on the one hand since governance cannot be separated In a study of an institutional and structural framework for the from politics (Pahl-Wostl. 2015) and consider water governance within implementation of integrated water resource management in Iran and a wide range of political-social-economic-official systems involved in in the studied watershed of Lake Urmia, Hashemi (2012) concluded that decision making about the development of water resource the efficiency of the water governance system had been enhanced by management and the supply of services at different levels of the society a participatory process, but the effectiveness and efficiency of water on the other hand. The water governance system determines who can allocation will be diminished unless an adaptive approach is adopted have access to water and enjoy its benefits and related services and for water allocation and measures are taken to increase water use when and how one can access it (Allan. 2001; Barker and Molle. 2004). efficiency. Safaee and Malek Mohammadi (2014) studied the history of On the other hand, droughts are extreme hydrological phenomena that water conflict over Lake Urmia and provided strategic insights for better are characterized by the long-term absence of rainfall in a vast area and decision-making by using game theory and determining the most may occur in any climatic conditions (Sardar Shahraki. 2016). This possible results. In a study entitled ‘Sustainable water governance: The phenomenon has significant effects on the economy of the environment main challenge of water crisis management in the Zayanderud River’, and water resources (Alizadeh and Mohammadi. 2015). Yousefi et al. (2013) surveyed the statistical population and found that The Sistan region in eastern Iran is one of the regions that need the most important factors responsible for the loss of the river water water resource management measures. The integrated use of surface were the decline of rainfall, the increasing rate of water use by the and underground water resources is one of the foremost methods of industry, and the increasing rate of water consumption by provinces in comprehensive water resource management (Gaedi et al.