id
	16560
Url
	https://chloe.cnr.it/s/BiDiAr/item/16560
Resource template
	Academic Article
Resource class
	bibo:AcademicArticle
Title
	Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis?
Creator
	Madani, Kaveh
Date
	2014
Language
	eng
Abstract
	Despite having a more advanced water management system than most Middle Eastern countries, similar to the other countries in the region, Iran is experiencing a serious water crisis. The government blames the current crisis on the changing climate, frequent droughts, and international sanctions, believing that water shortages are periodic. However, the dramatic water security issues of Iran are rooted in decades of disintegrated planning and managerial myopia. Iran has suffered from a symptom-based management paradigm, which mainly focuses on curing the problem symptoms rather than addressing the main causes. This paper reviews the current status of water resources in Iran and recognizes three major causes for the current water crisis: (1) rapid population growth and inappropriate spatial population distribution; (2) inefficient agriculture sector; and (3) mismanagement and thirst for development. The country is faced with serious challenges in the water sector, including but not limited to rising water demand and shortage, declining groundwater levels, deteriorating water quality, and increasing ecosystem losses. If immediate actions are not taken to address these issues, the situation could become more tragic in the near future. The paper suggests some crisis exit strategies that need to be immediately adopted to secure sustainable water resources, if Iran does not want to lose its international reputation for significant success in water resources management over thousands of years in an arid area of the world.
Is Part Of
	Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences
Doi
	https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-014-0182-z
Issn
	2190-6491
Issue
	4
Pages
	315-328
Short title
	Water management in Iran
Volume
	4
Homepage
	https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/items/LGP84RJXitem-list

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