Iran’s challenges in the face of water shortage have been long dubbed as “water crisis” but some experts are bringing forward a different terminology and stress that it should be referred to as “water bankruptcy”.
Kaveh Madani, the training and research deputy at the Department of Environment, is among the initiators of the term and insists that the country’s present conditions cannot be defined as critical but rather bankrupt.
“A crisis is an acute situation when there is potential to return things to their original status, but bankruptcy means that chances for full recovery have been ruined,” he said, while addressing a conference on the occasion of the National Water Day on Sunday, ILNA reported.
According to the official, speaking of water crisis means clinging to the belief that depleted rivers and wetlands can be fully restored, groundwater resources can be replenished and water scarcity can be resolved while at present “nature is not capable of such redress”.
The amount of water owed to the environment for its restoration is much greater than the existing resources and the damage in most parts is irreparable.
“In financial terms, the condition is described as bankruptcy [and so it should be in water terms],” he said.
He explained that the reason for his insistence is that this shift of view will result in the launch of a new mission: adaptation.
“In critical conditions, all the efforts are directed at restoring the system, but when bankrupt, the focus will turn to adaptation along with restoration of reparable areas,” he said.
Job and Food Risks
It has been repeatedly said that 90% of water resources are used for agriculture. Therefore, a proposed solution in line with adaptation strategies is that the sector has to be shut down or minimized.
Madani, however, opposed the idea as a “hasty and wrong decision”.
“Advocates of the idea are simply disregarding the role of agriculture in Iran’s social economy and food security,” he said.
According to Madani, careful plans are needed to ensure employment and food security before taking such urgent measures.
He suggested that the industry and service sectors are suitable alternatives to ensure sustainable employment and food security in lieu of putting pressure on natural resources.
“Industrial items and services could be traded for food,” he said emphasizing that food security has to be distinguished from self-sufficiency.
In addition, Madani stressed the importance of justice in the allocation of water resources while adopting methods to adapt to the drought conditions.
“In the absence of an entity to administer justice, there is a constant dispute between farmers and urban residents. One group demands the reduction or elimination of agricultural practices while the other calls for that for urban green spaces,” he said.
He also called for regular and precise reports about the state of the country’s water resources to raise awareness about the seriousness of the matter and engage the public and the private sector in the battle against water shortage.
