Water shortage in Iran has reached a critical level and replacing old strategies with workable methods like integrated water resources management [IWRM], especially in the agro sector, is now a compulsion.
Kazutoshi Aikawa, Japan's ambassador in Tehran, made the statement at an educational seminar named “Japan’s Integrated Water Resources Management” in Tehran on Monday, held in cooperation with the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East, the Energy Ministry’s news portal reported.
“The assessment of dams’ integration based on available data and monitoring water quality with the help of advanced technology are of high importance,” he added.
Aikawa said JCCME is willing to share knowhow to help tackle the issue of water scarcity in Iran, expressing hope that such seminars will yield positive results.
The Energy Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with JCCME in 2017 on finding solutions to cut water consumption.
IWRM is a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.
The water resources management policies in closed lakes environments must not be lake conservation or livelihood, but rather both lake conservation and livelihood.
The Iranian government now stands at a critical turning point regarding the Urmia Lake Basin. The use of a practical IWRM approach will be essential to achieve the required balance of welfare with consensus-building among stakeholders. In this way, Urmia Lake need not face the fate of the Aral Sea or Lake Chad.
JCCME was founded in 1973 during the first oil crisis by the joint efforts of the Tokyo government and private sector as a non-profit incorporated foundation.
International Expertise
According to Mohammad Ali Farahnakian, the energy minister’s advisor for international affairs, Tehran is keen on using international expertise and cooperating with global organizations to address its worsening water conditions.
“The seminar explores ways of minimizing consumption in water-intensive sectors, such as agriculture and industries, limit extraction of water from underground resources and curb the growing menace of land subsidence,” he said.
“Water scarcity has already taken a heavy toll on drought-stricken regions and a large number of farmers are facing serious problems in southern provinces like Khuzestan, Kerman and Isfahan.”
Farahnakian noted that drastic changes are worsening global climate change and the best way is not to be taken by surprise (by torrential rains or drought) and draw on developed countries' knowhow and expertise.
Located in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, Iran is among the top 20 countries with unsustainable water consumption.
Desertification, digging of thousands of illegal water wells nationwide, inefficient farming and water-intensive industries are making a bad situation worse, as the water deficit grows in tandem with prohibitive consumption in all sectors, mainly agriculture.
According to Professor Mahmood Ziaei, a faculty member of Tehran’s Allameh Tabataba'i University, population explosion, massive urban expansion, agricultural issues, rising consumption, waste and climate change have undermined sustainable water resources.
Novel ecological, technological, managerial and cultural solutions are of paramount importance, but are nowhere near the priority list of successive governments in Tehran.
Pooling Minds
The professor noted that all relevant executive bodies, particularly the Energy Ministry, the Department of Environment and the Agriculture Ministry, must shun individual gain and pool minds to safeguard national interests.
“The absence of such cooperation has already created a zero-sum situation as those who have more political clout have easy access to [shrinking] water resources, while rural populations like those in the southern provinces are deprived of safe drinking water and sanitation that are basic human rights,” he said.
“Technology can play a key role in addressing the grave water crisis, but little if any progress has been made to this effect.”
Unlike those who blame the US sanctions for lack of technology development in the key water sector, Ziaei noted that despite the economic blockade, Iran has made “major breakthroughs in indigenizing advanced defense equipment, but the water sector seemingly was not a priority and investment in developing water technology has been lackluster.”
Annual water consumption in Iran is around 100 billion cubic meters, of which 90% are gobbled up by the agro sector due to outdated farming methods and dilapidated equipment.
The faculty member stressed that the people in general and officials in particular need to rethink their approach toward Nature.
Human beings do not own the environment and the harm inflicted on ecosystems has already taken a heavy toll on the health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people and the environment, resulting in climate change, extreme weather events and a surge in natural disasters over the past 50 years, which have disproportionately impacted poorer countries.
“One effective way to tackle water scarcity in Iran is to collect and treat unconventional water, including wastewater and grey water. The collection and use of agricultural drainage can also help,” Ziaei said.
The bottom line is that the water problem in Iran is not as complicated as it seems because workable solutions are available. But the unfortunate fact is that policy- and decision-makers, most of whom lack the necessary knowhow and skills, are preoccupied with other issues and have no time for the pleas and petitions of the academia and experts.
