Water Consumption Trends Unsustainable

Players in the agriculture sector, especially farmers, must realize that current water consumption trends cannot be sustained, as groundwater reserves continue to drop, Iran’s top environment official has said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with the top brass of environmental NGOs, Massoumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Department of Environment, said convincing farmers that their wasteful farming practices must cease is a task that should be carried out by non-governmental organizations.

“Excessive and illegal water withdrawal is our greatest tragedy and we’re witnessing the effects, the latest of which are reports of land subsidence in Neyshabour (in Khorasan Razavi Province),” she was quoted as saying by ISNA.

A variety of factors, including unsustainable farming practices, injudicious household use and old supply network, has taken a hefty toll on Iran’s fast-depleting water reserves.

Official data suggest more than 90% of the country’s water resources are used in agriculture sector with a mere 30% efficiency, which pales in comparison to the global average of 75%.

Outdated farming practices and inefficient irrigation methods have forced farmers to illegally channel water from rivers and streams to their farms or dig water wells to tap into groundwater sources without receiving the approval of relevant authorities.

This has exacerbated Iran’s water woes, as the country is located in one of the most water-stressed regions.

To tackle the problem, the Council of Ministers in August approved the allocation of $500 million from the National Development Fund to upgrade agricultural irrigation systems across Iran.

According to the International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage, these systems can improve irrigation efficiency by up to 95%, due to the amount of control farmers have over the flow of water.

Iranian water experts agree that upgrading irrigation systems will have a profound impact on the country’s water resources, insisting that it will help avert a disaster that could otherwise lead to the displacement of more than 50 million people.