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Iran’s Socio-economic Drought

Challenges of a Water-Bankrupt Nation

Bibliographic Data

ID9978032
AuthorsKaveh Madani (0000-0003-0378-3170, Imperial College London, corresponding author), Amir AghaKouchak (0000-0003-4689-8357, Irvine University), Ali Mirchi (0000-0002-9649-2964, The University of Texas at El Paso)
Year2016
Volume49
Issue6
Pages997-1016
Publication date2016-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIranian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-0862 • E-ISSN: 1475-4819
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/00210862.2016.1259286
OpenAlexW2560320949
LanguageEN
Citations received39
References cited36

Iran is currently experiencing serious water problems. Frequent droughts coupled with over-abstraction of surface and groundwater through a large network of hydraulic infrastructure and deep wells have escalated the nation’s water situation to a critical level. This is evidenced by drying lakes, rivers and wetlands, declining groundwater levels, land subsidence, water quality degradation, soil erosion, desertification and more frequent dust storms. This paper overviews the major drivers of Iran’s water problems. It is argued that while climatic changes and economic sanctions are commonly blamed as the main drivers of water problems, Iran is mainly suffering from a socio-economic drought—i.e. “water bankruptcy,” where water demand exceeds the natural water supply. In theory, this problem can be resolved by re-establishing the balance between water supply and demand through developing additional sources of water supply and implementing aggressive water demand reduction plans. Nevertheless, the current structure of the water governance system in Iran and the absence of a comprehensive understanding of the root causes of the problem leave minimal hope of developing sustainable solutions to Iran’s unprecedented water problems

Damages · Desertification · Economics · Environmental planning · Groundwater · Natural resource economics · Resource (disambiguation · Water balance · Water quality · Water resource management · Water resources · Water scarcity · Water supply · Wetland · Engineering · Environmental Engineering · Environmental Science · Hydrology and Drought Analysis · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Water resources management and optimization

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Citations per year4.88
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Highly citedNo

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