Groundwater Irrigation Management and the Existing Challenges from the Farmers’ Perspective in Central Iran

Abstract

Abstract:The sustainable management of natural resources, and particularly groundwater, presents a major challenge in arid regions to ensure security of water supply and support agricultural production. In many cases, the role of smallholder farmers is often neglected when managing irrigated water and land processes. However, management decisions have a major impact on farmers' livelihoods, and it is essential: first, to recognise the crucial role of regional and local social, political and economic systems; and second, to integrate farmers' perspectives in the governance and management of local groundwater practices. This is particularly important as the ways in which arid region farmers use land and water have wider implications for land degradation and salinization. This paper uses a community-based approach to identify and examine the social, economic and cultural dimensions to groundwater irrigation systems from the perspective of local farmers in central Iran. The paper utilises interviews with local farmers and water agencies in Iran to reflect on their respective roles within the irrigation system and in developing management plans for the sustainable use of groundwater. Through social research, we investigate the reasons why farmers might reject government irrigation management schemes and outline how local problems with land degradation and salinization and reduced water availability have arisen as a result of changing management policies. In conclusion, we identify future challenges and consider appropriate future management strategies.

Iran's Groundwater Hydrochemistry

“…These basins had reached to poor groundwater quality, which was just suitable for irrigation of salt-tolerant crops (Noori et al, 2021). The lack of operative drainage networks in agricultural lands that are responsible for ~90% of national water consumption can also contribute to groundwater salinization (Emadodin et al, 2012;Ghorbani et al, 2017;Jafary and Bradley, 2018). Considering the high rate of evaporation in Iran, which can significantly increase solute concentration in the irrigation return-flow, this may be one of the main contributors to the country's groundwater deterioration.…”

Why Have Economic Incentives Failed to Convince Farmers to Adopt Drip Irrigation in Southwestern Iran?

“…Mostly focusing on the reduction of water demand, a wide range of initiatives have been proposed, including, but not limited to, growing of tolerant-crops, application of new irrigation systems, water pricing, and water rationing [6,12]. Water use efficiency of irrigation is very low in Iran-about 15% to 36% through conventional irrigation methods [13,14]-not just far lower than the 70-90% irrigation system efficiency typically found in developed countries [15,16], but also lower than the water efficiency in some developing countries, such as India [17].…”

“…This low water-use efficiency in Iranian agriculture calls for initiatives to increase the effective use of available water resources [14,16,18]. In short, modern irrigation is seen as a basic solution to water scarcity [10].…”

Bottom-up capping (BUC) policy under bargaining techniques for inter-sectoral groundwater trading: a case study from Iran

“…Across the world, groundwater withdrawal is often the outcome of independent decisions made by individuals and organizations without any centralized control over its management (Van der Gun, 2012). This lack of control over groundwater users, who usually have strong economic incentives to withdraw as much water as possible, has led to overexploitation of groundwater resources (Moreaux & Reynaud, 2004;Jafary & Bradley, 2018), with consequences such as groundwater table drawdown, increased salinity, and land subsidence (Goesch et al, 2007). Economic incentives arising from water trading may even exacerbate these adverse effects (Liang, 2013).…”

“…Nevertheless, water authorities usually cap groundwater permits during a top-down process and inform to their owners (Jafary & Bradley, 2018;O'Donnell & Garrick, 2019). Such command-and-control policies, which ignore various stakeholders' utilities, are often challenging to implement and may even face social resistance (Marchiori et al, 2012;Aghaie et al, 2020).…”