Water and Sustainable Environmental Planning
Results of the Exploratory Study
Project:
Integrated Water Resources Management in Esfahan (Iran)
Project team and contact person:
Cooperation:
inter 3 - Institut für
Ressourcenmanagement
(Dr. Shahrooz Mohajeri, Tamara Nunez)
p2m berlin GmbH (Berlinwasser-Gruppe)
Duration :
12/2004–05/2005
finished
Integrated Water Resources Management in Esfahan (Iran)
Exploratory Study Zayandeh Rud River Basin
Emanating from the Zagros Mountains, the Zayandeh Rud (or Zayandehrood) is the highest-volume river in (semi-)arid Central Iran. Nevertheless, in view of the resources present in the basin of Zayandeh Rud river, the water management in this region has become an area of conflict between different actors, a conflict, moreover, that exacerbated in recent years. In the river basin the water suppliers of Esfahan and the other cities, the large steel mills, and irrigation-dependent agriculture all have a high demand for water. As a result the wetland area of Gav Khuni (or Gawkhooni), recognized internationally under the Ramsar Convention, is no longer receiving an adequate quantity of water. Moreover, there are significant water quality problems effected by multifarious and unconcerted forms of water utilisation.
The IWRM approach is regarded as a very promising concept for developing improved solutions to water management problems in the Zayandeh Rud basin. For Esfahan and the basin of the Zayandeh Rud river, the potentials of a situation-specific IWRM as well as its restrictions were worked out in an explanatory study. Following an analysis of the situation, a concept incorporating IWRM principles was developed in cooperation with the Iranian authorities and stake-holders.
The project has been supported by BMBF as part of the ideas competition for the preparation of projects falling within the funding focus, "Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Including the Necessary Technology and Know-how Transfers".
