Analyzing Effective Strategies to Reduce Water Shortage in Kerman Province
Subject Areas : Regional PlanningElham Azizabadi 1 , Hojat Mahkouei 2 , amir gandomkar 3
1 - Ph.D. Student of Political Geography, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran.
2 - Department of Geography, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran.
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Najaf Abad Unit, Islamic Azad University, Najaf Abad, Iran
Keywords: Kerman Province, Water Shortage, Water Management Patterns,
Abstract :
Water, as an element that plays an important and main role in human life, has become one of the most challenging issues in the current era. Almost most of the governments pay attention to the state of water resources of their land and look for solutions for the proper and better use of water resources by the people so that they cannot face the crisis of water shortage and reduction of water resources. while 31 countries in the world are currently facing water scarcity, and by 2025, another 17 countries will. They will also join this group due to the increase in population. One of the countries that has faced the challenge of reducing water scarcity is Iran. In the meantime, some provinces have faced the challenge of water shortage earlier than other provinces. Kerman province is one of the provinces where, due to the role of the agricultural sector in the employment and economic income of its people, the problem of water shortage and drought is evident in it. The main goal of this article is to analyze the effective solutions to reduce water shortage in Kerman province. Based on this, the main question raised is which solution is better and more effective to deal with water shortage in Kerman province? To answer this question, the descriptive-analytical research method and the tools of library collection and internet sites have been used and the research findings have been obtained. The results of the research show that Kerman province has water shortage challenges and water resource management models can be better and more efficient in solving water shortage problems and reducing water resources than water transfer projects (Beheshtabad and Safaroud). Extended Abstract Introduction However, due to the non-instantaneousness of this phenomenon and its continuous nature, its effects can be reduced with effective management. In general, when facing any natural hazard, two types of management can be applied, one is risk management and the other is crisis management. Risk management should be applied before crisis management in its general sense. In risk management, it is believed that prevention is the most important cure. Therefore, all efforts are directed to the direction that a crisis never happens. The management that developing countries follow is crisis management. Risk management is actually organization management; It means planning, directing and controlling the organization's systems and resources to achieve the goals. Drought, as a natural disaster and an inevitable phenomenon, has been occurring and occurring repeatedly in a wide area of different countries, especially countries located in hot and dry regions. Therefore, this phenomenon causes irreparable losses to the agricultural sector. In addition, the application of ineffective technical management and the use of inappropriate strategies provide the ground for the occurrence of subsequent droughts. (Shafie and et al, 2019,a: 540). The plains of Kerman province do not have a good situation in terms of water resources. 12 critical restricted areas and 25 restricted areas for the plains have been introduced. The reasons for this classification are water level drop, saltwater advance (Sirjan desert plain), water level drop and supply of drinking water (Goriya al-Arab plain), as well as maintaining the river base discharge and maintaining the canal system (Sultani plain). The mentioned factors are considered in the category of prohibited area and critical prohibited area. The total deficit of the reservoir for the plains of Kerman province is estimated at 813.41 million cubic meters. (Kerman Regional Water Organization website، https://krrw.ir/st/206) Methodology This research is practical in terms of type and has been carried out with descriptive-analytical approach and method of collecting library resources and internet sites. The main question raised is which solution is better and more effective to deal with water shortage in Kerman province? In response to this question, the hypothesis is raised that according to water resource management patterns and water transfer development plans such as Beheshtabad, Safaroud, the best solution to reduce water shortage in Kerman province is to use water resource management patterns. Results and Discussion Due to the dry climate, drought and low annual rainfall and excessive harvesting of underground aquifers, the reduction of water resources in Kerman province has become a serious crisis. The reduction of rainfall, the continuation of droughts, and the indiscriminate extraction of underground water tables are among the issues that have faced a serious challenge in the water sector in Kerman province. Decreasing the level of underground aquifers, many environmental problems such as the reduction and drying up of water wells and the destruction of underground water sources, the reduction of plant and animal diversity, the reduction of water quality, the loss of vegetation and as a result soil erosion and the increase of flood potential. (Baniasadi and et al, 2018:67). This situation shows that the water resources of this province are critical. As in many studies, the decrease of water level in the underground water table of Kerman province has been mentioned. The main source of water for the agricultural sector in this region is underground water. The use of water resources in this province has a significant expansion, and due to the fact that there are very few rivers full of water in this province, the main use is of underground water. As a result, most of the plains and aquifers of the province are facing a decrease in the reservoir volume and an increasing drop in the underground water level. In Kerman city, due to the high exploitation of underground water, the annual drop of the underground water level reaches more than 1.2 meters. In addition to increasing the cost of water extraction, this issue has caused problems such as land subsidence and cracks in the ground. The presence and digging of deep and semi-deep wells in the province has caused excessive exploitation of underground water resources. Also, aqueducts and springs are other ways of using underground water resources. In total, during the year, more than 6 billion cubic meters of water are discharged from these water extraction sources, of which about 800 million cubic meters are more than the capacity of underground water tables. In general, 83% of the province's agricultural lands are dedicated to agriculture and annual fallow, of which 57% is irrigated and the rest is rainfed. From the total area of irrigated agricultural land, the wheat crop with a cultivated area of about 120 thousand hectares includes 35% of the pattern of irrigated agriculture in the province. (Miraei Khalilabadi, 2012:70-71)(Khaliliyan and Zare Mehrjerdi, 2005:2-3). Conclusion Since there are not many sources of fresh water in the world according to chart number 1, and these sources must be responsible for all living things on land, therefore the problem and crisis of water shortage is a serious and significant issue. Library findings in this article show that the state of water resources in Kerman province is associated with decline and insecurity. The existence of social, economic, and environmental challenges raised in water transfer projects such as Beheshtabad and Safaroud shows a serious concern for water, that when the issue of water distribution is discussed, even the people within the same land, who are a single nation, are involved in ethnic challenges and looking at local and indigenous needs regardless of their kind in a place other than their motherland. As the studies have shown, in connection with the Behesht Abad project, there is practically no positive application in the Great Karun basin by carrying out this project, for each of the provinces of Isfahan, Yazd and Kerman, but for the Safaroud project, which is an intra-provincial project for The city of Kerman has good consequences, but this plan has also caused the destruction of the environment for the Jiroft plain, and in the long run, this plan will not be suitable. Of course, these plans need proper and accurate scientific studies and evaluations; It means that each of the provinces related to the project needs the support of the people and local tribes so that this support of the tribes is placed as the first priority and the government can complete such projects with the right policies. But in relation to the management patterns of water resources, it can be seen that attention is paid to the proposed management patterns such as: 1. The need to use economic efficiency along with physical efficiency in irrigation; 2. Increasing the price of water and reducing irrigation water in water consuming farms; 3. Obtaining agricultural credits, determining the best model of crop cultivation with emphasis on reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, all three of these plans have been evaluated and studied in Kerman province, these water resources management models can be better and more efficient in solving problems. Dehydration and reduction of water resources should work.
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