| This action submitted in Local Actions at 4th World Water Forum (2006). | |
| Date | Mar.2,2007 |
| Region | Middle East |
| Country | Iran |
| Actor(s) [Nation (Ministry, Agency)/Organization] |
UNESCO |
| Partner(s) | Ministry of Energy; Khorasan Razavi Water Authority UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office Ferdowsi University of Mashhad |
| Title | Integrated Water Resources Management in a Critical Arid Basin of Iran (Mashhad Basin) |
| Objective | During the primary stages of the project formation, the main goal was to bring together all partners in a round table in order to firstly show the problem and secondly to obligate them to implement the results. Later on, concluding and implementing an IWRM plan in order to ensure safe water supply to inhabitants of Mashhad basin for present and future needs was considered as the main result. Now by initiating this project, different institutions and organizations are collaborating in a team work for reaching the best IWRM plan of the region. Only ensuring safe water availability for present and future demands would not be enough for sustainable water and land resources development. The IWRM plan of Mashahd basin concerns many aspects from different view points. Various parties such as the water suppliers (ministry of energy; MoE), water consumers (ministry of jihad-e-agriculture and the Khorasan Razavi government state as the urban consumer), water polluters (industries and mines organization) and the department of environment evaluate impacts of the plan from different envisages. This plan will save the inhabitants of Mashhad basin from suffering from water shortage and ensure an equitable water supply to them with minimum environmental impacts. On the other hand a transparent method for dialogue among governmental agencies will be defined which can serve as a model for the whole country in other projects. |
| Contents | Mashahd Basin is located to the north east of Iran in a breadth area of 16,400 km2 with a population of 3.5 million inhabitants. The main feature of this basin compared to other basins is that the Emam Reza holy Shrine is located in Mashhad city, therefore causing a temporary population of over 10 million pilgrims/per year. Agriculture is the main water consumer at the basin. The annual available water resource per capita in the basin is about 370 m3 which is far below the water poverty level (1000 m3 per capita per year). High Nitration and other polluting elements exist in urban areas where no common wastewater collection systems are available. Implementation of any project within this region is restricted to many social aspects due to the critical role of this province from the religious point of view. On the other hand, the number of government as well as non-government entities involved in decision making issues is rather high. Hence coordination among different organizations requires special attention in order to prevent parallel work and better implementation of foreseen projects. IWRM has been initiated in the basin with the goal of serving people of Khorasan province and close cooperation of all involved partners through the overall spirit of “Team Work”. The project is intended to be linked to UNESCO’s Asian G-WADI Network to benefit from similar experiences in the region and the Globe at large. The IWRM can be practiced in many ways including water harvesting, improving irrigation efficiency, enhancing water demand management and constructing proper wastewater collection systems. In this regard a multi-dimension IWRM plan is being studied by several partners such as the university, consulting engineers, different ministries and other influencing agencies. |
| Means of Implementation |
StakeHolder; - The Khorasan water authority which is an affiliate to the MoE - Ferdowsi university of Mashhad; a governmental university - UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office; intergovernmental agency - TOOSSAB consulting engineers; a private firm - Other partners inclu Means; A basin water council is to be established for steering the project. All stakeholders will have a representative(s) in the council. A launching workshop is to be held very soon which responsibilities of different partners will be addressed. - The Khorasan water authority which is an affiliate to the MoE will provide funds of the project for implementing the urban & agriculture water development plans as well as supervision over construction and O&M of these plans; - Ferdowsi university of Mashhad will be in charge of the technical monitoring and evaluation of studies and also for providing a data bank for saving results; - UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office will assist in providing relevant UNESCO publications and documentations along with international & regional experiences transfer; - TOOSSAB consulting engineers will provide technical consultancy services in various fields and also assist in holding technical workshops; - Other partners will introduce a representative for the Basin Water Council in order to evaluate, accept and implement proposed guidelines and priorities. Ideas; For the first time water harvesting will be practiced at the region at the practice level rather than remaining as a theory. Different stakeholders will work in a team framework and interactions among organizations and entities will be coordinated at a higher level; by the basin water council. Costs; The funds will be mainly provided by the MoE through its affiliates; however ministry of jihad-e-agriculture will also contribute to some minor extent. The Emam Reza holy shrine, which is financially independent, may also invest in urban water development areas. UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office is providing a modest contribution for organizing the launching workshop. The costs comprise of establishment of the basin water council, undertaking studies, implementing development projects, constructing wastewater collection systems and finally institutional supports. |
| CSD Decision |
D-d-(i):Improving water governance through strengthening of institutional and regulatory reforms, capacity development and innovation; D-d-(ii):Providing technical and management support to local authorities and community-based organizations, taking into account research, traditional knowledge and best practices, to improve water resources management within national policy frameworks; D-u-(i):Assessing the impact of natural disasters, climate change and climate variability on water resources, water supply, sanitation, human settlements; |
| Attachment | |
| Situation | Ongoing |
| Target Year | 1- Ensured water supply for the inhabitants of Mashhad basin for present and future needs, 2- To overcome the negative balance of groundwater draw-down in order of 1m per year which is a result of overdrawing and exploiting present resources, 3-Improving the productivity and efficiency of Agricultural water utilization, 4-Enhancing the management of water demand and wastewaters related to Industrial and Mining needs, and 5- Minimize negative impacts on the wenvironment. In order to accomplish these goals, the IWRM plan is being scientifically set and |
| Target Area / Place | Region:Middle East Scope:Basin |
| Expected Outcome(S) | o Water resources management is not only business of water specialists. o In arid zones where water is very scarce, as the case here, agriculture is the main water consumer. Domestic use, especially in a religious city like Mashhad, is of very high importance. Similarly industrial use, which brings more benefit per cubic meter, was apparent in competing for water already committed to agriculture. o Pollution of groundwater as a result of unwise agriculture and urban exploitation should be noted as soon as possible. o In this region it was also noted that water harvesting is a potential and essential measure for coping with water scarcity. This is clearly recognizable through construction of historical dams and also macro and micro water harvesting measures. o It was also noted that different stakeholders such as various water users as well as suppliers should be included in the overall project definition and implementation. |
| Relevance to the Plan of Implementation of WSSD |
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| Progress | |
| Link | |
| Other Information |
Type of Action; Plan Relevant Agencies; Government,Multilateral,Private Orientation; Preventive Replicability; Yes 4th World Water Forum: Local Actions ID; LA0560 Forum Secretariat Recommendation ; No Kyoto Prize Finalist; No Presented in Sessions; Yes Original Language; English |
| Contact Person | Abdin Salih |
| Position | Abdin Salih holds a Professorship on Civil Engineering at the University of Khartoum since 1982. He is currently the Representative and Director of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office. Salih has published more than 70 papers on different aspects of Hydrology and Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones. His field of interest is environmental sciences, particularly hydrology (including groundwater), hydraulics, and water/land resources management under arid conditions. He spent six months at the University of Padova (Italy) advancing his hydraulic research in fast water flows; one year at Colorado State University (US), working with a team in a project on Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater, with Mr. Salih in charge of the part on Artificial Groundwater Recharge; five years at King Saudi University in Riyadh, supervising the establishment of post-graduate studies in Water Resources Engineering and serving as an advisor in many large national water and environmental research projects and was leading a multidisciplinary team to study and solve the engineering and environmental problems related to the rising groundwater beneath the City of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). He is a member of many scientific and academic entities such as: The African Academy of Sciences, Life Fellow of IWRA, Member of the IAHR and founder of its African division. He had been serving as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Khartoum and Deputy Secretary of the IHP (International Hydrological Programme) at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris. |
| a.salih@unesco.org | |
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