Hydropolitics of Iran's Water Resources: Consequences of the Water Scarcity Challenge

Introduction Increasing demand on the one hand, and decreasing resources for various reasons on the other hand, have doubled the importance of providing, managing, and optimally using freshwater resources in arid countries. Iran has experienced water shortages because of geographical reasons since ancient times, and today it is facing with water shortages due to human reasons and improper management of water resources. The increasing complexity of the water shortages has led to the emergence of problems in recent years. All economic sectors of the country have been affected by the aforementioned problems, and agricultural activities are not as prosperous as they were in the past. From a social perspective, the spread of migration and dissatisfaction have been consequences of the intensification of water shortages. Security and access to water resources has been a topic of land management and geographic spatial organizing in Iran. Access to water resources has been the first reason for geographical dispersion of the population in Iran. This research which has focused on the water shortage in Iran, tries to explain the hydropolitical nature of the country's water resources and the transformation of the challenge of water shortages into a crisis. The research method This research with an inductive approach using the strategy of geographical and documentary studies is descriptive-analytic and data gathering procedure is based on library findings. Also, valid indicators have been used to measure the state of resources. Findings Factors influencing the emergence of challenges can be divided into two groups: natural and human factors. The obvious form of climate change in Iran is the change in the pattern of precipitation. Decrease in precipitation, change in precipitation patterns, change in intensity and duration of precipitation, irregularity in precipitation, and increase in temperature are the most important outputs of climate change in the country. According to the findings, the increase in temperature and the decrease in precipitation in the coming years will lead to a decrease in available fresh water resources. Annual total rainfall, surface and groundwater inflow and outflow to the country is ۴۰۰.۸ billion cubic meters. Of the total ۱۰۰ percent of rainfall, ۶۰ percent is lost through direct evaporation. Another ۱۱ percent is lost through forests, pastures, and rainfed areas. Thus, more than ۷۰ percent of the water received is quickly lost through evaporation and transpiration before entering the consumption cycle. The remaining water volume for the country is about ۱۳۰ billion cubic meters and in fact constitutes the country's water potential. Climate change has had a significant impact on precipitation systems, and in addition to creating temporal irregularity, it has also exacerbated spatial irregularity. Iran is among the nine countries most vulnerable to climate change. Changing precipitation patterns is one of the most obvious consequences of climate change worldwide. A prominent form of climate change in Iran is also the change in precipitation patterns. Decreased precipitation, changing precipitation patterns, changes in the intensity and duration of precipitation, irregularity in the timing of precipitation, and increased temperature are the most important outcomes of climate change in the country. The country's resources are managed by the Ministry of Energy, but the most important water consumer is the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. Department of Environment is responsible for monitoring and supervising water resources to ensure water purity. Multiple and separate policies have led to the failure to achieve integrated water resource management and the failure to integrate water policies has led to a diversity of water strategies. One of the most important challenges facing the country's water resources is the excessive exploitation of these resources. This exploitation has reached such a level that the capacity for aquifer restoration has been destroyed and a negative balance has become a common feature of all aquifers. The limited availability of groundwater resources, the imbalance in the groundwater balance, the lack of permanent rivers, and the subsequent weakness of groundwater aquifer recharge have exacerbated these limitations in recent years. Inter-basin water transfer, plain subsidence, and insecurity caused by water shortages are consequences of improper management of the country's water resources. One of the most important challenges of the country's water resources is the excessive exploitation of these resources. Water shortage has aggravated the imbalance in the underground water balance, the lack of permanent rivers and then the weakness of feeding the underground water reservoirs. According to the surveys conducted and the statistics and information of the synoptic stations and the Ministry of Energy, in the last ۱۵ years, the temperature of the Iran has increased by about ۱ degree Celsius. Also, the country's rainfall has decreased by about ۱۵% in this period compared to the long-term period. Over exploitation and decrease in rainfall have caused the number of prohibited plains increase from ۱۵ plains in ۱۹۶۸ to ۴۰۵ plains in ۲۰۱۷. Conclusion The findings of this research indicate that mismanagement on the one hand and climate changes from the other hand are turning the water shortage problem into a water shortage crisis in Iran. The assessment of Iran's water resources situation in the form of indicators also emphasizes that it is on the brink of a water shortage crisis. Over exploitation has caused a deficit of ۵ billion cubic meters per year, and as a result, the level of underground water has dropped. Exploitation of rivers flow has exceeded the permitted level and the rivers of the country have been prevented from their usual and natural flow. The phenomenon of water scarcity will lead to unemployment, widespread migration, protests, subsidence of plains, excessive land dryness, increased dust production, disruption of urban and rural life, loss of plant and animal ecosystems, etc. The results of the continuation of the current trend of the country's water resources are a growing linear situation with expanding dimensions.