Journal of Water and Wastewater; Ab va Fazilab (in persian)

Journal of Water and Wastewater; Ab va Fazilab (in persian)

Water Crisis and the Need to Reassess Water Ownership and Utilization Methods in Baluchestan (Case Study: Saravan)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Hamideh Chelvarforoush 1
Mehdi Mortazavi 2
Fariba Mosapour Negari 2
1 PhD. Student of Archaeology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Archaeology and Archaeological Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran
10.22093/wwj.2025.504673.3469
Abstract
The water crisis in Baluchestan stems from both natural factors and mismanagement of water resources throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. This study adopts a comparative-critical approach to examine water governance across two legislative periods: the Law on Water and Its Nationalization (1968) and the Fair Distribution of Water Act (1982). It also analyzes the continuation of these laws in recent decades and their impact on water usage practices in Baluchestan. The research methodology is historical-descriptive and interview-based. Findings indicate a regression in water rights following the revision of the water law in 1982. The study’s results-including the mismanagement of water resources, legal shortcomings, failure to implement existing regulations, fragmented land ownership, and neglect of water balance in the region-offer historically-informed solutions to overcome the crisis and promote sustainable water management in Baluchestan. These include reforming water governance, consolidating fragmented land holdings, implementing participatory management models, aligning water production and consumption costs, improving exploitation methods, and balancing water input and output to enhance the region’s water balance. Interviews with experts and local residents suggest that the water crisis in Baluchestan can be addressed through legal reforms, stakeholder participation, improved consumption patterns, and the use of modern methods such as crop pattern adjustment, underground irrigation, and smart watershed management.
Keywords
Water Governance
Watershed Management
Balancing
Fair Distribution of Water Act
Participatory Management

Subjects

Abasi, F., Abasi, N. and Tavakoli, A., 2017. Water productivity in agriculture; challenges and prospects, water and sustainable development, Karaj. Journal of Water and Sustainable Development, 1, 141-144. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22067/jwsd.v4i1.67121.
Akrami, M., 1996. How farmers participate in irrigation management. The 8th Seminar of the National Irrigation and Drainage Committee. Tehran. (In Persian). [Link]
Ali Sofi, A., Azarniusheh, A. and Ovise, A., 2013. Research on Sistan land reform in the Pahlavi period. Journal of Historical Researches, 5, 73-94. (In Persian). [Link]
Azkiya, M. and Rostamalizadeh, V., 2015. Social aspects of irrigation system in Iran. Iranian Journal of Anthropology, 21, 11-43. (In Persian). [Link]
Badisar, N. and Modabernejad, A., 2015. Governing rights on groundwater in Iran. National Congress of Irrigation and Drainage of Iran, 1, 1-10. (In Persian). [Link]
Center for Presidential Strategic Studies, 2017. Water Resources Ownership System in Iran. Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
Ebrahimian, H. and Batokhte, F., 2017. Technologies needed to improve irrigation water utilization. Secretariat of the Specialized Commissions of the Iran Chamber. Tehran. (In Persian).
Emraniyan Khorasani, H., 2014. Good governance and water management. Journal of Water and Sustainable Development, 3, 94-95. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22067/jwsd.v1i3.48661.
Esmaili, P. and Adelifar, B., 2011. Irrigation system of Iran in the Sassanid era. History, 1, 9-22. (In Persian). [Link]
Fisher, W. B., 1968. Physical Geography. In: Fisher, W. B. ed. The Cambridge History of Iran, The Land of Iran. Cambridge University Press, UK. pp. 3-111. [Link]
Jafari Nadoushan, A., 2016. Balancing water resources in the light of amendment to the private property of exploitation right. Journal of Researches Energy Law Studies, 2, 31-50. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22059/jrels.2016.61017.
Janebelahi, M., 2008. Extraction methods and traditional management of distribution and protection of water resources in Balochistan. Culture and People, 27&28, 63-73. (In Persian). [Link]
Jomeapour, M. and Mirlotfi, M., 2012. The role of indigenous knowledge and the functioning of the traditional system of participatory water resources management in sustainable rural livelihood. Social Sciences, 19, 1-31. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22054/qjss.2012.892.
Kharrad Narooi, H., Rohi Moghadam, A., Nohtani, M. and Sargazi, H., 2017. The importance of construction in Khoshab in artificial nutrition of groundwater aquifers in Iranshahr plain. The 6th National Conference on Rainwater Catchment Surface Systems.Isfahan. (In Persian). [Link]
Malekzadeh, K. M., 2025. Interview With a Member of the Jaleq Qanat Committee, Affiliated with Saravan County [Personal interview].
Ministry of Energy, 2014. Groundwater Rehabilitation and Balancing Plan. In: M. O. E. Tehran: Office of Water and Wastewater Management and Conservation Systems. Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
Nakhai, R., 2024. Interview with the Director of Surface Water Protection, Regional Water Authority, on the Implementation of the Plan in Bahu Kalat Region, Southern Balochistan [Personal interview].
Nazemi, A., Asharafsadroldini, A. and Hosenzadeh Dalir, A., 2006. Participatory management of water resources. Water Resources Management, 2, 1-10. (In Persian). [Link]
Nekoee Naini, S. A., 2016. Explaining the structure of Iranian agriculture in the Iranian Islamic model of progress. The 5th Conference on the Iranian Islamic Model of Progress, 1633-1642. (In Persian). [Link]
Rashidi, H., 2003. Law on Fair Distribution of Water in the Mirror of Iranian Law. Dadgostar, Tehran. (In Persian). [Link]
Regional Water Organization, 2009. Data Received from the Office of Water Protection and Maintenance of Sistan and Baluchestan Regional Water Authority, 2009 [Internal report]. Zahedan: Sistan and Baluchestan Regional Water Authority.
Rohollamini, M., 2018. Pathology of Iranian laws regarding the protection and preservation of surface and groundwater resources. Energy Law Studies, 4, 61-90. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22059/jrels.2018.224991.99.
Seraj, M. and Yosefifar, Sh., 2017. The role of governments in establishing agricultural water supply networks in the area east of the Caliphate until the Mongol invasion. History of Iran, 10, 79-110. (In Persian). [Link]
Sheikhzadeh, M. M., 2025. Interview with a Member of the Zangian Qanat Committee, Affiliated with Saravan County [Personal interview].
Sinisaz, H., 2017. Land Reform and its Impact on Unit Management of Water and Soil Resources. Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
Tabatabai, M. and Shahidi, A., 2016. Investigating the increase of economic water use by changing the cultivation pattern in Mazrae No village in Ardakan-Yazd. Water Research in Agriculture, 31, 119-128. (In Persian). [Link]
Journal of Water and Wastewater; Ab va Fazilab (in persian)
Volume 35, Issue 5 - Serial Number 154
January and February 2025
Pages 39-58