Payam Yadollahi; Babak Zohrabi; Hamid Reza Jafari; Nemat Hassani; Ali Asghar Mortazavi; Adel Ghasemi
Abstract
Background: One of the major challenges of groundwater is its over-consumption in agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to water resources management to prevent the drop in groundwater levels. Chahardoli Plain in Hamadan Province has faced an increase in groundwater abstraction in ...
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Background: One of the major challenges of groundwater is its over-consumption in agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to water resources management to prevent the drop in groundwater levels. Chahardoli Plain in Hamadan Province has faced an increase in groundwater abstraction in recent years due to the lack of surface water resources. In this study, due to limited water resources and irregular use of groundwater, the drop in water level and its management in the aquifer of Chahardoli Plain of Asadabad was considered. Material and methods: This is an applied study in which both documentary and survey methods were used for data collection. In the documentary method, the statistics of annual rainfall in a 27-year period of the General Meteorological Department of the province, and the amount of groundwater level drop (43 wells) were used. In the survey method, interviews with farmers that used groundwater resources of Chahardoli Plain (56 subjects), experts of the regional water company (40 subjects), and the necessary tools were designed to investigate the decrease in groundwater level and its side effects. Cronbach's alpha of the instrument was 0.86, which showed that it had good reliability. Results and discussion: The results showed that the groundwater level has dropped by an average of 67.1 cm per year over 27 years. In contrast, the rainfall chart showed an average of 303.3 mm of precipitation per year. The overall slope of the equation for the drop in groundwater level data was -0.77 m and the overall slope of the equation for the rainfall data was 0.083 mm. This means that the slope of the groundwater was higher than the slope of the increase in rainfall. Meanwhile, the SPI index was negative in the first 21 years. The correlation coefficient between the drop in water level and precipitation was equal to r = 0.14 and p = 0.08. This showed that the relationship between groundwater level drop and precipitation was not significant. In order to interview farmers and experts on water management problems, according to the results, nine factors were examined and prioritized from the perspective of participants. Participating in farm water management courses from the experts' point of view and the existence of educational programs on radio and television for the farmers were the two main priorities. The priorities of farmers and experts regarding the factors of responsibility, risk-taking, and understanding the severity of water resource degradation were quite similar. In the case of water resources protection, non-leveling of lands was the first priority of both groups of experts and farmers. In the planning section, the first priority of farmers and experts was to develop optimal water distribution laws for the optimal use of water resources. In the case of water productivity management, the first priority of both was to replace rain-fed crops with products with high water requirements. In financial problems, according to experts, the lack of a proper and timely budget was the first priority, while farmers considered it to be reducing the price of manufactured products at the time of sale. Conclusion: The results showed that management problems were related to the drop in groundwater levels in the region. Considering the consensus of experts and farmers on taking responsibility for the destruction of water resources and the effectiveness of educational programs, it seems that the preparation of educational programs on radio and television, and improving educational programs of regional water departments and agricultural institutions will increase the desire to maintain groundwater. According to the results, the decrease of groundwater level is not related to the amount of precipitation and human factors have a more important role in this regard. Therefore, all users of the plain, i.e. farmers, experts, officials in charge of water resources, agricultural jihad, and the environmental organizations have a role in reducing this problem. Therefore, these organizations should prioritize their goals in codified and integrated plans for short-term and long-term plans to conserve groundwater resources. Also, according to the results of the research, the downward trend of the aquifer level will continue in the next few years, which necessitates a serious review of water abstraction laws in the plain.
Maryam Ghasemi; Shirin Sahebi; Javad Mehrganmajd
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, communities are trying to achieve the conditions that would allow them to quickly return to the pre-crisis situation in the event of a crisis. So, in recent years, the concept of resilience has been taken into account instead of vulnerability. Due to the frequency of occurrence, ...
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Introduction: Nowadays, communities are trying to achieve the conditions that would allow them to quickly return to the pre-crisis situation in the event of a crisis. So, in recent years, the concept of resilience has been taken into account instead of vulnerability. Due to the frequency of occurrence, universality and having many harmful effects, drought has always been one of the main challenges of the country and has caused many problems in the livelihoods of rural households. Accordingly, the present study aimed to provide optimal strategies to enhance the survival of rural households in the face of drought through a general management model based on the prescriptive paradigm. Material and methods: A descriptive-analytical research methodology was conducted with a unit of analysis of 96 knowledgeable local people in eight villages exposed to drought in the Golmakan village of Chenaran county in Khorasan Razavi Province. In this study, two strategic planning tools (SWOT and QSPM) were used. In this regard, based on field studies and extensive documentation, 13 strengths and four opportunities were identified as advantages and 12 weaknesses and three threats as limitations for the resilience of rural households exposed to drought. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.89 for the 17 advantages equal to 0.69 for respondents for 17, and for the total questionnaire 0.84 for optimal diagnosis. Results and discussion: In the SWOT matrix, the final score was 1.33 points more than the final score of the weaknesses with 0.88, also in the external factors evaluation matrix, the final score of the opportunities was 0.99 higher than the final score of the threats with 0.93, Where the total score of the internal matrix is 2.15 and the total final score of the external matrix is 1.91, the system status is weak in the external environment. In this study, six competitive strategies, four diversity strategies, five review strategies, and seven defensive strategies were presented in order to increase the resilience of rural farmers according to the internal and external matrices. According to the final score of IFE=2.21 and EFE=1.91, in order to increase the resilience of rural households, optimal defensive strategies (minimum-minimum) were identified in the IF matrix. In addition, based on the analysis of the QSPM matrix among the seven defensive strategies, the first and most important strategy was identified as "diversifying the economy of rural areas exposed to drought" with a score of 2.42. Exploratory studies indicated the dependency of livelihoods of the rural area in the agricultural area and the lack of diversity in livelihood and occupational structures of villagers. These increased their vulnerability to external impulses. Therefore, the diversification of rural economies in the face of drought is an indispensable necessity. Conclusion: Complex and diverse defensive activities in confronting possible and uncertain risks can stabilize household income in order to reduce the vulnerability of households to possible crises over time. Therefore, the best strategy for increasing the livelihoods of rural households is the diversification of the rural economy.
Mansour Ghanian; Azar Hasheminejad; Omid M. Ghoochani; Azade Bakhshi; Roghaye Yusefi Hajivand
Volume 15, Issue 2 , July 2017, , Pages 1-20
Abstract
Introduction:
As the largest international wetland in Iran, Shadegan Wetland is one of the most important and valuable wetlands in the country and, even, the world. The widespread nature of the wetland, its natural character, high abundance of plant species, animals and its habitats has brought tremendous ...
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Introduction:
As the largest international wetland in Iran, Shadegan Wetland is one of the most important and valuable wetlands in the country and, even, the world. The widespread nature of the wetland, its natural character, high abundance of plant species, animals and its habitats has brought tremendous value to the wetland. In recent years, this valuable wetland has been exposed to drying up and destruction due to natural and human factors. The livelihood of rural households in the area is in all respects indebted to Shadegan Wetland: The death of the wetland will be accompanied by the death of their livelihood. One of the ways to reduce the vulnerability of marginalized people in Shadegan Wetland is to emphasize on their adaptation behaviors. In this regards, the present study aimed to explore beneficiaries Conservation Behavior against drought effects in Shadegan Wetlands based on vulnerability theory.
Material and methods:
The present study in terms of its nature and objectives is practical, in terms of data collection, is a descriptive survey and, in terms of analyzing the data, is a correlation study. The total population were the rural operators living in the central part of the town and Khnafereh village in Shadegan City, Khuzestan Province (Iran). They consisted of eight villages with 2319 household operators (N=2319). A random-quota method was used as sampling (n=124) and data were gathered via the use of a research-based questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient as greater than 0.76. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts, and the data were analyzed using SPSSv20 and AMOSv20.
Results and discussion:
According to the results, 47.6 percent of the beneficiaries of the wetland show an irresponsible behaviour towards the vulnerability of natural and human hazard and 52.4 percent of them have responsible behaviour. Results of the study showed that sensitivity has a significantly positive effect on vulnerability (β=0.377) and conservation behaviour (β=0.208). Exposure has a significantly positive effect on vulnerability (β=0.492) and conservation behaviour (β=0.3). Also, the results revealed that exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity predict a 41% variation in vulnerability. Exposure, sensitivity and vulnerability predict a 20 % variation in conservation behaviour.
Conclusion:
Thus, it can be concluded that exposure of the beneficiaries to the drought conditions of Shadegan Wetland and their sensitivity to drought have resulted in vulnerability and adaptation behaviour among them. Hence, exposure to wetland droughts can have both direct and indirect effects on their lives. For example, changing product performance in response to drought can be one of the direct effects of this phenomenon. Also, an increase in unemployment resulting from the drying of the wetland due to the reduction of Karun and Jarahi rivers is one of its indirect effects. Therefore, the residents of the area are going to respond to these and this will lead to the adaptation behaviour of the beneficiaries.
Mohsen Ebrahimi Khusfi; Roshanak Darvishzade; Aliakbar Matkan; Davood Ashourloo
Volume 7, Issue 4 , July 2010
Abstract
Since soil moisture and vegetation cover are the most important parameters effecting drought, analyses of the vegetation fraction and soil spectral signature, especially in the red and infra red bands, are essential in drought estimation. In this study, the Perpendicular Drought Index (PDI), Modified ...
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Since soil moisture and vegetation cover are the most important parameters effecting drought, analyses of the vegetation fraction and soil spectral signature, especially in the red and infra red bands, are essential in drought estimation. In this study, the Perpendicular Drought Index (PDI), Modified Perpendicular Drought Index (MPDI) and Vegetation Supply Water Index (VSWI) have been used for drought assessment in arid regions in Central Iran during a time interval of four years (1999-2002). To do this, ETM+ images of LANDSAT 7 for the years 1999 and 2002 and the rainfall statistics for 23 years have been used. Analysis of vegetation cover using vegetation indices demonstrated that in arid regions, changes in vegetation cover were best mapped using a SAVI2 index. The results of MPDI indicated that drought has increased in the rangelands of the study area because of a decrease in seeding of the rangeland and vegetation fraction. PDI showed that the severity of the drought has decreased due to an increase in rainfall in 2002.
