Sustainable water management of Urmia Lake How to cut the water from irrigation for the benefit of environment? How to compensate the farmers?

1. SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF
URMIA LAKE BASIN
IGA-436
April 30, 2015
Group Flamingo
Mahdi Z, Ka Tsai K, Mahfuzul I, Ying L, Safwan S

2. Urmia Lake Basin
Characteristics:
 The largest inland lake
in Iran and one of the
largest saline lakes in
the world
 Basin Area: 52000 sq.
km ~ 20000 sq. mi
 Lake area: 5000 sq. km
~ 2000 sq. mi
 Rainfall: 250 mm/y
~10 inch/y
 Evaporation: 1000
mm/y ~ 3 feet/y

3. Biodiversity
~550 plant
species+315
animal species
including unique
Artemia

4. Urmia Lake is Drying Up

5. Urmia Lake is Drying Up

6. Impacts on Biodiversity and Livelihoods

7. Assessment of Causes
Natural Phenomena (Drought)
Comparing the yearly changes of temperature, water level and precipitation
of Urmia Lake during 1966 to 2010
Zoljoodi and Didevarasl, Atmospheric and Climate Sciences (2014)

8. Man-made Causes
– Construction of dams
– Development of agriculture
– Direct extraction of surface water and groundwater at the
basin level
Assessment of Causes

9. UNEP (2012)

10. What happens if we do nothing?
Case: Rapid desiccation and salinization since 1960s due to
unsustainable expansion of irrigation
Impact: Disappearance of indigenous fish species, harm to rich
ecosystem, decline of fishing industry
Solution: North-south separation by dike and dam to raise of water level
+ lower salinity
Case: Desiccation both due to climatic changes and to high demands for
agricultural water
Impact: Desertification + loss of lake-based livelihood of surrounding
communities
(Potential) Solution: Cooperative management of trans-boundary
waterways
Aral Sea
Lake Chad

11. Agriculture

12. Problem Focus - Agriculture
Technical: Too much water from the Urmia Lake
basin is being allocated to agriculture every year
(94% of annual usage; only 35% used).
Implementation: Problems at local level for
introducing and enforcing new policies:
 No incentives/ reluctance to change
 Inappropriate/ insufficient legislative and institutional
framework
 Insufficient stakeholder engagement

13. Policy Solutions - Agriculture
From Supply Side:
Water collection and storage facilities
Water reclamation for irrigation
Cloud seeding
Inter-basin water transfer

14. Policy Solutions - Agriculture
From Demand Side:
Restructure Water pricing : from "area of each farm" and
"crop type“ to “crop type” and “quantity of consumption”
Curbing groundwater over-exploitation
Efficient Irrigation system
Crop substitution

15. Provincial Level Stakeholders
 Province Governors (3)
 Province Department of Environment Offices (3)
 Province MOJA Offices (3)
 Province Water Authorities (3)
 University of Medical Science
 Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization
 Other Universities
 Provincial Road and Transportation Offices (2)
 Provincial Industries and Mines Office

16. Local Level Stakeholders
Local Governor Offices (3)
Local Department of
Environment Offices (3)
Local MOJA Offices (3)
Local Natural Resources
Offices (3)
Local Offices for
Veterinary Services (3)
Farmers
Reed Harvesters
Artemia Harvesters
Salt Harvesters
Local Communities/ Rural
Population
Fishers
Buffalo Herders
Hunters
Visitors
Health and Sanitation
Office
Local NGOs
Islamic Councils

17. Local Level Stakeholders
Local Governor Offices (3)
Local Department of
Environment Offices (3)
Local MOJA Offices (3)
Local Natural Resources
Offices (3)
Local Offices for
Veterinary Services (3)
Farmers
Reed Harvesters
Artemia Harvesters
Salt Harvesters
Local Communities/ Rural
Population
Fishers
Buffalo Herders
Hunters
Visitors
Health and Sanitation
Office
Local NGOs
Islamic Councils

18. Stakeholder Analysis - Farmers
Farmers are not in a good bargaining position
(against corporations and government)
But government cannot negotiate with all the
farmers individually
Bottom Line: It is easy to force farmers to
reduce water use – but how to do it without
alienation or backlash?

19. Policy Solutions - Implementation
Focus on the local level – how to move farmers and local
stakeholders away from present agriculture practices
 Incentivize move away from agriculture
 Develop choice architecture (‘nudge’ – let stakeholders take
ownership of own decisions)
 Create job opportunities for new farmers
 Punish stakeholders who disobey water
restrictions/regulations
 Meters, law enforcement
 Cultural ‘taboos’ – enlist the force of the community against people
who break water restrictions?
 Initiate culture change / shift in popular thinking
 NGO involvement for public awareness campaigns (videos, etc.)

20. Policy Solutions - Implementation
Focus on the local level – how to move farmers and local
stakeholders away from present agriculture practices
 Incentivize move away from agriculture
 Develop choice architecture (‘nudge’ – let stakeholders take
ownership of own decisions)
 Create job opportunities for new farmers
 Punish stakeholders who disobey water
restrictions/regulations
 Meters, law enforcement
 Cultural ‘taboos’ – enlist the force of the community against people
who break water restrictions?
 Initiate culture change / shift in popular thinking
 NGO involvement for public awareness campaigns (videos, etc.)

21. Incentives System – California Example
California: 80% of water supply usage is for agriculture; 40% of
farm land is flood irrigated
 Marginal cost pricing: reflect opportunity cost of last unit of water
 Requires tracking water usage per user/ “farm”
 Urmia Lake: not charged on quantity but on the "area of each farm"
and "crop type”
 Example of Aral Sea
 Encourage local agencies to adopt water management practices
 Loans/subsidies to adopt center-pivot, drop or micro irrigation
(replace flood irrigation)
Water Rate Incentives
Financial Assistance Incentives
Education

22. Incentives Systems – Challenges for Urmia
 Iranian Government's 10 Year Urmia Lake Restoration Program
 Focuses on dam and reservoir management; not on incentivizing
stakeholders
 Fails to engage farmers - top-down, low-stakeholder
engagement strategies
 Fails to solve administrative red tape
 Access/collection of data for water demand and irrigation water
consumption needed
 Selecting appropriate water rates
 Funding for financial assistance incentives
 Transaction Costs – dollars and processes
Implementation Issues
Current Measures

23. 23
Acknowledgments!

24. Team Flamingo
Mahfuzul Islam
UNDPI
Liu Ying
Ministry of Commerce
People’s Republic of China
Mahdi Zarghami
Water Management
Safwan Shabab
Investing / Financial Services
Ka Tsai Ku
Japanese Politics and Law
University of Tokyo ‘13
Work and Education Background

25. Thank You!
 Questions?
 Comments?
 If you want to discuss further, contact
us at m.zarghami@tufts.edu!