Local knowledge; Sustainable development; Water governance reform; Water resource management; Agricultural water; BAD methods; Product assessment; Sum product; Sustainable solution; Water governance; Water resources management; Waters resources; Agriculture; Conservation of Natural Resources; Conservation of Water Resources; Desert Climate; Iran; Water Resources; Water Supply; Environmental Engineering; Civil and Structural Engineering; Ecological Modeling; Water Science and Technology; Waste Management and Disposal; Pollution
Abstract :
[en] In semi-arid and arid regions, qanats are a vital water source for agricultural needs. However, many communities are abandoning these traditional and sustainable water supply systems in favor of modern and more productive methods. Consequently, this research aimed to identify the most effective approaches for rejuvenating qanats in the dry and semi-arid areas of Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. To accomplish this goal, a comprehensive strategy was employed by merging the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT, Best-Worst Method (BWM), and the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS).Based on interviews with experts in water resources and SWOT analysis, 27 factors affecting the restoration of qanats were identified and weighted with BWM. The results of BWM-WASPAS highlight the crucial role of a holistic approach in reviving qanats. The study findings reveal that the highest scores were obtained by the strategies reforming water governance policies to prioritize sustainable indigenous water resources (SO1) and establish an independent institution for qanat restoration (WT7). Conversely, educational (ST1), informational (SO3), and research (WO4) strategies concerning the revival of qanats were categorized as intermediate priorities. Lastly, strategies associated with farm-level support policies were assigned lower priorities. Accordingly, it is recommended that policymakers in Mashhad give priority to macro-level and institutional policies concerning qanat restoration, considering the current state of indigenous water resources. Additionally, a continued emphasis on research policies and farm-level initiatives is advised.
Disciplines :
Agriculture & agronomy
Author, co-author :
Bahraseman, Sasan Esfandiari; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Firoozzare, Ali; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Zhang, Can; Modern Business and Service Research Center, Hebei University of Economics and Business, China ; School of Tourism, Hebei University of Economics and Business, Shijiazhuang, China
Yousefian, Nazanin; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Skominas, Rytis; Bioeconomy Research Institute, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Barati, Reza; College of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
Azadi, Hossein ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Modélisation et développement ; Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
Language :
English
Title :
Reviving the forgotten legacy: Strategies for reviving qanats as sustainable solutions for agricultural water supply in arid and semi-arid regions
Funding: This research was partly funded by a grant (Project \u2018Development of the Bioeconomy Research Center of Excellence\u2019 (BioTEC) No. S-A-UEI-23-14) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Lithuania under the Program \u2018University Excellence Initiative\u2019.
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