نشریه آب و توسعه پایدار
سال ششم شماره 3 (پیاپی 14، زمستان 1398)

Human achievements have led to large advancements in technology which along with the beneficial and valuable effects have also had catastrophic social consequences due to the lack of proper use and management. Therefore, ethics are considered as one of the critical components in the growth of science and culture. Engineers have a high social status with privileges that come with it. In return, it is expected from them to be responsible in their profession and carry out their duties as well as satisfying expectations of the public, protection of the environment, preventing the occurrence of catastrophes, and acting as role models for the next generation which incorporates both macro and micro dimensions of ethics. Training ethics in different educational levels (primary, secondary, and high school) facilitates the compliance at university level, which then increases the students’ flexibility in learning ethical problems in the engineering profession. The participation of students and engineers in compiling ethical instructions increases their effectiveness, and enables each generation to solve their social and professional problems. In this paper, some case studies such as the collapse of the Quebec bridge, the Chernobyl disaster, the Fukushima catastrophe, the gradual drying of Lake Urmia, groundwater table drop, land subsidence, and unsustainable development of modern irrigation are investigated. The engineering mistakes, the decisions taken, and how the crisis was managed based on the ethical aspects of each of the aforementioned test cases are investigated for their carelessness, negligence, ignorance, and deliberate mistakes.

Nowadays, researchers emphasise that the solution for the water crisis is the demand-side management rather than increasing the water supply. Accordingly, in recent years, concepts of virtual water and water footprint have been introduced which are highly regarded by researchers and policymakers. Many believe that the idea of importing virtual water can be considered by policymakers as a solution for the water shortage problem. The aim of this study is to measure the virtual water trade (imports and exports) and the water footprint in the various economic sectors of Yazd province. For this purpose, the input-output model (table of 2011) has been used. The results show that the total water footprint of Yazd province in 2011 was approximately 1538.8 mm3, where 50% and 65.3% of this is for external (outside of the province) and agriculture sector, respectively. In 2011, Yazd province also imported and exported approximately 782.2 m3 and 442.7 m3 virtual water, respectively. Therefore, the net level of virtual water import of Yazd province is approximately 339.7 m3. The sectors of “food products, beverages, and tobacco” and “mining” are the biggest net virtual water importers and exporters in this province, respectively.

Constraints on water resources in Iran and the problems facing the supply of new water resources have led to the increased importance of this input for production. This research, using the Residual method, according to the welfare economics theorem, seeks to estimate the economic value of water as a base for water tariff system for industry. In this way, the industrial data based on two-digit ISIC codes between the years of 2004 to 2013 have been used in this study. Results indicated that the weighted average of the economic value of water in the industrial sector is 87347 Rials/m3 and there is a significant difference between the weighted average of the economic value of water and the average weighted tariff of water. Moreover, the findings showed that the ratio of the economic value to tariff of water has decreased over time. Accordingly, it is suggested that by modifying the pricing approach of this input based on the suggested methodology, the prices will be closer to their optimal values, and also, by setting up the water market, water use productivity in the industries will increase.

"Water accounting" is an approach to organise the information on water supply and analyse its socio-economic values in different sectors of the country. The estimation of the volume of water required for the national agricultural productions in the framework of product-based water accounting can be investigated. The key question is: what is the share of water consumption for the production of main crops in the country? In this study, using the net crop water requirement database of 2014-2015, and assuming an irrigation application efficiency of 44.7%, the water consumption of the selected crops in the country was estimated. Results show the maximum volume of water consumption by main crops is 78.6 billion m3, where 16.9 m3 is allocated to wheat production including 18.3% of the total water consumption for crops in the country. Comparing the net water consumption of wheat with other crops over 620 plains indicates that wheat, after barley, has the lowest net water consumption equal to 3562 m3/ha. Therefore, the volume of water consumption for wheat production is mainly affected by the cultivation area of irrigated wheat in the country (2.4 million hectares). Improving water productivity reduces the volume of water consumption in main crop production. The socio-economic values of main crop production could take precedence over its costs.

This study was donein three phases; “Determination of water productivity gap”, “Systematic analysis of water productivity improvement strategies” and “Presentation of water productivity improvement plan”. Irrigation water productivity in plain scale was estimated 40 to 50% of water productivity potential. In Wheat, Barley and Corn crops 47, 52 and 30 % of yield gap was related to inappropriate water supply (amount, time and distribution uniformity) and 31, 32, and 52% of yield gap was related to inappropriate application of fertilizers in the fields. In Qazvin plain, irrigation water productivity in agronomy sector in the ten year period, from 2006 to 2016, has increased by an average of 4.9 % annually (from 1.17 to 1.74 kg/m3). With irrigation systems and crop pattern modification, there is ability to upgrade water economic productivity and increasing the farmer's incomewith reducing water harvesting. The aquifer status can be improved if modern pressurized irrigation systems be developed with cultivation level control or water harvesting control. Investigation the conceivability of strategies also showed that institutional barriers and social constraints are the main barriers to productivity growth. Based on strategic mapping method, presented strategies for improving water productivity were categorized in three groups; initiation, mediation and termination strategies. The most important threats to productivity improvement were quantitative and qualitative degradation of Qazvin aquifer and soil degradation due to improper use of plastics in farms. Initiation strategies for improving water productivity are farmer’s education on irrigation and productivity, and attracting their participation in the formation of water conservation and exploitation associations. By improving water productivity over a 15-year period groundwater abstraction in the agricultural sector can be reduced to programmable water levels (877million cubic meters). without harming the livelihoods of the farmers and the agricultural economy. Using this productivity improvement potential requires multispectral planning and control on water abstraction.

Water ecosystem service, as a natural resource for direct and indirect consumption, and a limited and scarce production source is of great interest among all types of ecosystem services. Based on Iran’s situation and taking into account the characteristics of the Golestan province and Chehel Chai watershed, as well as the increasing use of payment mechanisms in exchange for ecosystem services worldwide, highlights the necessity of using an efficient management tool for ecosystem financial values. The present study seeks to examine legal, social, and economic challenges of enforcing payment for water services. Furthermore, practical solutions aimed at localising the payment mechanism for water in sustainable development and conservation of natural resources are proposed. Therefore, primarily, the characteristics of the study area and the payment mechanism for water service in Chehel Chai watershed were introduced. Its implementation framework and the challenges facing the implementation of the mechanism were also identified. Finally, based on the applied studies in different parts of the world and according to the economic, social, political, and legal status of the study area, practical solutions for the implementation of payment for water ecosystem services are provided.

Solving complex water resource issues requires methods that collect different managerial approaches in an interconnected format. Meanwhile, for the comprehensive management of such issues, multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM) have found a special place. The main objective of the present research is to determine the priorities of the water resource uses of the Chah-Nimeh reservoirs in the Sistan and Baluchestan province with the economic, social, and environmental management approaches in the water year of 2014-15 using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) techniques. According to the results, if water allocation is carried out based on an economic approach, the agricultural and environmental sectors due to their essential role in providing livelihoods for residents of Sistan and Baluchestan province will have a weight of 0.3 and 0.146 and are prioritised as the first and second, respectively. If it is a social approach, then the agricultural sector is the first priority, and the tourism and environmental sectors are in the second and third priorities, respectively. However, if water allocation is carried out with an environmental approach, the environmental sector, due to its importance in this approach, with a weigh of 0.352, has the highest priority to receive water.

Design operations and implementation of irrigation systems are usually done by experienced people with spending time, precision and high energy. But unfortunately, operation and continuous use of these systems done by farmers that they have little information about the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems and efficient irrigation management, that is an important part of operation of these systems, is not done properly. This study is done during the crop year 2017-18 in Faryab county in Kerman province and in fields equipped with drip irrigation systems. In this regard, the dominant agricultural products in the county including corn, wheat, rapeseed and watermelon, were examined.To do this research, two methods were examined and compared: 1- Projectsthat so far were without supervision on operation management of drip irrigation systems. 2- Projects that they were introduced by the Agricultural Jihad to monitor the operation management of drip irrigation systems. These projects for one crop year and according to the rules of description of monitoring services on the operation of drip irrigation systems, about the proper operation and maintenance of different parts of the irrigation system, proper irrigation management, also familiarity of beneficiaries with equipment and connections and their warranty, Necessary training was given to the beneficiaries in each project. Finally, by determining the volumeof irrigation water, crop yield and costs, each crop per hectare was examined and evaluated. The results of the study showed that by monitoring the operation of irrigation systems, in addition to significant water savings and increasing crop yield, it also increased the physical and economic efficiency of water consumption.

Due to the high sensitivity of irrigation efficiency management in farms and to reduce water consumption in agriculture, it is necessary to optimise the application efficiency of farms using the relationships governing water management as well as the advanced models in this field. SURFACE and SRFR are models which can be used for farms’ water management. The SURFACE model has a simpler structure. By entering details of the irrigation method, soil penetration, irrigation time, area of irrigation, and the farm’s water delivery schedule, it is possible to investigate the irrigation and applicable management approaches and choose the most appropriate method. Similar parameters can be investigated in the SRFR model, in addition to optimising the dimensions, application efficiency indices, and uniform distribution. In this research, using the measured data of border irrigation in the crop year of 2015-2016, the two models of SURFACE and SRFR for wheat cultivation conditions are evaluated for a better estimation of water application efficiency in farms. The results show that the SRFR model estimated the application efficiency approximately 3.2% lower and compared to the average of data has a 12% error. However, the SURFACE model simulates the application efficiency with an error of 7%. The optimised dimension of border irrigation was estimated by these models and were applied in the second crop year (2016-2017). The results show that these models are very powerful in the estimation of border irrigation and can provide suitable results with 6% to 12% error. The comparison of these two models has also shown an error level of approximately 5% and 9% for the SURFACE and SRFR models, respectively. Hence, the SURFACE model is more accurate for irrigation management.