The Effect of Limited Water Resources on Hydropolitic Tensions (Case Study: Iran's Central Catchment with Emphasis on Zayandehrood Basin)

Hydropolitics is a branches in Political Geography which is about role of water in political relations in various levels. Iran is one of the countries that is located in arid and semi-arid areas and because of inappropriate place and time transmittal of precipitation, has suffered from water scarcity. Meanwhile, Zayanderood basin, which is the biggest river of central catchment area of Iran, supplies water of some parts of Isfahan, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and Yazd provinces. This basin is very important because of its high agricultural and tourism potential and being the population and industrial pole of the country. These factors have increased the need for water in the basin between residents of this catchment and other beneficiaries so that some tensions and disputes has occurred. This paper is based on the premise that with the growth of the industry and settlements and all the constraints of water resources, the tensions caused by the shortage of water resources will increase. Data for this paper were obtained from library and field methods. The results indicated that population growth and urbanization, the growth of industries, its changing nature and unsustainability, the unplanned withdrawal of underground water and traditional agriculture, have been one of the most important limiting factors for water and, consequently, caused tension in this basin. As a result, Zayanderood’s water per capita dramatically decreases and exacerbates the shortage of water and can endanger national security with the economic, social and environmental consequences as a hydro-political crisis.