Conservation Prioritization of the Iran's Surface Water Resources based on Ecological Sensitivity

Conservation of water resources is one of the main features of sustainable development and international and national documents emphasize the need to protect them in protected areas in order to preserve biodiversity and their many services such as drinking water supply. In the first step of the present study, the country's surface water resources including important water bodies, permanent rivers, and glacial areas were studied and after preparing the current status maps of these resources, their ecological sensitivity was determined according to the proposed criteria and expert opinions.  In the second step, the coverage of all three surface water sources by the network of protected areas was investigated. The results showed that the criteria of flow regime, naturalness, Extent, species richness of fish and birds, and conservation management status were prioritized for the management of these resources. Also, according to these criteria, Bakhtegan, Arjan, Miankaleh, Choghakhor, Shadegan, and Anzali wetlands, and Kor, Karaj, Sardabrud, Chelgerd, and Sefidrood wetlands were identified as the most sensitive water sources. It was concluded that the two management classes of the protected area and the national natural effect are weaker in covering water resources than the other classes, and the rivers are less present in the network of the areas than other sources. The findings of the present study can be used as a guide for land protection planners in order to pay proper attention to sensitive water resources in selecting protected areas in the country.