The importance of policy making in achieving "water security" on the one hand and complexity of human and water security, on the other hand, have raised the necessity of a comprehensive understanding of the "water security" concept as the first and one of the most significant steps of water policy making process.  So far, most of the analyzes related to water security and water policy making have been limited to the development of objective dimensions. To address this limitation, this article tries to redefine the concept of water security with fundamental-theoretical research, using the descriptive-analytical method. Results showed that in addition to the objective dimensions, it is necessary to pay attention to social, political, and cross-sectoral dimensions. Accordingly, this paper reframes the components of water security with consideration, 1) constructed identities in water relations, 2) the importance of the ideology of stakeholders, 3) identifying securitization and desecuritization of water projects and taking actions against associated politicizing, and 4) the importance of water-food-energy nexus.

In the present study, using System Dynamics (SD) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), which are two common methods for investigating complex systems, the dynamic model of water security for the Neyshabur Plain watershed using the agent-based software NetLogo with the aim of identifying and analyzing the impact of different water consumption sectors on the state of water security in the watershed was designed and presented. The results show the effectiveness and reliability of the water security model presented in the present study. Therefore, it can be used to predict the water security situation in the future years in the Neishabur Plain  and while considering different scenarios in order to change the modifiable parameters of the model, and observing the impact of each of them on the water security situation in the basin, the best scenario and in line with that the best solution to improve water security in the Neyshabur Plain watershed can be determined.

Water is the most important element of life that plays a fundamental role in the emergence of human civilizations and the construction of cities. Today, security of water is recognized as an essential challenge. According to a systemic approach, water security is a complex and dynamic mechanism in which social and ecological processes interact with each other and, along with the recognition of feedback cycles, present reactive responses to human needs. The purpose of the present study is to explain the water security based on the systemic and integrated viewpoint, infer the analytical levels of water security, and present the conceptual model of the capability of the historic structures of desert cities in providing water security. This is an inferential-comparative study. Data collection tools are library studies and review of documents. The results of the developed comparative model indicate that the functions of the historic hydraulic structures of desert cities (economic-social-cultural-ecological) are in line with the analytical levels of water security (social security of water, economic security of water, environmental safety of water, urban security of water, and resilience to crises).

The relationship between water and human beings has always had a dual nature. On the one hand, it is human and his life that is preserved by water and on the other hand, conservation of quantity and quality of existing fresh waters on the Earth depends on human activities. With intensifying water crisis in the world, attempts to eliminate it and establish a state of water security have become one of the major concerns of the international community. The main issue is that whether international law has been able to oblige States to provide water security? In this study, this issue is examined by using library data and descriptive- analytical method. Studies show that although international law has not addressed the issue of water security directly; but on the basis of general principles of international law, we can infer obligations and impose requirements on States and thus, remedy the vacuum on water security. This study maps out such principles in order to sketch a framework for the governing rules of water security in international law.

By growing food and energy demands and rising living standards and according to the complexity of regional water governance, the pressure on water resources is increasing. Many factors are involved in water security. In this research, firstly, the water security of Lake Urmia Basin was investigated using hydro-economic classification for 1) five-year periods from 1991 to 2016, and 2) the provinces located in the basin for 2016. The results showed the existence of high hydrological challenges and low economic capacity to achieve water security. Since general methods such as hydro-economic classification do not provide accurate information at local scales, in the second part, a clear definition of water security was presented according to the characteristics of Lake Urmia Basin. Considering this definition, we designed an indicator-based framework in three dimensions of access to water, income, and employment to assess the water security of the basin. The study was conducted for the historical period. By the considered criteria, the water security of the basin was assessed as "low" in 1996 and 2016 and "moderate" in 2001, 2006 and 2011. The study of the basin water security with productivity indicators of economic activities showed that in order to achieve water security in the future, the agricultural sector does not possess the necessary potential for socio-economic development and policies in this sector should be oriented towards reduction of water consumption and employment. This is not possible without investing and creating employment capacity in other sectors, which have high potential for increasing employment opportunities and per capita income.

Given Iran's location in the dry belt of the world and the lack of a comprehensive and accurate assessment of water security in the country, the study of variability in this category as one of the important dimensions of national security to develop appropriate management models seems important and inevitable. The present study aims to investigate and evaluate the water security in the large watershed of Central Plateau due to its large size and high population in terms of eight important sub-indicators including per capita renewable water resources, the intensity of water use, water productivity, investment in water infrastructure, water quality, access to drinking water and water pollution management, green cover changes and changes in large water bodies were established and implemented over a 20-years with 5-year intervals (1996 to 2016). The calculated values ​​for water security are 0.356, 0.330, 0.363, 0.291, and 0.291 respectively for 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 and the average during the twenty years of research was 0.326 units. The results also show that per capita renewable water resources and index of water use have the greatest impact on water security based on the prioritization of factors affecting water security. It is necessary to establish sustainable management of water resources while taking into account political, social, and economic requirements and paying attention to the issue of water security by the executive and legislative bodies in order to promote national security to establish a proper balance in the use of water resources and water security and Consequently, national security will be improved.

achieving urban water security is a major challenge for many countries. urban water security has created significant concern for urbanization and climate change. Having systems thinking and integrated management can help to understand the mechanisms that affect the long-term water security of a city. Today, the metropolis of Ahvaz has become one of the largest cities in Iran due to the development of economic, social, cultural, and political activities with the growing population. Considering that the process of urban construction and development and excessive population growth in this metropolis was not subject to a pre-determined and codified plan and its water supply and distribution plans were not consistent with the increase in population; Therefore, in this city, like all the big cities of Iran and the world, there are various problems in terms of water security. Global climate change, geographical features of this metropolis, environmental issues, pollution of water resources and insufficient water resources for the current population on the one hand and the other hand the increasing industrial use of water, the existence of large industries, and new and growing cities and towns around this The metropolis as well as the huge consumption of water in the agricultural lands around the city of Ahvaz has made the water resources more limited. The continuation of this trend is all reason for the need for comprehensive planning and assessment of water security for the future. to analyze the trend of changes in climatic parameters of precipitation and discharge of Ahvaz station, the period of 70 years ( 1330 - 1400 ) was studied And the time trend of changes in the aforementioned climatic parameters was calculated using the Menkendall non-parametric test in the monthly, seasonal and annual time series during the statistical period of the study. The results showed that during the studied period of the year, there have been changes in climatic parameters in the city of Ahvaz in the form of a decrease in precipitation and a decrease in discharge, and this has had consequences for the metropolis of Ahvaz. This study presents a systematic approach to better understanding urban water security, with a working definition and an assessment framework for application in urban areas. The assessment framework for achieving urban water security depends on four main dimensions: Drinking water and humans, ecosystem, climate changes, and risks related to water and socio-economic factors. This framework allows further analysis of the relationships and trade-offs between urbanization and water security, as well as between the aforementioned indicators. Applying this framework will help governments, policymakers, and water stakeholders target scarce resources more effectively and sustainably. This study shows that achieving urban water security requires a comprehensive and integrated approach with common stakeholders to provide a meaningful way to improve the management and understanding of urban water security.

Drought and water shortage in Iran is a climatic reality and due to the increasing need for water in various sectors, especially the agricultural sector, the problem of drought will become more acute in the coming years. Meanwhile, the approach of maintaining water security is less seen in the country's development policies, especially in the agricultural sector, and development policy in Iran has led to the threat of the country's water resources and has posed a serious challenge to establishing water security in the country. Therefore, the management of water resources and how to use it in Iran needs a serious review and therefore it is necessary that the water resources of different regions in terms of physical, social and economic factors and development policies based on it to be continuously assessed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the situation of water security in the provinces of the country in 2012 and 2017 based on water security indicators and identify the most important variables affecting it. For this purpose, first, using the method of hierarchical analysis and the opinions of experts and researchers, the relative importance of water security indicators was determined and using multi-criteria analysis methods, the combined water security index of the provinces of Iran in 2012 and 2017 was constructed. According to the results, the provinces of Khuzestan, Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Mazandaran are in a better situation and the provinces of Qom, Yazd, Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan are in a worse situation in terms of water security than other provinces in the country.

The right to water is the origin and manifestation of many human rights. The lack of proper access to water resources has brought many crises, especially many environmental crises for societies, which has caused insecurity for humans. Therefore, legal scholars are always trying to explain mechanisms to get out of these environmental crises. Because the lack of access to water affects human development and the lack of development in any society colors the disputes over resources. Therefore, the author uses the descriptive-analytical method and by using library resources and seeking to find The answer to this question is whether establishing and applying the precautionary principle can guarantee water security and also a suitable solution to prevent water crises and tensions.Paying attention to and using the precautionary principle as one of the key solutions accelerates environmental preventive measures and improves crisis management and ultimately ensures water security. Therefore, it seems that there is a direct relationship between the application of the precautionary principle and water security.Keywords: precautionary principle, water security, human security, right to water

Water is one of the basic needs of individuals and communities. In a way, without it, the growth and sustainability of societies is not possible. In recent decades, due to the effects of climate change and human activities, many parts of the world have faced water-related crises. Hence, this issue has jeopardized the sustainability of villages, especially in developing countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify drinking water security in rural areas of Iran during the years 2013-2019. For this purpose, this paper has developed a rural water security assessment framework with four dimensions and ten indicators. The scale of the rural water security index is between 1 and 5. Based on findings, three dimensions: “availability”, “accessibility” and “water health and sanitation”, all show an upward trend, reflecting an overall improvement of water-related infrastructure in rural areas. Whereas the “economic value of water” dimension depicts a steady trend. Also, for the period of 2013-2019, the results show the improvement of rural drinking water security in Iran.