Freshwater Management and Conservation in Iran: Past, Present, and Future

This chapter provides an overview of the status of Iran’s freshwater management and conservation in three periods of time (past, present, and future). In order to figure out the past situation of freshwater management and conservation in Iran, first the characteristics of Qanats and their social structure (Buneh) as the backbones of traditional water management system of the country before the Land Reforms Law were discussed. Emergence of modernity and land reforms destroyed Qanat-based water management system and thus new modern water management system prevailed in the country which has been followed by the Western world’s water management systems and has also been dominant up to now. The process of water management modernization has been explained in continuation of traditional water management system. In the second section, the current situation of water management has been explained and some of the most important water-related problems of the country have been discussed. The last part of the chapter which was entitled “future of the water management in Iran” presents some future-oriented and exit strategies for water management of Iran in order to solve its water problems.