Iran, located in a semi-arid and arid geographical climate zone, has an annual precipitation of only one-third of the world’s average. Furthermore, rapid population growth and intensification of economical, agricultural and industrial projects, has increased the demand for water resources. According to the statistics, the country’s total renewable water resource is about 130 billion m3 annually with a present consumption of 80 billion m3 (of which 90% is used for agriculture); this is expected to increase to 104 billion m3 by 2021. Human consumption of water is expected to rise by about 89%, agricultural consumption by 24%, and industrial usage by 260%. Given this predicted water deficiency and also the uneven temporal and spatial distribution of water resources, the further development of water supply projects such as dam building and water structures and also intra- and inter-basin water transfers seems inevitable.
These developments risk causing significant environmental impacts, particularly on freshwater ecosystems and wetlands, – especially considering the country’s climate challenges. The importance of securing sustainable water allocations to the environment, and making wise use of water-related ecosystems such as wetlands is crucial, since these systems provide many of the ecosystem services on which the economy, society and biodiversity depends. These include providing and regulating water flows, capturing nutrients, sediments and pollutants, regulation of the microclimate, fisheries, grazing, tourism and recreation etc..