Decline of qanats in Iran: Reasons and potential solutions

Qanats used to be and are still in many parts of Iran the main way of mobilizing groundwater for irrigation and other uses. However, they have been subjected to severe degradation during the past two to three decades and their numbers is declining very rapidly. In general, there are two main categories of reasons behind the decrease in the number of Qanats. The first group is of technical nature, whereas the second is related to social and economic conditions. Factors in the first group include the increase in the number of deep and semi-deep wells, the increase in water use for agriculture, the non-use of lands upstream of’s mouth, draw-down of groundwater level, floods, difficulties in maintenance, sediment problems, etc. Among the social and economic conditions, the main reasons include the decrease in agricultural income, the collective ownership of Qanats, the government policy on wells and Qanats, the change in social structures for the operation and management of the schemes, etc. The paper discusses these and other reasons in depth, as well as the threats to the environment and social conditions of beneficiaries, and proposes potential solutions to increase the efficiency of Qanats and save this important heritage and the investments made over centuries to develop it.