Integrated Water Resources Management Approach and Tools Needed to Influence Sustainable Development

Extended Abstract Background: A broad understanding of the dimensions and elements of integrated management is necessary to achieve the effective management of water resources. According to the report of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership, integrated management of water resources is a process that contributes to the protection, development, and coordinated exploitation of land water resources and other related resources to maximize economic and social well-being in an equitable manner without jeopardizing the stability of vital ecosystems. Achieving this goal requires providing the necessary tools to create the necessary infrastructure for the correct implementation of integrated management of water resources and achieving sustainable development goals. In this regard, the current research was conducted to identify the tools required for the integrated management of water resources to influence sustainable development. Methods: In the current descriptive-analytical research, information was collected through library studies and distribution of questionnaires. At first, the comprehensive concept of integrated management of water resources was chosen by reviewing different and varied international views and the results of world water meetings and conferences. Then, the principles, structure, challenges, and goals of integrated water resources management and the relationship with sustainable development were also examined by referring to international sources, such as World Bank reports, FAO documents and meetings, United Nations Development Program, documents related to the perspectives of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership Program, documents of the United Nations Global Water Assessment Program, the United Nations 2030 document and also approved upstream documents, the water management of the country (including the macro water policies, the eighteen water policies of the country, the twenty-year vision document in the water sector, and the fourth development plan, documents and reports related to national and international conferences focusing on the integrated management of water resources and sustainable development, as well as the studies of researchers. To identify the tools needed for the integrated resource management approach to facilitate the sustainable development process, the effectiveness of four criteria, including 1) water resource protection and exploitation criteria, 2) policy making, 3) social, and 4) economic, on the implementation of the integrated water resources management approach in the Tajen catchment basin was evaluated by distributing 40 questionnaires among professors and students of the water engineering department at Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The questionnaire of the water engineering department of Sari University of Agricultural Sciences was validated after making corrections, and the final version was completed for distribution. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The questionnaire was compiled in such a way that there were 13 items and 5 subcategories for each component based on the Likert scale with numerical scores including very low (1), low (2), medium (3), high (4), and very high (5). The Cronbach's alpha obtained for the prepared questionnaires was equal to 0.891, which indicates the very good reliability of the prepared questionnaires. Finally, the effectiveness of each of these components in the implementation of the integrated water resources management approach was determined based on percentage by using the ratio of the total scores of each component to the number of distributed questionnaires. Results: Based on the evaluations, the component of protection and exploitation of water resources had the most effectiveness (60.64%) on the implementation of integrated management of water resources in the Tajen catchment basin. On the other hand, policy levers had the second priority (40.52%) of effectiveness, and socioeconomic sectors had the third (52.40%) and fourth (43.30%) priorities, respectively. According to the above-mentioned results, it can be realized that in the current situation and the water crisis, the protection and exploitation of water resources is one of the basic pillars of achieving integrated management of water resources and ease in achieving sustainable development in the region. On the other hand, the impact of other components cannot be ignored because the successful implementation of an integrated approach to water resources and achieving sustainable development depends on comprehensive attention to all managerial, economic, social, and environmental sectors. This is because these tools are complementary to each other and the disruption in the availability of each of them leads to limitations in achieving the goals and perspectives of sustainable development in a region. This also requires the creation of necessary infrastructure in different sectors. Conclusion: Factors such as population growth, economic development, and climate change have adversely affected the water resources of the Tajen catchment basin. Since goals such as sustainable water supply, ensuring public health, wastewater treatment, irrigation and drainage plans, and watershed protection cannot be properly implemented by taking temporary measures, the integrated management of water resources will ensure the continuous implementation of these goals. In general and according to the studies conducted in the current research, integrated management of water resources and sustainable development in the Tajen watershed and other areas are two inseparable components for the continued survival of a region. Therefore, providing the necessary infrastructure for this matter should be considered the main pillar of watershed management planning. This will not be possible except with the participation and coordination of all bodies, organizations, stakeholders, and users of water resources. The lack of a cooperative perspective is one of the biggest challenges in managing water resources and, consequently, achieving sustainable development. Therefore, the expansion of the participatory management approach in all dimensions related to water resources and achieving the goals of sustainable development can improve the current conditions and guarantee favorable future conditions to some extent.