Managing conflicts in water resources allocation: The case of Urumia lake basin, Iran

Abstract

Lake Urumia is a salt lake located in the northwest of Iran. During the past 14 years, increased water demand and droughts have led to severe environmental degradation combined with a drop of about 5m in the lake's water level. This paper presents the results of a case study carried out to contribute to the development of a roadmap aimed at reaching a sustainable water allocation in the basin. A combination of the Large Technological System approach and the Graph model for conflict resolution is used to provide a clear picture of the basin and the stakeholders involved, including their activities, and to study their behaviour in order to identify strategies for achieving a sustainable outcome. © 2013 WIT Press.