conceptualizing water bankruptcy in forbidden plains of iran (case study: mahidasht plains)

Objective: the purpose of this case study was to conceptualize wb as perceived by irrigated farmers and agricultural experts in mahidasht township. method: in recent years, climate change has caused a significant decrease in rainfall compared to the long-term average in iran. in addition, mismanagement of water resources in the agriculture sector has caused the reduction of renewable water, destruction of the ecosystem, and local and regional water disputes. in such a way that there is a reservoirdeficit of 350 bcm in iran's underground water resources, which is about a quarter of the total reserves of underground water resources. according to the statistics of the country's water resources balance, the total amount of water harvest is equal to 96.37 billion m3, of which 85.6 billion m3 is related to the agricultural sector. as a consequence, water management experts have called for the state of “water bankruptcy” in the plains of the country, including the mahidasht plain in western part of iran. however, any measures taken by water management experts need to conceptualize water bankruptcy (wb) as perceived by experts and farmers. because environmental crises, including water bankruptcy, are rooted in human behavior. since the correct perception of a problem is a prerequisite for behavior; therefore, conceptualizing “water bankruptcy” perceived by stakeholders can reveal the root causes of this phenomenon in the region. thus, it should also be considered as the first step in solving the conflicts caused by this issue. this study used exploratory qualitative method using case study approach. this research, purposeful sampling through “critical case method” was used as a sampling frame of the study. the population of this study comprised 25 participants, including experts in agricultural organization, regional water company, faculty members in college of agriculture, and farmers in mahidasht plain in kermanshah province. individual interviews and group discussion sessions were used to collect data. qualitative field notes were collected and coded using thematic analysis. results: the results of thematic analysis process revealed that the main concepts of wb are: excess water harvesting (ewh), reduced surface water (rsw), reduced ground water (rgw), condensation and change of aquifer (cca), negative water balance (nwb), over harvesting of renewable water (orw) and engaging in non-agricultural activities (ena). conclusions: policymakers and researchers can benefit from the results of this research in providing dynamic models of water allocation in common basins.