A Clarification of Sociopolitical Water-Related Tensions in South Khorasan Studied case: Districts of Esfeden and Affin

Water is considered a major, developmental substructure in different social and economical sectors of countries. Currently, problems regarding this vital substance are among the most important issues in the world. Water scarcity, caused by population growth and water requirement to produce food, inherent limitation of water resources particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, excessive withdrawal from resources and poor water management has over time inflicted tensions and challenges on the national and international levels, hence threatening peace and security around the globe. It has also made some problemsinevitable, such as evacuation of villages, irregular emigration of villagers to cities, social conflicts among dwellings, and growing political tensions. We can refer , as an instance, to the growing tensions among people from Esfeden City and Affin Village in South Khorasan Province over the past years. Considering the issues above, the main question of the study is, “what contributes to creating and aggravating of conflicts and tensions among these two neighboring regions?” The hypothesis stated is: various factors such as population growth, increasing the land under cultivation, as well as recent droughts have led to development of tensions.
This is, methodologically, a case study within a geographical study framework, and it was primarily conducted with a descriptive-analytic approach. The information and data were gathered from electronic and library sources, and relevant documents, and through interviews with experts, officials and locals. The studied region is located within two counties in the northern part of South Khorasn Province. According to the latest state division map, Esfeden is a city of central Qayenat County, and Affin is a village of Zohan in Zirkouh County.
Data & The Affin River, which supplies part of the irrigating water of the area, originates from Dogerd Heights and Shirkab Heights, 67 km southeast to Birjand, and runs by villages Shirg,Sarjin, Kalat-e-mazar, Baimorgh, Baghestan, Payhan, and Fathabad, down to Affin. The water, which reaches the riverbed south of Affin, runs for 5km before it arrives at a point called division chamber, where it is divided into six equal parts, one part belonging to Affin fields and five other parts belonging to Esfeden fields and plantations. Affin’s share of water goes to Affin fields, while Esfeden’s share of water runs along The Affin River, and at some distance down the village it joins The Shour (salt) River and together they make up the Esfeden Creek. Over the past years, considering water shares and due to the rise of barberry price, the area of cultivated land for annual crops has declined, whereas the allocated land to the barberry rdens has developed. The entire area of aridable land was 227 hectares, which consisted of 138 hectares of gardens and plant nurseries and 89 hectares of fields. Currently, most of the fields have gone under cultivation of barberry trees and the entire land area of gardens has doubled ( up to 260 hectares). About 90 hectares of the gardens is irrigated with water from the river and 170 hectares with water from the qanats. Considering the population growth and increased area of cultivated land in Affin, and in spite of the fact that people of Affin are well attendant of their share of water, however, they assume excess withdrawal of water from the river an unnegotiable right of their own. Particularly in hot seasons and when irrigation is most required, they withdraw water from the river above their allocated share. In addition, because the river bed before the division chamber has been destroyed and subsequently, there is a difference up to about two meters in height, water is not properly directed to the division chamber and, as a result, there is not a proportionate division. This causes less accessable water to reach Esfeden, and inflicts a lot of damage to farmers in Esfeden. According to the experts in the Department of Agriculture, considering the vast area of cultivated land, and high costs of developing gardens, and also the long time prior to the harvest, the estimated damage due to water reduction during flowering seasons, harvest, and at the peak of collecting crops is varied. However, typically, a decline of 5 seconds in 30 liters leads to 1 to 15 percent loss of crops.
Finally, it was concluded that because of increased demand for water due to the development of cultivated gardens in the region, population growth, and dividing the irrigating water in accordance with inheritance law, the share of the limited water available per person has diminished, and disputes and tensions over possession of water in the districts of Affin and Esfeden has risen. Reduced amount of precipitation and the recent droughts has led to aggravation of water crisis, reduced quota of sustainable water per capita in the region, and rising demands for irrigation. Disagreements and disputes over water in years have inflicted financial damage to farmers, contributing to coldness of relations among people, reducing the farmers’ collaboration to clear the conveying ducts, and maintaining conveying ducts especially after floods. All these issues play a significant role in the reduction of accessible water. Implementing the plan of the concrete wall before the division chamber, directing water to division chamber, and conveying it through pipes from the division chamber to the piped route can help reduce some of the local issues and disputes.