Evaluation of Sustainability in Sarab Seydali Watershed, Selseleh City

Evaluating the sustainability of watersheds is important since it reveals the change in the status of ecosystems in spatial and temporal dimensions. Regarding this importance, current research focuses on sustainability in Sarab Seydali Watershed located in Lorestan province, Iran. For this reason, the Watershed Sustainability Index (WSI) and the conceptual framework of HELP, whose criteria are based on hydrology, environment, life and policy, were applied. Considering different variables such as water availability and its changes, acidity and electrical conductivity of water, development of sewage systems, environmental pressure index, vegetation cover, expansion of protected areas, net annual income, human development index and its related changes, level and progress of education, study and implementation of comprehensive water resource and watershed management plans and emphasis on an interactive and logical relationship with the indicators of pressure (P), state (S) and response (R), the sustainability level of the study area was evaluated . The average scores of pressure, state and response indices were estimated as 0.81, 0.6 and 0.37, respectively. Also, the average scores of hydrology, environment, life and policy criteria were 0.41, 0.58, 0.66 and 0.75, respectively. The results of index evaluation pressure, state and response showed that the watershed's stability score with a value of 0.6 is in the medium level of stability, that the two factors of hydrology and environment cause a weak level of stability, to improve and improve the stability. It is necessary to think of measures for water resources from increasing productivity, saving and building sewage systems and habitat management through extensive management of areas focusing on pressure, state and response indicators.