Socio-Hydrology

Unsustainable use of water resources including inefficient irrigation, overexploitation of groundwater resources, damming, evaporating, river piping and pumping, lakes and wetlands shrinking, has become a global problem. Scientists have been studying hydrology without considering the role and impacts of human interventions and the coupling of human-nature effects. But it has been shown later that without it, the investigation of a hydrological cycle would be accompanied by error. For this reason, a novel concept of socio-hydrology was proposed to investigate the two-way coupling of human-water systems. Based on the results of studies and considering the importance of the human role in causing environmental changes, particularly in hydrological responses of basins, it seems necessary to study river basins in the form of socio-hydrology. Therefore, water experts in hydrology, water resources management, sociology, and economics need to become familiar with new interdisciplinary concepts, including socio-hydrology in order to tackle water challenges in river basins. In this paper, in addition to introducing the concept of socio-hydrology, the differences between socio-hydrology, integrated water resources management, and phytosociology are addressed. Furthermore, the different kinds of coupling human-water systems investigation including historical socio-hydrology, comparative socio-hydrology, and process socio-hydrology are introduced. Finally, the challenges that socio-hydrology encounters with; were argued.