Application of Grounded Theory to Analyse the Impact of Drying Lake Urmia on Rural Households’ Livelihoods

Climate change along with mismanagement in the Lake Urmia Basin have caused a severe decline in the its water balance. The continuation of this trend and drying up of the lake have had negative effects on all aspects of life and livelihood of the neighboring provinces. Accurate and comprehensive understanding of these effects from the viewpoint of the villagers and experts provides a basis for forming a correct understanding for planners and authorities to manage this crisis. The purpose of this study was to identify the direct and indirect impact of drying Lake Urmia on livelihoods of rural households. A qualitative approach and the Granded theory method were used for data collection and analysis. The villagers and rural experts of East and West Azerbaijan provinces were the statistical population of the study that were selected through purposive sampling. The finding resulted in 213 direct and indirect impacts for drying the lake. In the axial coding phase, seven core categories including: the decline in quantity and quality of soil and water resources, the threat to social capital, the threat to livelihoods, job security and migration, threat to food security, animal health and their performance, involvement of outside institutions in rural planning, attitudinal, and knowledge change, and climate change increase were extracted and categorized. In selective coding phase, the relationships away categorise were identified and explained. The results showed that drying Lake Urmia had negative impact on all aspects of sustainable rural livelihood and the results of this study can be insightful in effectively management and empowerment of the villagers.