Assessment of inter-basin water transfer projects damages in Iran

The Inter-basin water transfer is one of the ways to deal with water shortage. However, in some cases, this solution has more destructive effects than its benefits. Therefore, it is necessary to fully identify the potential damages of inter-basin water transfer projects, so that they can be prevented in future plans. Iran is one of the leading countries in inter-basin water transfer projects and so far, 10 projects are under operation and 19 more are on the agenda. The main purpose of this research study is to identify the damages of projects in operation in Iran. To achieve this aim, all information related to the in-operation projects were collected and extracted involving descriptive-analytical approach, from literature resources, news and interviews. A total of 20 damages were identified as a result of the investigations. Due to the different nature of these damages, after identification, they were classified into four areas including, environmental, economic, political and social. According to the results, there were only 10 damages in the research literature, which means that the literature is incomplete in relation to the damages of inter-basin water transfer projects. It is recommended that the results of this research be used in the study of future plans.