Poverty Development or Sustainable Development Challenges of Caspian Sea Dehydration Plan and its Transfer to Semnan province

Awareness and recognition of institutional aspects of water resources management, notably like, the important role of civic supervision and participation in water resources management, well observed in the history of sustainable management of surface and groundwater resources in Iranian civilization. International experience also explains the transition from supply-oriented to reforming consumption patterns and a focus on institutional funds as economic schools evolve over time. Despite significant experiences in integrated water resources management, there is yet serious challenges that insist on of massive projects- with devastating inefficiency in the demand side - which focus is on supply-oriented in our country. Transformation of water between basins is considered as such projects, which not only might impose considerable costs on the country but also have far-reaching consequences afterward may go far beyond technical issues and have ecological and even social subsequences. Unfortunately, the bitter experiences of such an approach regarding the cultural rift between the people of Khuzestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and Isfahan provinces can be seen. In this study in order to indicate such proportions, first, we explained the theoretical foundations related to sustainable development from the perspective of "separation" components. The components include "social welfare", "economic growth", "reduction of dependence on basic resources", and "reduction of environmental consequences". Failure to pay attention to any of these components poses serious challenges for the sustainability of socio-ecological systems. Therefore, the documents related to the deterioration of the four components in the implementation of the water transfer plan from the Caspian Basin to Semnan were explained with objective examples. In terms of social welfare, the loss of some jobs, including the livelihoods of local fishermen, disrupting social stability and creating social tensions, threatening food security and economically valuable aquatic organisms, damaging the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen in the region, as well as endangering health must be considered seriously. Other examples of inconsistency of the plan with sustainable development principles, in terms of environmental consequences, include damage to the marine ecosystem. Upstream theoretical principles, with regard to the potential environmental and ecological potential effects that are very complex and irreversible, cannot justify any such kind of projects and its specific environmental consequences in the region. Therefore, certainly there must be more efficient alternatives than such a large and unbearable plan to consider regarding the Inadequate and insufficient demand management in the drinking, agricultural and industrial sectors in the destination basin. Accordingly, as an alternative approach, it is suggested to consider other management measures that firstly, lacks socio-ecological-environmental consequences secondly, do not put additional pressure on basic resources, and thirdly are in line with sustainable development to ensure the sustainability and survival of socio-ecological systems at source and destination. It should be noted that the implementation of such projects, in addition to the above, also causes serious problems for the management of water resources in the destination area.