Investigating the Economic and Productive Effects of Urmia Lake Water Shortages Crisis from View Point of Villagers of the Eastern Part of the Lake

The sudden decrease in water levels in Urmia Lake has elevated the environmental risk to both nearby and distant communities. For the people living in this region, particularly the villagers, the crisis has brought about a number of negative effects, including economic, social, environmental, and production-related. The current study was carried out with the purpose of evaluating the economic and productive effects of this problem from the viewpoint of the rural residents in the eastern part of the lake. The eastern of the lake's including 87,049 rural households that made up the statistical population of this study from which 230 households were chosen and analyzed using a stratified sampling method. The formula proposed by Cochran was used to determine the sample size. A questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were the data collection tool and method. By employing the opinions of experts and determining Cronbach's alpha coefficient the validity and reliability of the research instrument were assessed. The data analysis was done using SPSS statistical software. According to the findings, among the most significant effects that the villagers agreed upon were the decrease in the area used to cultivate agricultural products, the reduction of water resources and the rise in costs associated with the supply of agricultural water, and the decline in the quality of surface and ground water. According to the results of the exploratory factor analysis, the various economic-production effects of the water reduction of this lake can be summarized under four groups including "quantitative and qualitative reduction of agricultural production and income", "decrease in the quantity and quality of water resources", "increase in costs and threat to job security and income", and "reduction of non-agricultural activities". Around 69% of the variance in the results' overall variance was explained by these four variables. Among the recommendations made by this study to lessen the effects of water depletion in this lake are encouraging the production and introduction of agricultural and horticultural crops suitable for the eastern area of Urmia Lake, developing new irrigation systems, and altering the pattern of irrigated agricultural crops.