Ab-Bandan and Traditional Management of Controlling Water

Iran as a country located in arid and semi-arid region has only 252 mm annual precipitation which is about 37% of total global precipitation in the world. It is while that spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation in Iran is imbalance; a large amount of precipitation is limited to a small region and / or it is out of cropping season especially in north of Iran. Total area of arable lands in Iran are about 37 mha, from which 17 mha are irrigatable and 20 mha are rainfed lands. But only about 18 mha are under production lands. With rapid population increase in the world and decreasing water resources it is necessary to use every possible water resource. An overview of annual precipitation during last decades shows a reduction trend. Based on reliable reports it is estimated that middle-east countries will face severe reduction in water resources till 2050. We have no way to struggle and we can only manage to delay the crisis. Reports shows Iran have been faced to drought every 35 years. From the past our ancestors had learnt the traditional approaches to manage the effects of such droughts. Ab-Bandan, which is a large soil reservoir, is one of the traditional approaches to control water especially in North of Iran. In these regions although having many rainfalls and watery rivers they face water shortage especially in cropping season. Ab-Bandan have helped to agricultural production and changing dry lands to irrigated lands in Northern provinces. It is used also for other useful purposes which all are beneficial for agriculture in the region. This structure acts the role of Qanat in arid and semi- arid region in central parts of Iran. In this paper it will be presented the extensive definition of Ab-Bandan and its advantages especially in agricultural sector. The situation of Ab-Bandans in northern provinces of Iran in terms of possession, operation and maintenance will be evaluated

کلیدواژه ها:

Ab-Bandan ، Northern provinces ، drought ، precipitation ، water shortage