Extended Abstract
Introduction: Watersheds, as natural systems, are influenced by both internal and external factors and face ongoing challenges related to declining performance and the fulfillment of their inherent functions. Economic development, the expansion of international trade, cultural changes, and the emergence of new technologies—combined with increasing droughts, desertification, and floods—have intensified the demand for securing essential resources for human life. These pressures have made the management and sustainable use of soil and water resources, along with environmental preservation, critical necessities that now rank among the main concerns of developmental planning. Despite this urgency, there is limited integration in watershed management between proper planning, risk reduction, environmental concerns, and performance comparison at regional and global levels. Consequently, the assessment of watershed performance using globally acceptable criteria has received insufficient attention. This study aims to fill this gap by assessing the performance of sustainable development indicators that affect ecosystem conservation and sustainable utilization in the Shazand Watershed, Markazi Province, Iran, through the systematic identification and analysis of relevant indicators.
Materials and Methods: To assess the performance of sustainable development indicators affecting ecosystem conservation and sustainable use, the study first selected the most influential indicators from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relevant to the Shazand Watershed's ecosystems. Multiple field visits were subsequently conducted to collect data and determine the current condition of the watershed. Based on these investigations, 19 ecosystem-related indicators were selected for analysis. For performance calculation, the values for each indicator were derived using a multi-source approach incorporating global SDG metadata and international reports. Thresholds for certain indicators were defined based on national and regional standards from official Iranian sources and subsequently validated by expert committees. To determine the performance level of each indicator, values were normalized on a scale of 0 to 100 using defined upper and lower bounds. Finally, the spatial distribution of performance was determined for each sub-watershed within the study area.
Results and Discussion: Among the 19 indicators analyzed, the highest performances were observed for indicators related to mortality and missing persons due to natural disasters (100%) and disruptions in basic services caused by disasters (94%). In contrast, the lowest performances were recorded for indicators such as the ratio of productive and sustainable agricultural areas (1%), green cover of mountainous regions (1.21%), and protected plant and animal areas (11.90%). Spatial analysis revealed that the Shazand Watershed, particularly its central sub-watersheds, is generally in a declining average condition. Key factors affecting these changes include extensive industrial activities such as refineries and petrochemical plants, as well as increased mining operations, all of which have negatively impacted the region's ecosystems.
Conclusion: To prevent further resource degradation, all stakeholders at global, national, and especially local levels must recognize that progress and development must follow a sustainable path. Achieving an acceptable level of growth and development in the human communities of the Shazand Watershed requires planning based on a deep understanding of the environment and the strategic leveraging of the region's existing capabilities. Recognizing, reviewing, and analyzing both human and natural capacities can serve as a foundation for critical development objectives. Given the high rate of industrial growth and resulting pollution in the Shazand Watershed, combined with efforts to leverage agricultural potential and modernization, a significant step can be taken toward achieving sustainable development goals. It is therefore recommended that in both short- and long-term planning, provincial and local managers allocate a higher proportion of public budget investments to the agricultural sector. Additionally, increasing the share of agricultural development from banking facilities and directing banking resources toward equipping and modernizing agricultural enterprises can play a key role in improving productivity and employment in this sector.