Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Nature Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources & Earth Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2
Operation Management & Decision Sciences, Business School, Shefield University, Shefield, United Kingdom
10.22034/iwm.2026.2080578.1260
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Introduction: Rapid population growth increases demands for food, employment, and economic development, while education, welfare, and social equity remain essential requirements of modern societies. Efforts to satisfy these needs through wealth creation and improved living standards have intensified pressure on natural resources, often exceeding environmental carrying capacities and driving many watersheds toward unsustainability. Sustainability aims to preserve natural, social, and economic capital to ensure intergenerational equity. Achieving watershed sustainability requires maintaining a balance among ecological integrity, economic development, and social well-being. Sustainable economies depend on resilient communities, and resilient communities can thrive only within healthy environments. Consequently, the scientific community recognizes integrated watershed assessment as an effective approach to reconciling socioeconomic demands with ecosystem sustainability. This study evaluates the sustainability of the Beheshtabad Watershed in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran, through the assessment of environmental, economic, and social dimensions, with the aim of identifying strengths, weaknesses, and temporal changes in watershed sustainability.
Materials and methods: This study assessed sustainability trends in the Beheshtabad Watershed between 2011 and 2021. A conceptual framework was developed to evaluate environmental, economic, and social dimensions using a composite Watershed Sustainability Index (WSI). The index was constructed based on 14 sub-criteria, including six environmental, four economic, and four social indicators. Values of all sub-criteria were normalized to a scale ranging from 0 to 1, and the overall WSI was calculated as the weighted mean of the normalized indicators. The CRITIC (Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation) method was employed to determine the weights of the sub-criteria. Sustainability was evaluated for the entire watershed and its four sub-watersheds: Borujen, Shahrekord, Farsan, and Kiar. Temporal changes in sustainability were examined by comparing criterion-specific and overall WSI values between 2011 and 2021.
Results and Discussion: The comparison of sustainability indicators between 2011 and 2021 revealed declines in several environmental, economic, and social variables across the Beheshtabad Watershed. Population growth combined with decreasing water resources reduced per capita water availability from approximately 950 to 600 m³ per year. Groundwater levels declined by an average of four meters and by more than eight meters in some plains. Furthermore, rangeland area decreased by 8%, specific suspended sediment load increased by 60%, and rangeland carrying capacity declined by 20%, leading to increased grazing pressure. These changes indicate a deterioration of environmental sustainability within the watershed. Economic conditions also worsened during the study period. The dollar-equivalent household income declined by approximately 50%, employment opportunities decreased, and the dependency ratio increased, collectively contributing to greater economic instability in 2021 compared with 2011. In the social dimension, declining population growth rates were partially offset by improvements in literacy levels and relatively stable performance in other social indicators. Although social equity decreased, the overall social sustainability trend remained positive in most sub-watersheds, with the exception of the Shahrekord sub-watershed. The results of the CRITIC weighting procedure indicated that twelve indicators received moderate weights ranging from 0.05 to 0.07. The lowest weight was assigned to the surface-water oxygen demand indicator, whereas the highest weight was assigned to per capita water availability. The overall WSI of the Beheshtabad Watershed declined from 0.696 in 2011 to 0.663 in 2021. Similarly, the WSI values for the Borujen, Shahrekord, Farsan, and Kiar sub-watersheds decreased from 0.701, 0.726, 0.733, and 0.744 in 2011 to 0.614, 0.706, 0.702, and 0.676 in 2021, respectively. The most pronounced decline occurred in the Borujen sub-watershed. Because environmental indicators received relatively higher weights than economic and social indicators, they contributed more substantially to the overall sustainability index.
Conclusion: Sustainability assessment requires the integration of diverse environmental, economic, and social indicators within a robust analytical framework to facilitate regional comparisons and monitor temporal trends. By applying a comprehensive Watershed Sustainability Index, this study provides a realistic evaluation of sustainability conditions in the Beheshtabad Watershed. The findings reveal a growing trend toward unsustainability, driven primarily by economic pressures and reinforced by environmental degradation, declining water availability, intensified soil erosion, reduced employment opportunities, lower household incomes, poverty, and migration. Sub-watersheds with higher population densities exhibited lower sustainability levels and more pronounced declines over time. Overall, economic factors emerged as the principal drivers of watershed unsustainability, highlighting the need for targeted policy interventions and integrated resource-management strategies to enhance resilience and promote sustainable watershed development.
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