Application of Multi-Attribute Decision Making Method to Achieve Good Governance in Underground Dam Site Selection of the Amir Hazer Plain Watershed of Behbahan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Khatam Al-Anbia University of Behbahan, Khuzestan, Iran.

2 Department of Nature Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.

3 Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology, Khuzestan, Iran.

Abstract

In response to the excessive and uncontrolled degradation of natural resources, several approaches have been proposed in the field of natural resources management, among which good governance stands out as one of the most important issues. Good governance of natural resources is an outcome of the interaction and emerges from the institutional-environmental and social actions and reactions of all stakeholders. One of the most significant aspects to consider in the field of natural resource governance is the actions and reactions related to water resources, including groundwater, which are vital to the utilizers. Given the limitations of water resources, the implementation of modern techniques for the management and utilization of groundwater resources are among the priorities for water resource development. Developing underground dams is a practical method for solving water shortage issue in Iran and especially in remote rural areas, and consequently improving the life stability in those areas. The first step in developing underground dam is locating a proper site. The decision-making methods such as TOPSIS and AHP were used in this study for finding an appropriate location for an underground dam in Amir Hazer watershed. Several criteria were used for dam locating such as slope, stream, geology, elevation class, land use, fault, and soil properties and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied for weighing. For site selection of the underground dam, TOPSIS technique was implemented using ArcGIS and the results showed that about 11 percent of the watershed is appropriate for building the underground water reservoir and 23 percent of the area has suitable conditions, and more than half of this region (i.e. 52 percent) is inappropriate for building the underground water reservoir.

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