Evaluation on Water Resources and Determining the Values of Exported and Imported Virtual Water in Hashtgerd Region

Abstract

The concept of virtual water in recent years has been proposed with the world’s water resource consumption management approach. Hashtgerd study area is one of 609 study areas of the country that is located entirely in Alborz Province. Average annual rainfall in this region was about 200 to 340 mm and the average agricultural production per year was more than one million tons and had more than 16 million cubic meters surplus recovery from underground water resources. The aim of this study is to evaluate resources and amounts of virtual water in the agricultural sector of the study area and its impact on the area water resources balance and ultimately provide solutions to reduce water consumption by the agricultural sector. The most important exported water products in Hashtgerd area in order of importance are peaches and nectarines (33% of water exports), plums (15% of water exports), vegetables (5.14 percent of water exports), cherry (4.7% of water exports) and wheat (6.5 percent of water exports). Virtual water trade balance of agricultural and horticultural products in the digital range is equal to 260+ million cubic meters. Density of agricultural lands can be mentioned as the main reasons for positive balance of virtual water trade in this area.