Development of a National Mega Research Project on the Integrated Watershed Management for Iran

Increasing population and progressing technologies can threat different types of ecosystems throughout the globe. The problem is more serious in developing countries where emerging technologies are quickly introduced and are being appliedincautiously and imprudently, while no comprehensive approach is followed up to consider all involving aspects. As such, only a program with deep insight about direct and indirect aspects of the human interventions in the ecosystem would guarantee the long-term health and profitability of the watershed resources. This approach is currently being applied to achieve the optimum use of resources, leading to sustainable and balanced outcomes through integrated planning and management in Iran, called Integrated Watershed Management (IWM).This summary articulates the process and the framework of this National Mega-Project for Iran. Following approval of the project by the High Council of Sciences, Research, and Technology of the country in 2012, a consortium consisting of four universities and a national research body was established to compile the Phase Zero Proposal as the first step. The proposal was prepared by a team of experts in the field of natural resource management based at Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The document consists of the justification of the research project followed by some background information and the research aim and objectives/steps. Additionally, the implementation steps for the phase zero followed by a timeframe and budget plan were included in the proposal. The main focus of the project was initiation of a new holistic approach towards the integrated watershed management at the national and regional scales for Iran.