In Isfahan, the former Iranian capital located 340 kilometers south of Tehran, the Zayandeh Roud, or “fertile river”, has for several years offered a spectacle of desolation. The sumptuousness of its bridges contrasts with the drying up of this emblematic river where the water has given way to chapped earth. From time to time, blue gold takes locals by surprise and gives them water – a few weeks a year – with its benefits. A rare event that arouses the delight of the population, even if the excitement is short-lived. When the waves evaporate, the ground is bare and reality takes hold, raw. The crevasses illustrate the immensity of the environmental and socio-economic challenges facing the Islamic Republic, which is particularly vulnerable to global warming. What is more, the cracks of the thirsty bed suck up part of the identity of the city, built around Zayandeh Roud which is spanned in the evening by the lit arcades of the Si-o-se-pol – the bridge with 33 arches – or even of Khaju. Places to live where we meet as a couple, family or friends for a picnic, a walk or a concert.
“The Zayandeh Roud River is of great historical significance to the Iranians. It is associated with cultural identity, especially for the Isfahanese, ”insists Shirin Hakim, doctoral researcher at Imperial College London’s Center for Environmental Policy. “This is why the drying up of the river is particularly painful and arouses the discontent of the population, not just the farmers. ”
Since November 8, the city nicknamed “half of the world” – in reference to the glorious 17th century during which it was at its peak – has indeed been seething with anger and rage. Thousands of inhabitants take part in an intermittent rally on the desert river to denounce the water shortage. Initially, the regime played the laissez-faire card, even understanding, by sharing via state media interviews with farmers affected by the ecological crisis. But, very quickly, old habits took over, as the prospect of contagion to other cities drew near. And power has resorted to the weapon it wields best, that of repression. Last Thursday, in the early hours of the morning, the security forces, according to several videos shared by residents and activists, set fire to tents erected by protesters. Charges that the authorities, however, brushed aside, blaming “undesirable” troublemakers.
For the moment, no clear assessment has been established but the riot squad would have arrested 67 people on Saturday, according to the statements of the police chief Hassan Karami, this one evoking the presence of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 “rioters” among the demonstrators.
“Photos, videos and reports of state violence that unfolded during the Isfahan protests are gradually appearing, but documentation should not be the responsibility of activists and NGOs. The state is violating its obligations under international law, not only for using disproportionate force against protesters, but also for its lack of transparent investigation into these repressions and the lack of accountability of alleged perpetrators, ”says Gissou Nia, director of the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council. For the specialist, these waves of revolt must be understood in a broader context, that of the mobilizations that have erupted periodically throughout the country since 2016/2017. Little by little, they went so far as to take to task the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the real holder of decision-making power. In Isfahan, during the past week, demonstrators chanted unequivocal slogans, such as “death to the dictator”.
“Many of these protests began in response to the government’s mismanagement of resources, but quickly turned into an anti-government protest with corresponding slogans,” recalls Gissou Nia, recalling that the authorities have each time chosen brutality and muzzling, through “live bullets on crowds and cuts to the Internet”, to suppress out of sight of the world. Thus, the vagueness still hangs over the popular uprising of November 2019, during which at least 324 people – men, women, children – were killed according to the organization Amnesty International. These figures could indeed turn out to be much higher.
Supply and demand
The roots of the water crisis combine mismanagement, global warming and, to a lesser extent, US sanctions. With the consequence of forced displacement from rural areas to already overpopulated cities, and pressure on insufficient infrastructure and natural assets.
If Isfahan is now the focus of attention, the depletion of water reserves is a real scourge on a national scale. Almost 90% of renewable resources are consumed, more than double the world average. According to the Iranian Meteorological Organization, 97% of the country is also more or less affected by drought.
Last summer, it was the Khuzestan region that made the talk. In this marginalized western province which concentrates the Ahwazi minority – and which for a long time was the magnifying mirror of the water crisis in the country -, the population was protesting against the transfers of its resources to the benefit of the central areas, where, ironically, Isfahan is located. Today, the Isfahanais in turn denounce the diversion of resources intended for agricultural land for industrial complexes in the province of Yazd or to supply drinking water to the holy city of Qom. As a sign of the contagious potential of this anger, rallies were held a few days later in the neighboring province of Chahar-Mahal and Bakhtiari to also protest against the transfer of water to the Isfahan region.
“The problem with water management is a question of supply and demand. There is a greater demand for water resources and not enough supply, ”says Shirin Hakim. “Government officials have long turned to solutions such as water transfer to increase supply to meet increasing local demand, when they should be working on methods to reduce demand. “, She adds before specifying that the governments have limited themselves to” an unsustainable and useless approach “.
Admittedly, the regime recognizes the scale of the challenge, displays a certain voluntarism, but it first points out the harmful impact of the American sanctions since Washington withdrew in 2018 from the Vienna agreement on nuclear power. “How can Iran materialize its commitments under the Paris agreement (on the climate) if it cannot receive technical and financial assistance from the international community?” Pretended to question Ali Salajegheh, head of the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency, during the UN climate change conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, last month.
Self-sufficiency
If some of the factors behind the depletion of resources date back to the second half of the twentieth century and the adoption – under the influence of London and Washington – of new cultures not adapted to Iranian terrain, the revolution of 1979 marked a turning point by including in the Constitution the need to achieve agricultural self-sufficiency. “It was seen as a way to ensure food security because the growing sanctions against Iran since the revolution have been a constant threat to free trade,” said Shirin Hakim. The eight-year war between Tehran and Baghdad between 1980 and 1988 also played a role, further fueling this need for independence to support rural populations on the one hand and bypass external pressures on the other. Result: recourse to intensive and wasteful agriculture. According to the researcher, one of the problems also lies in the fact that the agricultural sector consumes nearly 92% of the country’s water while it contributes only 10% of the economy.
“These problems have been around for a long time but have been exacerbated by the effects of climate change and a severe drought. Leading environmentalists who seek to draw attention to these key challenges face the risk of government retaliation for their peaceful activities. Water experts and others with valuable expertise to resolve these issues have been expelled from the government, and even imprisoned or killed, ”recalls Gissou Nia. “So the broader public mobilization behind these issues in areas where you are reaching a breaking point – with ordinary people from all walks of life, many of whom were the backbone of the 1979 revolution – is essential.”
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In Isfahan, the former Iranian capital located 340 kilometers south of Tehran, the Zayandeh Roud, or “fertile river”, has for several years offered a spectacle of desolation. The sumptuousness of its bridges contrasts with the drying up of this emblematic river where the water has given way to chapped earth. Every now and then, blue gold takes …
