When the spring snows melt in the Alborz Mountains in northern Iran, the rivers flowing northwards are full of water. On the plains of Mazandaran Province along the Caspian Sea, it is time to plant the crops. The farmers use the water from the swollen rivers to irrigate their rice fields.

But the dry season soon follows, and the rivers slow to a trickle. If there is not enough rain, yields will be poor. Some farmers irrigate their crops with groundwater from shallow tubewells, but the water level sinks rapidly, and wells soon run dry.

For one slice of Mazandaran Province, this will soon change. A new dam is being built in the headwaters of the Babol River. Once it is complete in 2007, this dam will regulate the flow of the river. Water will no longer rush unused down to the sea; instead, it will be stored in the reservoir behind the dam, and will be released gradually to keep the flow of the river at a more constant level.

That will bring a range of benefits. Further downstream, a system of weirs and canals will lead the water into a network of smaller canals and to the farmers' fields. Less dependent on the variable rainfall, the farmers will be confident of a good crop. They will be able to plant two crops a year instead of one, substantially boosting food production in this fast-growing country. And the dam will protect them from the devastating flash floods that occur when it rains heavily upstream.

The Babol dam under construction

Project aims:

The Alborz Integrated Land and Water Management Project is a key part of this effort. A joint project of the Government of Iran and the World Bank, this 7-year (2006-12) project is modernizing irrigation and drainage systems in the basins of the Babol, and the neighbouring Talar and Siah rivers. The dam and main canal are being built with separate funding from the Government of Iran. The Alborz Project itself is responsible for:

• Upper watershed management. Planning the management of the upper watershed to manage the forests on a sustainable basis and prevent siltation of the reservoir.

• Improved agricultural productivity. Building a system of irrigation and drainage canals to bring water from the Babol River into the Talar and Siah basins and irrigate fields there, and helping farmers improve their productivity through participatory management.

• Protecting the environment. Monitoring the water quality, managing the reservoir in an appropriate way, and promoting pest management in the project area.

The project pilots a holistic approach to managing land and water resources at the river basin level. It helps farmers organize into Water Users' Associations, creates a Basin Water Council to manage water allocation, and manages a Basin Water Fund to support community-based activities for water and natural resources conservation. The project is introducing community-based land and water conservation to reduce soil erosion and protect water quality, particularly in poor communities. It is hoped that the lessons from this project can be replicated in the rest of the country.

Beneficiaries:

The primary beneficiaries of the project are:
Around 77,000 farmers in traditional irrigated and rainfed areas Foresters and herders in the upper watershed Fisherfolk in the abbandans (storage ponds) in the lower part of the watershed The population of the river basins as a whole (around 973,000 people).

To ensure the infrastructure is sustainable and water is used economically, the project promotes participation by local stakeholders in deciding how to allocate and distribute water at both the basin and farm levels. It also devolves responsibility for operations and maintenance to the people who use the water.

Project components:

The project has five components:

• Upper watershed, forestry and rangeland management
• Irrigation and drainage management
• Integrated water resources management
• Environmental management
• Project management support

Click here for more details on these components.

Funding:

The project is funded by the Government of Iran ($US 80 million) and through a World Bank loan ($ 120 million) under project number P071170.