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Ecological wisdom, a social–ecological approach to environmental planning with an emphasis on water resources: the case of Qanat Hydraulic Structure (QHS) in a desert city of Iran

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Abstract

Improper exploitation of water resources has caused a water crisis and a challenge for water resource management around the world, especially in desert cities with vulnerable landscapes. Ecological wisdom is evident in the ancient desert cities of Iran, based on Qanat Hydraulic Structures (QHS). For long, QHS has been the main water transmission system from long-distance resources to cities in hot-arid regions. This study aimed to explore the ecological wisdom of ancient QHS and to empower it with the current social values, which may be applied as a rational normative approach to create balance between the landscape ecological integrity and development processes. We first investigated scientific databases to extract the principles of ecological wisdom and the theoretical framework. In the next stage, we conducted field studies to extract the social and ecological principles and rules, governing the workable pattern of structure and function of QHS in the desert city of Yazd, Iran, as a case study. Next, the comparative–deductive method was used for comparing the principles of ecological wisdom with the rules governing the corridor networks of QHS. Finally, we compared the compatibility of ecological wisdom principles governing QHS with the criteria and sub-criteria of landscape sustainability in Yazd. The results revealed that ecological wisdom can provide a framework to integrate the traditional knowledge of QHS in scientific ecological knowledge and social system of cities toward sustainable water resource planning and sustainable landscaping.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Iran National Science Foundation. The authors would like to thank the interviewed participants and contributors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mahjabin Radaei, Esmaeil Salehi, Shahrzad Faryadi, Mohammad R. Masnavi & Lobat Zebardast

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  1. Mahjabin Radaei
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  2. Esmaeil Salehi
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  3. Shahrzad Faryadi
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  4. Mohammad R. Masnavi
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  5. Lobat Zebardast
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Correspondence to Esmaeil Salehi.

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Radaei, M., Salehi, E., Faryadi, S. et al. Ecological wisdom, a social–ecological approach to environmental planning with an emphasis on water resources: the case of Qanat Hydraulic Structure (QHS) in a desert city of Iran. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 10490–10511 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01067-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01067-4

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