Assessing and weighting the most effective criteria of indigenous knowledge for use in water resources planning and management of arid and semi-arid areas of Iran: a case study of Yazd Province

In the last few decades, the mismanagement of water resources in Iran has caused major problems. Returning to and updating earlier indigenous technologies and knowledge, accompanied by incorporating new technologies adapted to local conditions, offer distinct advantages for meeting current and future needs and achieving sustainable development. This research utilizes an extensive study of literature from internal and external sources, and the opinions of specialists and experts, gathered via a questionnaire, plus Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify and assess the most important criteria or applicable factors of indigenous knowledge relevant to the water resources planning and management in the study area-Yazd Province, Iran. Six criteria-protection and stability, integrated management, holistic (comprehensive) approach, cost-effectiveness, compatibility, and dynamism-are found to be more important than others for the area. Variables, including biodiversity conservation, principled structure in the system of construction, operation and maintenance, economic compatibility, and wildlife conservation, are ranked higher than other variables. In the next step, the six criteria/factors are weighted using the Best Worst Method, and also, a linear programming model is created in Lingo software. The integrated management and holistic approach are found to have the highest and the lowest weights, respectively. Protection and stability, along with cost-effectiveness, jointly rank second. Finally, compatibility and dynamism rank third and fourth, respectively. To promote more appropriate strategies for planning and managing water resources in Yazd Province, this research offers regional and local planners and policy-makers a means of employing the strengths of the updated indigenous knowledge by applying the selected criteria. The approaches described are also applicable to similar areas worldwide.