Introduction
Nowadays, one of the main challenges for the existing and growing human population is food providing. The use of water resources such as natural lakes, reservoirs, dams and rivers are crucial for accessing new food sources. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the construction of Azad dam with an emphasis on structural changes in the affected villages. Water as key of life has a special place in geographical studies. Water is the vital factors to activate of human in its environment because the relationship of human with natural environment without water resource or access will be without support. Therefore, people have always been searching for means to access water. Among these ways, dams play crucial role in storage of current water resource, and storage of water behind dams can be used in different ways. Technology to control, manage, storage and transfer water, besides producing energy, is important for sustainable management of water resources to reach an optimum situation and consumption. The economic evaluation of activities for dams is important in two views: first to optimize allocation and second to justify dams for stakeholders. The current study aims to evaluate the constructed Azad dam in Kalatarzan District, Sanandaj County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. So this study analyzes economic issues in view of people who live the dam base on tangible benefits and costs using benefit-cost method from merely available data and not necessarily long run profits and losses.
Methodology
Respondents were selected by simple random sampling method. The statistical population includes the heads of households living in the villages along the Azad Dam in the Kalatarzan District. Data were collected through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews in 2021. 146 respondent were determined and asked. Descriptive statistics and cost-benefit model were used to analyze the research data. The number of villages around dam are four.
Discussion and conclusion
The study regarded the decrease in the value of changes in agricultural production (after construction compared to before) and the value of benefits and costs of the dam for the villagers around the dam. The results showed that the total benefits and cost are 65557.3 and 146368.14 million Tomans (IR), respectively. Also, the benefit-cost ratio (at a discount rate of 18 per cent) is 0.4480. As a result, the project of constructing Azad dam for those who live around it has no economic justification. However, the evaluation of results may change, considering all other positive effects such as tourism extension, employment for local people to manage the dam, fishing activities and hunting or negative effects like fast changing of living pattern, climate changes, increase of activity constraints due to live around dam. More specifically, the number of households before dam were about 209 and after that reached to 179 due to decrease of agricultural land that have been sold to dam project. To compensate this loss, a deeper investigation may help to increase labor productivity and hold human capital over there. If human capital will be enhanced in the study area, more value will be added due to the investment and consequently reduced population will be compensated.
According to the area capacity, there are lot of economic opportunity which can take place after dam construction. According to the results, we recommend to establish a study regarding to find out the optimum cropping pattern to increase the income and reduce the losses. Added value of storage water in the area may guarantee investment to constructed dam and its safety. Therefore, the policy maker should provide the complementary activities emphasizing people culture and area advantages.
