Iran is facing a growing crisis of land subsidence, which has become a national issue. Isa Bozorgzadeh, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Water, has raised concerns that land subsidence is affecting the entire country as excessive extraction of groundwater has reached critical levels. This issue is directly tied to the mismanagement of water resources.
As reported by Mehr News, Bozorgzadeh emphasized, “The only way to combat subsidence is to reduce excessive extraction from groundwater resources and limit it. For decades, we have driven unsustainable development forward through over-extraction of groundwater.”
Bozorgzadeh continued, “Unfortunately, the outcome is that more than 300 plains in Iran are experiencing subsidence at varying rates.” Groundwater resources, especially in Iran’s arid and semi-arid regions, are vital for supplying water for drinking, agriculture, and industry. However, extracting more than the renewable capacity of these resources has severely depleted groundwater levels. This depletion increases the mechanical pressure on the earth’s layers, leading to the formation of voids and ultimately causing land subsidence.
Over the decades, several factors have contributed to this crisis. Population growth, the need to ensure food security, and the lack of an integrated water management system have made it easier for unsustainable extraction of groundwater resources to continue.
One of the main drivers of the subsidence crisis has been the unregulated drilling and exploitation of water wells. Many legal wells have been authorized without considering the actual capacity of groundwater aquifers, and many lack smart meters or extraction limits. This situation has led to over-extraction, even from legally permitted wells.
In addition to this, there are a large number of illegal wells scattered across the country, especially in rural areas and private farms. According to Ministry of Energy statistics, about one million wells exist in Iran, half of which—around 500,000 wells—are illegal. These illegal wells extract 50 billion cubic meters of water annually from underground aquifers. There is no control over the amount of water extracted from these wells, and they are often located in critical areas, causing a rapid drop in groundwater levels.
One of the key reasons behind excessive groundwater extraction has been the self-sufficiency policy in agricultural production, particularly for wheat. This policy, which aimed to reduce dependence on imports and enhance food security, led to the expansion of water-intensive crops in the country’s dry regions.
While wheat could have been produced efficiently in regions like Khuzestan and Golestan without putting too much pressure on water resources, many central and eastern provinces, which rely on groundwater, expanded wheat and other water-intensive crop cultivation. This approach disregarded the actual capacity of water resources, resulting in excessive extraction from underground aquifers and causing disruption in groundwater balance in some areas.
The high level of wheat cultivation in the central and eastern parts of Iran has led to the depletion of groundwater resources. Each kilogram of wheat produced in some regions requires over 1500 liters of water. Wheat is considered among the most water-consuming agricultural crops, with an average of 9.5 billion cubic meters of water consumed annually for its cultivation.
Looking back at the self-sufficiency slogan and the agricultural policies that exacerbated the water crisis, one of the most destructive policies was enacted during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government, focused on developing deprived areas and increasing self-sufficiency, initiated extensive irrigation and agricultural development projects. During this period, the issuance of permits for well-drilling, agricultural land expansion, and water transfer projects from rivers and underground sources intensified.
More specifically, in 2010, a law was passed that allowed individuals who had drilled illegal wells before 2006 to apply for permits. However, after this law was implemented, more than 120,000 new illegal wells were drilled, and the illegal well issue remained unresolved. According to this law, all previous illegal wells were to be regularized and permitted, effectively legalizing them. Additionally, over 110,000 illegal wells were registered, making them subject to the law, while 200,000 other wells also claimed to fall under this legislation.
As a result, with the passage of a single law, approximately 400,000 illegal wells were officially recognized, with little regard for broader environmental impacts. The land subsidence crisis in Iran is the outcome of decades of mismanagement, excessive groundwater extraction, and development policies that lacked scientific backing. Both legal and illegal wells, the self-sufficiency policy in agriculture, and agricultural expansion plans—especially during the Ahmadinejad era—have all significantly contributed to this crisis. With surface water resources in suboptimal conditions and 57% of the country’s dam capacity empty, the future of water management in Iran remains uncertain, and the need for a sustainable development approach has never been more pressing.