Ehsan Pashanejad-Silab - M.Sc., Geography and spatial planning Department, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran,
Mojtab Rafieian - College of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, 14115-111 Tehran, Iran

This article investigates the impacts of Urmia Lake disaster on rural communities in term of vulnerability and resilience assessment. It argues that theoretical concept such as social-ecological systems can provide a lens through which resilience pathway at rural community level can be better understood. Based on comprehensive methodology of this study to examine the vulnerability related to Urmia Lake crisis and resilience of rural community, spatial analysis and GIS-based techniques by using remote sensing method have been applied. In this research four counties of East-Azarbijan province at the northwestern in Iran was selected as a study area. To build the composite resilience/vulnerability indices, the indicators were selected of several socioeconomic and eco-environmental dimensions. The resilience assessing phase was obtained in the contrast of vulnerability assessing step. In this sense, the high rate of vulnerability spheres have been recognized in the low resilient capacity. Among the four counties as a study area Azarhsahr and Osku counties were identified in high degree of vulnerability where these counties are in the minimum distance of possible salt storm center. Viewing these result in the light of social-ecological resilience theory, our analysis suggests that Urmia lake ecosystem change impacts on rural community can be lasting and significant.

Vulnerability, Resilience, Urmia Lake, Crisis, Rural Community