THE COMPARISON OF WATER ECONOMIC EVALUATION METHODS BASED ON ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY – CASE STUDY: KERMAN PROVINCE

Considering the water limitations in our era, economic evaluation of water can play an important role in water policies. In this research, four different water pricing methods based on actual cultivated area, gross water volume, net income and the crop type chosen, were developed as a mathematic model. The model implementation was done by data collected from Soghan, Ghoochaabad and Chahnarenj districts in Kerman Province, Iran. The crop-based method was combined with price, cultivated area and net water volume per crop, using normalization. The assessment of each method and comparing them with each other based on economic efficiency were the main objectives of this research. In districts the crops of which are more economic such as Soghan and Ghoochaabad, Considering the economic efficiency the crop – volume based method was distinguished better. On the other hand, in areas such as Chahnarenj thecrops of which are economically more similar, the crop – economy based method has performed distinguishably. In conclusion, determining the exact water value and price is strongly recommended in each irrigation network or section in arid and semiarid areas. In order to optimize the water price, the cropping pattern, irrigation methods, water pricing methods and management policies should bereconsidered and changed.

Keywords:

Economic value of water , Mathematic model , Economic efficiency , Area based method , Volume based method and Crop based method