Water Rights Holders of Helilroud Gather in Jiroft

Water rights holders of Helilroud in Jiroft, located in southern Kerman, gathered on Thursday and Friday, July 13 and 14, in protest against the transfer of water from the river's tributaries by a contractor from the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to reports received by Voice of America, the Thursday gathering took place at the site of the water transfer project from the Helilroud tributaries to Kerman in the Jowaran Rabar area. The Friday gathering occurred after water rights holders learned that Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander of the IRGC, was scheduled to give a speech in the Sarduyeh area of Jiroft. The protesters intended to voice their opposition to the transfer of Helilroud water for water-intensive industries in the arid region of Kerman, but security teams at the site did not allow them to bring banners and placards to Ali Fadavi's speech. Reports indicate that the water rights holders decided to position themselves with protest placards in front of the vehicle carrying the IRGC official to draw his attention to their grievances, resulting in the detention of several young placard holders by plainclothes security forces and IRGC members, who were later released due to public intervention. Ultimately, Ali Fadavi listened to the concerns of several elderly water rights holders, who handed him a copy of various complaints to senior officials, and he promised to review their protests. Nikahang Kowsar, an analyst in the water and environmental sector, told Voice of America that the transfer of water from the Helilroud, part of the Jazmourian basin, means impoverishing the people and the environment of one of Iran's most deprived regions. He added that although the Ministry of Energy claims that water transfer projects are only for drinking water, in reality, the transfer from the Jazmourian basin to the adjacent basin is primarily for agriculture, industry, and even urban development. Kowsar noted that since the construction of the Jiroft dam, part of the Jazmourian water rights has effectively been lost, turning the wetland into a desert and a source of dust for most months of the year. He pointed out that according to environmental experts, various inter-basin water transfer projects across Iran violate the human right to water for the source areas. Furthermore, if the environmental benefits of a project accrue to a small group while its harms affect a large population, the implementers have not only made conditions unsustainable but have also violated environmental justice. Kowsar emphasized that if environmental justice means the fair distribution of environmental risks and benefits, the risks and harms will fall on the residents of the Jazmourian basin and the Helilroud water rights holders, while the benefits will go to a small group in the adjacent basin in northern Kerman. This injustice specifically began during the Reconstruction era and is not limited to those concerned about the fate of the Helilroud. The water and environmental analyst stated that since the time of Hashemi Rafsanjani, plans have been proposed to transfer water from the Karun springs for pistachio farmers in Rafsanjan and industries owned by powerful families in Kerman, including Hashemi, Marashi, Bahonar, and some IRGC commanders, which with the construction of the Khersan 3 dam and the initiation of water transfer projects from the Karun basin, will witness a repeat of the exploitation of a limited group from another regional water source. Majid Aghazadeh, the engineering deputy of the Water and Wastewater Company, reported about a month ago that '9,800 villages' with '1.9 million' people are being supplied with water 'self-sufficiently,' while '17,600' villages with a population of '8.4 million' are experiencing 'water stress,' indicating a water crisis in 27,400 villages in Iran with a total population exceeding 10 million. Additionally, prior to this, Ahmad Vazifeh, head of the National Drought Center of Iran, announced on April 20, 2022, that in the 'last 50 years,' Iran has lost several billion cubic meters of accessible water, with direct consequences including 'environmental destruction' and the 'beginning of climate migration.'