Purpose: The analysis of the current spatial organization of the country and its past trends reveals an unfavorable and concerning picture of population distribution and activities across the land. The unchecked continuation of this trend will exacerbate its adverse effects, leading to an intensified water resource crisis and suboptimal utilization of the land's potential and capabilities. The reality is that watersheds should serve as a foundation for national macro-planning, such as the formulation of vision documents, five-year development plans, and central decision-making processes. Each watershed has a specific capacity, and exceeding this capacity leads to the degradation of resources and the loss of the ecosystem's ability to recover. Disregarding this principle is one of the primary drivers of the formation, persistence, and deepening of the water crisis in the country, and it has also fueled regional and interprovincial disputes. Undoubtedly, rural areas in Iran play a crucial role in either preserving or depleting the ecological capacity of watersheds.
Methods: This study utilized a meta-analysis approach to analyze the content of rural sustainable livelihood plans in Iran. Subsequently, by examining successful foreign resources and experiences, sustainable livelihood indicators that could be assessed at the national level were implemented and measured.
Results: The findings of this study indicate that the primary livelihood strategies of villages in the six major watersheds of the country—namely, the Caspian Sea watershed, Lake Urmia watershed, Qara Qum watershed, Eastern Border watershed, Central Plateau watershed, and finally, the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea watershed—can be divided into two main groups: a) livelihood diversification and alternative livelihoods and b) sustainable agriculture.
Conclusion: Based on this analysis, and considering the status of livelihood assets in different watersheds and the widespread water crisis in these areas, a combination of the following models has been proposed, adapted to the conditions of each watershed: The mountainous village livelihood model, desert village livelihood model, northern coastal villages, southern coastal villages, small and remote settlements, peri-urban villages, border villages, tourism-targeted villages, low-water agriculture with an emphasis on food security, utilization of indigenous knowledge and lived experiences of rural residents, leveraging the capabilities of rural women, rural home-based businesses, and branding-based models.