Dealing with uncertainty along the Kan River, Tehran: planning the Kan River based on social-ecological resilience

Abstract

Flood-control infrastructures—channelization, levees, and dams—are considered as the flood mitigation which can control flood disturbances of rivers. However, the flood mitigation, which is deemed as a rigid and one-dimensional approach, not only increases the frequency and severity of floods but also destroys the ecological and societal aspects of rivers. The Kan River, in Tehran, is one of the rivers which is equipped by channels, but it is still considered as one of the chaotic rivers in Tehran. Therefore, an alternative plan instead of channelization is required in order to mitigate the floods of the river. In this regard, we seek to propose an indigenous and flood-friendly plan for the river against flood disturbances. To this purpose, the theoretical foundation of social-ecological resilience is considered as an appropriate approach; thus, the theory of social-ecological resilience is reviewed, and its indicators are extracted. Then, based on the inherent characteristics and landscape of the river, a resilient plan in the face of floods is proposed. We argue that the river should be considered as a dynamic and social-ecological phenomenon. Such a view would help to overcome the disturbances of the river and avoid the one-dimensional planning and approaches. In addition, we suggest that the indicators of social-ecological resilience can be utilized to provide and suggest large-scale, middle-scale, and micro-scale strategies in order to improve the resiliency of the river against floods. The findings of this paper can be applied to the rehabilitation of chaotic urban rivers globally.