<p style="text-align: justify">This project is defined with the aim of <strong>designing, developing, and validating a smart, non-invasive, low-cost, and scalable system</strong> for monitoring and protecting areas where economic watershed management projects have been implemented in <strong>Kermanshah and Kurdistan Provinces</strong>. Following the implementation of biological, biomechanical, managerial, and economic interventions, continuous protection of these areas is essential to safeguard the investment made and sustain the outcomes of the projects. <strong>Fire, unauthorized grazing, livestock entry into protected or rehabilitated areas, unauthorized human and vehicle access, vegetation destruction, encroachment and land-use change, and damage to structures and equipment</strong> are among the events whose delayed detection can reduce project effectiveness.</p><p style="text-align: justify">The proposed system should be capable of using an appropriate combination of <strong>field data, imagery, geospatial information, and other available data sources</strong> to monitor sensitive areas and events and, upon the occurrence of defined events, provide <strong>actionable alerts to the relevant authorities</strong>. The proposed solution should not rely on extensive fencing or the deployment of costly equipment across the entire area and should, to the extent possible, operate <strong>without attaching equipment to livestock or wildlife and without causing significant interference with natural and local activities</strong>.</p><p style="text-align: justify">The objective of the project is not merely to produce a technological prototype; rather, the final outcome should be an <strong>operational system suitable for use in real-world areas</strong>, accompanied by a deployment model, performance evaluation, and an estimate of the costs associated with its scaling and operation.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">Limited freshwater resources are one of the most significant barriers to sustainable agricultural development along the southern coasts of Iran. In <strong>Minab, Sirik, and Jask Counties</strong>, the presence of saline and brackish water resources, access to seawater, and considerable agricultural land potential create an opportunity to meet part of the agricultural water demand through a combination of existing water resources, treatment, and desalination. However, the success of such a model does not depend solely on the technical feasibility of freshwater production; rather, the relationship between the <strong>water source, treatment technology, water quality, soil characteristics, crop type, water requirements, leaching requirements, energy, transmission distance, and agricultural production economics</strong> must be considered from the outset.</p><p style="text-align: justify">This project aims to develop a <strong>technical and economic model for agricultural water supply</strong> in selected areas of these three counties. The model should determine, for each area, which water resources are available for use, what level of treatment or desalination is required, what water quality is appropriate for the crops and soil, what the economically viable capacity of water supply is, and at what cost the water can be delivered to the farm. Options such as <strong>the use of seawater, brackish water, water blending, different desalination technologies, grid and renewable energy sources, and various water storage and transmission models</strong> should be compared according to the actual conditions of each area.</p><p style="text-align: justify">Ultimately, the project should lead to an <strong>operational decision for each area</strong> and, in addition to identifying the appropriate water supply scenario, determine the <strong>economic feasibility of the cropping pattern, technical and economic risks, environmental requirements, feasibility of pilot implementation, and the pathway for scaling up the selected model</strong>.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">This research call is issued with the aim of designing and validating models for the <strong>genuine economic participation of local people and customary rangeland beneficiaries</strong> in the implementation of economic watershed management projects. In this project, economic watershed management refers to a set of measures that, while achieving the objectives of conservation, restoration, and sustainable utilization of water and soil resources, create opportunities for economic activities compatible with the capacities of the region and enable part of the investment, operation, or maintenance costs of watershed management activities to be supported through the economic benefits generated.</p><p style="text-align: justify">Under this model, public participation is not limited to labor provision or social cooperation. Rather, it should enable beneficiaries to make <strong>cash and in-kind contributions, receive economic benefits, assume an appropriate share of risks, and undertake clearly defined obligations</strong>.</p><p style="text-align: justify">Accordingly, the project is not merely intended to identify economic activities or prepare a feasibility study. Its objective is to <strong>design an implementable business and financing model</strong> that determines what activity, at what scale, with which participants, using what level and type of capital, under what legal and management structure, and through what mechanism for sharing benefits and risks can be implemented.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">The development of economic watershed management and economic afforestation projects on customary village lands can, in addition to generating environmental and natural resource benefits, create opportunities for sustainable income generation and increase the economic value of the land for local communities. However, implementing such projects typically requires initial investment, sustained operations, and a period of time before revenues are generated, while in many cases the available financial resources are insufficient to support their development.</p><p style="text-align: justify">At the same time, local beneficiaries and communities possess capacities such as human resources, indigenous knowledge and experience, the ability to maintain a continuous presence on the land, knowledge of local conditions, and other identifiable contributions. However, the absence of a clear structure for their participation with investors—including the determination of each party’s share and responsibilities, decision-making mechanisms, benefit-sharing arrangements, and risk management—can hinder the formation of sustainable partnerships.</p><p style="text-align: justify">In this project, the objective is not merely to propose a theoretical model of “participation” or introduce financing mechanisms; rather, it is to design an <strong>operational structure for establishing, implementing, operating, and sustaining the partnership between investors and local beneficiaries</strong>. This structure should clearly define how capital enters the project, the contributions and responsibilities of each party, how benefits and costs are distributed, how risks are managed, and ultimately what mechanisms can maintain the trust and motivation of both parties for long-term participation.</p><p style="text-align: justify">The proposed model should be designed based on the actual conditions of the villages and target areas in <strong>Kurdistan Province</strong> and, where feasible, validated in several selected sites or villages.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">This project aims to identify and assess the <strong>economic potential of the understory beneath trees</strong> in the Harsin and Sonqor projects in Kermanshah Province and evaluate the feasibility of utilizing this potential for the cultivation of medicinal plants, particularly native and locally adapted species. The project will assess actual site conditions, tree health and status, soil, water availability, light, slope, and other factors affecting the establishment of understory plants. Suitable options will then be evaluated and compared in terms of environmental adaptability, avoidance of adverse impacts or competition with the trees, production potential, implementation costs, revenue potential, and marketability.</p><p style="text-align: justify">The objective is not merely to introduce a number of plant species; rather, it is to determine <strong>which species or cropping pattern, under what conditions and with what establishment approach, can be economically implemented in the understory without reducing the performance or long-term sustainability of the main trees</strong>. Ultimately, the project will provide a proposed understory utilization model, implementation requirements, an economic assessment, and, subject to feasibility approval, the results of a limited pilot trial.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">This project aims to identify and select <strong>resilient, well-adapted, and economically viable tree species and seedling varieties</strong> suited to the geographical, climatic, soil, water-resource, and local conditions of the target areas in Marivan, Saqqez, Sarvabad, Divandarreh, and Sanandaj Counties. In this project, an “economically viable species” does not refer simply to a species with high product value or market demand; rather, it refers to an option that, alongside appropriate adaptability and survival under local environmental conditions, is compatible with watershed management objectives, establishment and maintenance costs, utilization potential, revenue-generation capacity, and market conditions. The primary objective is to develop a <strong>decision-making framework for selecting species according to the characteristics of each site</strong>, so that it can be determined which species or variety is technically, environmentally, and economically more suitable for each area and under which conditions.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">In recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), maintaining water quality and simultaneously controlling dissolved oxygen, organic loading, pathogens, and nitrogenous compounds is essential for the stability and health of cultured organisms. In Vannamei shrimp farming, the coordinated use of aeration, ozonation, and UV systems can contribute to oxygen supply, reduction of organic matter, BOD control, and pathogen inactivation. However, the performance of these systems depends on factors such as flow rate, pollutant load, dose and contact time, salinity, temperature, and equipment configuration. Many existing systems are designed primarily based on the nominal capacity of individual equipment, with insufficient consideration of the interactions among aeration, ozone, and UV, as well as residual ozone control and energy consumption. Therefore, there is a need to develop an integrated and optimized approach for determining equipment capacity and configuration, simultaneously controlling BOD and residual ozone, improving disinfection efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and achieving stable and safe performance at full scale.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">This research aims to design and evaluate an alternative solution to conventional biofilters in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), with the objective of effectively removing ammoniacal nitrogen and maintaining stable water quality under intensive shrimp farming conditions. The proposed solution should be suitable for the salinity conditions of the region and demonstrate advantages over conventional biofilters in terms of performance, stability, overall cost, and integration with the RAS. It should also help maintain suitable farming conditions, reduce the pollutant load of discharged effluent, and improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of the system.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify">In recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), the continuous recirculation of water makes effective removal of suspended solids and organic waste essential for maintaining water quality and stable system performance. Drum filters are widely used as a primary mechanical filtration unit for solid particle removal; however, their effectiveness is limited when removing very fine particles, particularly those smaller than 100 microns. Reducing mesh size can also increase clogging, cleaning frequency, equipment wear, and energy consumption. At the same time, the passage of fine particles can increase the TSS concentration in the recirculating water and place additional loads on downstream treatment units. Therefore, there is a need to optimize drum filter performance or design and develop an innovative system that improves the removal efficiency of TSS and fine particles while maintaining acceptable pressure loss, cleaning requirements, equipment wear, and energy consumption.</p>