Larestan

Water scarcity in Iran has reached a level that calls for the attention of all stakeholders including water consumers. While the government as water distributor has made significant efforts in managing water on the supply side, an annual average rainfall of 251 mm limits the capacity of this supply-side approach. As a result, policy efforts have increasingly turned towards demand management approaches. The subjects of this research are the determination of existence value of drinking water for the households in Larestan, and a measure of an individual’s willingness to pay (WTP) based on contingent valuation (CV) and dichotomous choice (DC). The logit model was used for measuring the individuals' WTP. Estimation parameters of the model are based on the method of maximum likelihood (ML). We used data from 320 randomly selected households in Larestan, Iran. Our findings show that once drinking tap water is connected, the households are willing to pay an average of US$0.24 (per cubic meter) in addition to their monthly charge for the water consumed.

The predecessors were very careful in dealing with the environment when trying to meet their needs. Without inflicting any harm on the environment, they utilized best out of the least possible in the environment. In the past, the architecture practiced in Iran made use of all that the surrounding environment and climate capacities. In doing so, architecture never weak or wreck the structure and the nature of environment, but its purpose was to consolidate the surrounding environment. Being acquainted with the natural, economic, social, and other capacities of a region enables the tourism planner to come up with a sustainable tourism development for the region based on its current status and potential. This paper was an attempt to study Larestan’s b-Anb rsand examine their potential impact on the development of tourism in Larestan County by drawing a connection between the principles and elements of sustainability with the architecture of these b-Anb rs. Accordingly, the present research, using a comparative research method, aimed at comparing the principles of sustainable and compatible, with the environment, architecture with the structure of b-Anb rs.The results indicated that the climate of Larestan County had an underlying influence through a historical process on the quality and construction of b-Anb rs. Both in the construction and use of b-Anb rs, special attention must have been paid to the principles of sustainable architecture such as energy conservation, climate compatibility, reducing the use of new resources and materials, meeting the needs of the locals, being in harmony with the environment and the site of construction, holism, and the protection of residential areas against the atmospheric agents. Using accessible and native methods, optimal use had been made of the atmospheric agents. In this regard, Larestan  are the real examples of adaptation to the climatic conditions and factors. Far from causing any damage to the environment, the architecture of these water reservoirs is compatible with the environment and is actually devised in a fashion to protect it. Larestan, despite its enormous potential and capabilities as regards tourism, it has not yet found its true place in Iran’s promising tourism industry. With respect to this dormant source of tourism, both the central government and people in the region should pay more attention to restoring and using these water storage facilities.