|   December 21, 2024
About UoN Academic Affairs Research Resources and Services ÚŃČí

Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki

About UoN Academic Affairs Research Resources and Services ÚŃČí

Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki

Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki
Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki
Assistant Professor
Socio-Hydrology Research Team......
UNESCO Chair on Aflaj Studies – Archaeohydrology
  • Telephone: (+968)25446465
  • Extension: 465
  • eMail: labbaf_majid@unizwa.edu.om
  • Office Location: 25B G-29
  • Time at UoN: Since 2021
  • Marital Status: Married.......

    • Dr. Majid Labbaf Khaneiki is a human geographer who specializes in indigenous water knowledge and hydro-social cycles in local communities, where water underlies a complex nexus of social and economic structures. He started his academic training with agricultural engineering for a bachelor’s degree and then completed his master’s and PhD in human geography at the University of Tehran, Iran. His PhD dissertation revolves around water cooperation in traditional agrarian communities. Before joining the University of Nizwa in September 2021, he was a guest lecturer and researcher at Augsburg University in Germany, where he conducted a research project on “Hydro-Social Justice in the History of Iran” and taught a course on “Water Issues in the Middle East”. He has also worked as senior researcher for the International Center on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (UNESCO-ICQHS). During his career, he has conducted or cooperated with over 20 research projects on water issues in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India and Azerbaijan. He has authored 13 books of which the latest, “Cultural Dynamics of Water in Iranian Civilization”, conceptualizes water as a pivotal element of Iran’s historical identity and cultural dynamics. His peer-reviewed articles have appeared in Water Security, Borderlands Studies, Water History Journal, etc. He currently teaches two courses, and at the same time he is conducting a research project entitled “Aflaj Systems and Social Cohesion in Oman“ funded by Oman Research Council, Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. This project ponders the interplay between water availability and technological-societal adaptations in Oman. In this setting, shrinking surface water bodies gave rise to a hydraulic system that occasioned a substantial change in the local production systems. Taking a geographical-anthropological perspective, this research explores the economic, societal and cultural repercussions of the irrigation technology and focuses in particular on the constitution of local communities in Oman.


    Academic Qualifications
    • PhD in Human Geography (Geography and Rural Planning), University of Tehran , 2019, Role of Territorial Cooperation in the Management of Sustainable Exploitation of Groundwater Resources
      Research Activities
      - Research Interests
      • Socio-hydrology
      • Water history
      • Territorial water cooperation
      • Falaj/Qanat systems
      • Water justice
      • Human-water relations
      • Indigenous water knowledge
      - Conference Presentations
      • Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2023). Hydro-social cycles of the Middle East. International Webinar on Exploring the Social Aspects of Water-related Heritage through Indigenous Water Knowledge, UNESCO Chair Water, Ports, and Historic Cities, Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities. July 2023. The Netherlands.
        - Publications
          Article:
        • 1. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2019). Qanat and Territorial Cooperation in Iran. Water History Journal. 11(3–4). 185–206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-019-00236-1
        • 2. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2020). Hydro-Political Organization in Iranian History. Water History Journal, DOI: 10.1007/s12685-020-00261-5
        • 3. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2021). Water Footprint in the Village of Meymand (in Persian). Mardomnameh; People`s History Journal, No. 16 & 17.
        • 4. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., & Al-Ghafri, A. S. (2022). The Circle of Water Justice in the History of Iran. Water Security, 16 (2022).
        • 5. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., & Al-Ghafri, A. S. (2022). Hydro-Political Borders and Division of Space in the Sasanian Domain. Journal of Borderlands Studies, DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2022.2104342
        • 6. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., Al-Ghafri, A. S., Klove, B., & Torabi Haghighi, A. (2022). Sustainability and virtual water: The lessons of history, Geography and Sustainability, 3(4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2022.11.005
        • 7. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., & Al-Ghafri, A. S. (2023). Water cooperation and ideology in local communities. Blue Papers, 2(1), 144–153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2023.1.14
        • 8. Al-Ghafri, A. A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M., Al Saqri, N. A., & Al-Kindi, K. M. (2023). Falaj Indigenous knowledge in Oman and Iran. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231168668
        • 9. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., Al-Ghafri, A. S., Seyfi, S., & Torabi Haghighi, A. (2023). The illusion of water justice at the expense of tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2023.2220951.
          • Book:
        • 1. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2007). Water Division Systems in Iran (in Persian). Tehran. National Iranian Water Museum (NIWM).
        • 2. Kuros, G., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2007). Water and Irrigation Techniques in Ancient Iran. Iran. Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID).
        • 3. Semsar Yazdi, A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2011). Qanat in its Cradle. Iran. International Center on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (UNESCO-ICQHS).
        • 4. Labbaf Khaneiki, M., Semsar Yazdi, A. (2015). Qanat Tourism (in Persian). Iran. International Center on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (UNESCO-ICQHS).
        • 5. Semsar Yazdi, A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2017). Qanat Knowledge: Construction and Maintenance. the Netherlands. Springer.
        • 6. Semsar Yazdi, A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2019). Veins of the Desert. Denmark. River Publishers.
        • 7. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2019). Territorial Water Cooperation in the Central Plateau of Iran. Switzerland. Springer.
        • 8. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2020). Cultural Dynamics of Water in Iranian Civilization. Switzerland. Springer.
          • Book Section:
        • 1. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2022). Hydro-Social Cohesion in Iranian Local Communities. In: Miguel Sioui (ed.), Indigenous Water and Drought Management in a Changing World. Elsevier Inc.
        • 2. Semsar Yazdi, A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2018). Qanats of Iran: Sustainable water supply system. In: Water and Society from Ancient Times to the Present. Sulas, F., Pikirayi, I. (eds.) England. Routledge.
        • 3. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2022). Qanat groundwater extraction system and its evolution in the context of climate change in Iran. In: Xiaoyun, Z. (ed.), Water History and Water Civilization Studies, Vol. 2, Social Sciences Academic Press (SSAP), ISBN: 978-7-5201-9689-5.
        • 4. Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2020). Water and Cultural Landscape. In: A. Alehashemi, J. Coulais & G. Hubert (eds.), Water & City; Hydraulic Systems and Urban Structures (pp. 47-59), Paris: L`oeil D`or.
        • 5. Semsar Yazdi, A., Labbaf Khaneiki, M. (2015). Overview on Technical and Cultural Heritage of Qanats in Bam Region. In: Cultural Heritages of Water: The Cultural Heritages of Water in the Middle East and Maghreb. France. ICOMOS.

                  Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AyBSf48AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra