**2. Objectives and approaches of CPWF for river basin management**

The CPWF's main goal in KRB was to produce more food with less water for the Iran's growing population over the next 20years, and to achieve this ultimate goal by reducing malnutrition, alleviating rural poverty, improving the health of local communities and protecting the environment. CPWF also sought to provide the research, extension, and capacity building needed to significantly increase basin WP and livelihood resilience of local communities while protecting the basin's natural resources and environment, especially in drought conditions and climate change (CC) in the region.

Therefore, the key features of the CPWF were: 1) long-term goal to increase WP for food and livelihood of communities in a way that also preserves the environment and is socially acceptable; 2) medium-term goal to maintain the current status of water allocation for the agricultural sector at the end of the program, as per the current level of 2000 (beginning of the program), while increasing food and agricultural products. Achieving international environmental goals to reduce malnutrition and alleviate poverty by the end of 2015, especially in rural areas and small urban areas in low-income catchments with physical or economic scarcity or in the aquatic systems with a particular focus on high-poverty groups was also a medium-term goal and 3) short-term goal to include food security, alleviating poverty, improving the health level, reducing pollution, and environmental security [10].

### **2.1 CPWF research themes**

The CPWF program organized and presented the following five research themes to achieve its goals. **Table 2** provides the specification of the research themes along with the coverage rate of the KRB focal projects.
