RT Dissertation/Thesis
T1 Exploring the governance of traditional water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province, Northern Iran
A1 Mirzaei,Arezoo
WP 2020/07/17
AB This study explores the governance of water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province, Northern Iran, from the perspective of public and private sectors at the regional level, as well as local stakeholders within the communities. Although water management in Iran has been frequently investigated, research which specifically addresses the governance of water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province from perspective of various stakeholders is not existent. The traditional water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province called Ab-bandan are used to collect the precipitation during autumn and winter seasons to be used for irrigating rice fields during the growing seasons (spring and summer). In spite of these reservoirs, a significant amount of precipitation runs off into the sea through rivers and only less than 10% of precipitation is being stored in Ab-bandans. This is due to the challenges in governing these water reservoirs such as lack of strategic planning of administrative bodies. This draws attention to the poor governance of water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province, which presents a major challenge to ensure the security of water supply, and in particular for rice production. Thus, the objectives of this study are: 1) to identify gaps in the governance of Ab-bandans, 2) to identify and assess the policy instruments for the improvement of the governance of Ab-bandans, and 3) to investigate the influence of social capital components on the governance of Ab-bandans among local stakeholders. These objectives form the papers of this cumulative Ph.D. dissertation.  
The first paper reveals water governance gaps with the focus on Ab-bandans using the ‘OECDs Multi-level Governance Framework’ as a conceptual basis. This framework is a guideline for policy-makers in all countries in order to distinguish public governance gaps regardless of the institutional setting. Identifying the gaps could provide an input for policy-makers in order to prioritize options to strengthen the governance of Ab-bandans. A modified Delphi technique was used to identify these gaps by face-to-face interviews and ranking round. Interviews were conducted with individuals working in public agencies and the private sector pertaining to water management. The results show that the lack of a specific law for Ab-bandans is perceived as the most acute gap. However, the significant issue is that there is interdependence among all the gaps and they can strengthen one another. Therefore, a holistic perspective is needed to understand and resolve the gaps in the governance of Ab-bandans. There is no magic or ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to overcome the gaps and a mix of solutions is required.   
The second paper refers to identify relevant water policy instruments and assessing the suitability of these multiple instruments in an integrated way towards good governance of Ab-bandans. Water policy instruments are tools, strategies, and mechanisms for policy-makers to overcome governance obstacles in water policy; for instance, involving sub-national governments in designing water policy beyond their roles as implementers is a policy instrument to foster effective water management. An exploratory sequential design was realized as a mixed methods approach (qualitative and quantitative) for the purpose of research. The results reveal that policy instruments identified properly contribute to the improvement of the governance of Ab-bandans. Participation and collective action among farmers have the highest priority for the improvement of water governance. Therefore, it can be seen as the starting point for the desired transformation. Moreover, the policy instruments are interdependent and shouldn’t be addressed in isolation. The improvement of the governance of Ab-bandans should be systematic and it is not possible to apply a single policy instrument without considering the impact of other policy instruments. It is necessary to adopt the policy instruments in a holistic way to solve difficulties in the governance of Ab-bandans.   
The third paper explores aspects of social capital in the governance of Ab-bandans seeking explanations as to how and why components of social capital among various local stakeholders influence the water reservoirs-related interactions within the communities. Social capital is an important factor, which facilitates collective interaction of the local community’ members for water system sustainability. Therefore, this study investigates key social capital components (i.e. trust, co-operation, social network cohesion, leaders and their roles, and conflict resolution) affecting the governance of Ab-bandans among local stakeholders. The qualitative method was applied to achieve the purpose of research. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a range of local key stakeholders of Ab-bandans. The study shows that the level of social capital and its importance can differ depending on which component is under investigation. According to the results, mechanisms for conflict resolution are the most important aspect of social capital which plays a significant role for the other components. Social relationships and cohesion are being reduced due to the conflicts in water management and lack of appropriate mechanisms for resolution. Therefore, resolution of conflicts can bring people together in the group events to communicate and address their common issues and promote their co-operation for collective decision-making and planning. The results of the study support the idea that the management of Ab-bandans in a collective manner at the local level in the Mazandaran province needs to take all components of social capital into consideration. This would enable local communities to be more resilient in the face of collective action problems.  
Overall, it can be concluded that managing water reservoirs in the Mazandaran province, Northern Iran requires collaborative efforts between various stakeholders within and between the local communities. The government should undertake the role of facilitator rather than governmentality, by using participatory and bottom-up processes for decision-making, planning, and resolving conflicts among local stakeholders. The government should establish effective strategies of governance to engage farmers in management decisions and empower and integrate them to be able to solve their problems in water-related issues. There is also an urgent need for co-operation and participation not only between local stakeholders and responsive public agencies at the regional level, but also among public agencies in charge of water policy design and implementation. As the government is the owner and manager of water resources, better management and utilization of Ab-bandans will only succeed if accompanied by a shift in public governance through the engagement of all relevant actors. 
K1 Governance
PP Hohenheim
PB Kommunikations-, Informations- und Medienzentrum der Universität Hohenheim
UL http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2020/1763