A Study of Experiences in Sustainable Water Management Planning and Identification of Challenges and Opportunities in Participatory Water Resources Management Planning
Abstract
Water resource management is one of the complex and multifaceted challenges in the contemporary world, intertwined with environmental, social, and economic tensions. The traditional centralized and structured planning approach, which dominated water policies in past decades, now faces significant criticism for inefficiency, ineffectiveness, and lack of equity. Increasing management complexities, conflicts of interest among various stakeholders, and climate change have made the need to reconsider water governance approaches more apparent than ever. New participatory and decentralized approaches attempt to balance the role of elites and centralized governments, but their effectiveness in improving efficiency and enhancing democracy in water management remains uncertain.
In this article you read about:
Review of Domestic and International Experiences in Integrated and Participatory Water Management
Two cases of participatory water management are reviewed:
- California’s SGMA (2014): Promotes local-state cooperation in groundwater management but faces issues of inequality, limited transparency, and dominance by large farmers.
- Tazeh-Abad Project (Iran): Initially improved participation and planning, but weakened over time due to upstream overuse, reduced farmer involvement, and institutional decline.
The key Point of this part is:
Participation alone is not enough—addressing power imbalances and institutional strength is crucial.
Challenges and Opportunities of Participatory Planning in the Studied Cases
Participatory water planning often gets dominated by powerful actors, limiting justice and inclusion. Critical, flexible approaches are needed to address power dynamics and enable real change.
This study was conducted at Iranian Water Policy Research Institute by Soroush Talebi Eskandari in 2023.
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