IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i24p13657-d699318.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the Impacts of the Political System Components in Iran on the Existing Water Bankruptcy

Author

Listed:
  • Mehdi Ketabchy

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

Abstract

Iran is suffering from a state of water bankruptcy. Several factors have contributed to the current water resources bankruptcy, ranging from anthropogenic impacts, such as an inefficient agricultural sector and aggressive withdrawal of groundwater, to climatological impacts. This paper suggests that water resources mismanagement in Iran should be evaluated beyond the policy-makers decisions, as it recognizes that the bankruptcy has been intensified due to the structural and institutional form of the political system in Iran. This study discusses the roots of the water bankruptcy and identifies four major shortcomings caused by the political system: (1) the absence of public engagement due to the lack of a democratic and decentralized structure; (2) adopting ideological policies in domestic and foreign affairs; (3) conflicts of interest and the multiplicity of governmental policy-makers and sectors; and (4) a state-controlled, resource-dependent economy. Through the development of a generic causal model, this study recommends a systematic transition towards a democratic, decentralized, non-ideological, and economically diverse political governance as the necessary–but not necessarily sufficient–adaptive and sustainable solution for mitigating the impacts of water resources bankruptcy in Iran. The insights highlighted in this paper could be employed to inform water resources decision-makers and political actors in other non-democratic and ideological political structures struggling with a water resources crisis or bankruptcy.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehdi Ketabchy, 2021. "Investigating the Impacts of the Political System Components in Iran on the Existing Water Bankruptcy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13657-:d:699318
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13657/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13657/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, 2007. "Transitions towards adaptive management of water facing climate and global change," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(1), pages 49-62, January.
    2. Lawrence Susskind, 2013. "Water and democracy: new roles for civil society in water governance," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 666-677, December.
    3. Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza & Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2018. "Natural resource rents and internal conflicts: Can decentralization lift the curse?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 186-205.
    4. Habib Alipour & Hossein Ghasemi Tangal Olya, 2015. "Sustainable planning model toward reviving Lake Urmia," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 519-539, December.
    5. Masoud Saatsaz, 2020. "A historical investigation on water resources management in Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1749-1785, March.
    6. Uta Wehn & Kevin Collins & Kim Anema & Laura Basco-Carrera & Alix Lerebours, 2018. "Stakeholder engagement in water governance as social learning: lessons from practice," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 34-59, January.
    7. Eduardo Araral & Yahua Wang, 2013. "Water Governance 2.0: A Review and Second Generation Research Agenda," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(11), pages 3945-3957, September.
    8. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Tim Krieger, 2019. "Oil booms and inequality in Iran," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 830-859, May.
    9. Elias G. Carayannis & David F. J. Campbell & Evangelos Grigoroudis, 2021. "Democracy and the Environment: How Political Freedom Is Linked with Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.
    10. Mirzaei, Arezoo & Knierim, Andrea & Fealy Nahavand, Saeid & Mahmoudi, Hossein, 2017. "Gap analysis of water governance in Northern Iran: A closer look into the water reservoirs," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 98-106.
    11. Madani, Kaveh & Dinar, Ariel, 2012. "Non-cooperative institutions for sustainable common pool resource management: Application to groundwater," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 34-45.
    12. Farideh Delavari Edalat & M. Reza Abdi, 2018. "Water Management in Developing Countries: The Example of Iran," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: Adaptive Water Management, chapter 0, pages 37-53, Springer.
    13. Suhardiman, Diana & Nicol, Alan & Mapedza, Everisto, 2017. "Water governance and collective action: multi-scale challenges," IWMI Books, International Water Management Institute, number 311130.
    14. Krister Andersson & Elinor Ostrom, 2008. "Analyzing decentralized resource regimes from a polycentric perspective," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 41(1), pages 71-93, March.
    15. Pamela Griffin & Saleem Ali, 2014. "Managing transboundary wetlands: the Ramsar Convention as a means of ecological diplomacy," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 4(3), pages 230-239, September.
    16. Kaveh Madani, 2014. "Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 315-328, December.
    17. Zahra Fotourehchi, 2020. "Are UN and US economic sanctions a cause or cure for the environment: empirical evidence from Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5483-5501, August.
    18. Bjorvatn Kjetil & Farzanegan Mohammad Reza & Schneider Friedrich, 2013. "Resource Curse and Power Balance: Evidence from Iran," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 133-158, August.
    19. Nicolas Pirsoul & Maria Armoudian, 2019. "Deliberative Democracy and Water Management in New Zealand: a Critical Approach to Collaborative Governance and Co-Management Initiatives," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(14), pages 4821-4834, November.
    20. Samaneh Ashraf & Amir AghaKouchak & Ali Nazemi & Ali Mirchi & Mojtaba Sadegh & Hamed R. Moftakhari & Elmira Hassanzadeh & Chi-Yuan Miao & Kaveh Madani & Mohammad Mousavi Baygi & Hassan Anjileli & Davo, 2019. "Compounding effects of human activities and climatic changes on surface water availability in Iran," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 379-391, March.
    21. Wen-Cheng Huang & Yi-Ying Lee, 2016. "Strategic Planning for Land Use under Extreme Climate Changes: A Case Study in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, January.
    22. Hassan Hakimian, 2008. "Institutional Change, Policy Challenges, and Macroeconomic Performance," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28004, December.
    23. Closas, Alvar & Molle, François & Hernández-Mora, Nuria, 2017. "Sticks and carrots to manage groundwater over-abstraction in La Mancha, Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 113-124.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nouri, Milad & Homaee, Mehdi & Pereira, Luis S. & Bybordi, Mohammad, 2023. "Water management dilemma in the agricultural sector of Iran: A review focusing on water governance," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kaveh Madani, 2021. "Have International Sanctions Impacted Iran’s Environment?," World, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2014. "Resource Rents, Power, and Political Stability," CESifo Working Paper Series 4727, CESifo.
    3. Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Tadadjeu, Sosson & Nounamo, Yann & Kamguia, Brice, 2022. "Governance in mitigating the effect of oil wealth on wealth inequality: A cross-country analysis of policy thresholds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Duncan, Nicolette & de Silva, Sanjiv & Conallin, John & Freed, Sarah & Akester, Michael & Baumgartner, Lee & McCartney, Matthew & Dubois, Mark & Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali, 2021. "Fish for whom?: Integrating the management of social complexities into technical investments for inclusive, multi-functional irrigation," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    5. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Reza Zamani, 2023. "Does Oil Corrupt? Evidence from a Multivariate VAR in Iran," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202321, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    6. Nouri, Milad & Homaee, Mehdi & Pereira, Luis S. & Bybordi, Mohammad, 2023. "Water management dilemma in the agricultural sector of Iran: A review focusing on water governance," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    7. Rouzaneh, Davoud & Yazdanpanah, Masoud & Jahromi, Arman Bakhshi, 2021. "Evaluating micro-irrigation system performance through assessment of farmers' satisfaction: implications for adoption, longevity, and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    8. repec:ces:ifodic:v:13:y:2015:i:3:p:19173861 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Tim Krieger, 2018. "Oil Rents Shocks and Inequality in Iran," CESifo Working Paper Series 6876, CESifo.
    10. Di Marco, Antonio, 2023. "Water democracy under European Union law: Requiring participatory services management," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Tim Krieger, 2018. "Oil Revenues Shocks and Inequality in Iran," Working Papers 1226, Economic Research Forum, revised 18 Sep 2018.
    12. Mirzaei, Arezoo & Knierim, Andrea & Fealy Nahavand, Saeid & Shokri, Shahab Alddin & Mahmoudi, Hossein, 2019. "Assessment of policy instruments towards improving the water reservoirs’ governance in Northern Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 48-58.
    13. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Mohammad Habibpour, 2014. "Direct Distribution of Rents and the Resource Curse in Iran: A Micro-econometric Analysis," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201425, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    14. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2015. "Natural-Resource Rents and Political Stability in the Middle East and North Africa," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(3), pages 33-37, October.
    15. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2015. "Natural-Resource Rents and Political Stability in the Middle East and North Africa," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(03), pages 33-37, October.
    16. Ali Akhavan & Paulo Gonçalves, 2021. "Managing the trade‐off between groundwater resources and large‐scale agriculture: the case of pistachio production in Iran," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 37(2-3), pages 155-196, April.
    17. Katrin Pakizer & Eva Lieberherr, 2018. "Alternative governance arrangements for modular water infrastructure: An exploratory review," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 19(1-2), pages 53-68, March.
    18. GhassemiSahebi, Fakhroddin & Mohammadrezapour, Omolbani & Delbari, Masoomeh & KhasheiSiuki, Abbas & Ritzema, Henk & Cherati, Ali, 2020. "Effect of utilization of treated wastewater and seawater with Clinoptilolite-Zeolite on yield and yield components of sorghum," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    19. Bitoiu Teodora & Radulescu Crina, 2015. "Craving For Balanced Public Decision-Making On Market Failure Pertaining To The Interventionist Economic Policies Strainer," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 157-164, July.
    20. Lourdes ROJAS RUBIO, 2022. "Inequality, Corruption and Support for Democracy," THEMA Working Papers 2022-20, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    21. Ghadir Asadi & Mohammad H. Mostafavi-Dehzooei, 2022. "The Role of Learning in Adaptation to Technology: The Case of Groundwater Extraction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-37, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13657-:d:699318. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.