Extended Abstract



Assessment and Implementation of Good Water Governance in the Agricultural Sector in the Taze Abad Basin



Introduction

Many studies have shown that good governance, by reducing conflicts and distributing resources fairly, leads to greater efficiency and sustainability of water resources. In addition, good governance, with its emphasis on transparency, accountability and stakeholder participation, helps to quickly address the challenges posed by climate change and droughts, which is especially important in sensitive agricultural regions around the world. This, by promoting cooperation between the public and local sectors, leads to smart decision-making and the implementation of sustainable water policies, which ultimately increases the resilience of agricultural systems to crises. Finally, it can be said that paying attention to water governance in the agricultural sector is crucial; because through optimal resource management, increasing sustainability, promoting equity and applying new technologies, we can ensure that the future of food production and rural and urban life will be stable and climate-adaptable. This requires a strong commitment from governments, organizations and local communities to improve decision-making processes and implement smart water resource management policies. Given the importance of achieving governance in water resources management, the present study has examined and assessed how to achieve the newly established situation.



Methodology

The present study is also a descriptive (non-laboratory) research and, because it was conducted within a specific time frame, it is a single-section study. The information required for this study was mainly obtained through interviews and questionnaires, and finally, this study falls within the scope of quantitative research in terms of the type of research. The steps of conducting this study were as follows. In this study, first, good water governance in the agricultural sector was examined (through the study of articles, books, internet searches, etc.). Then, through secondary data and a review of scientific and government documents describing the region, more information was obtained about the Karkheh-Alia basin. Then, in order to assess the current status of local water governance in the study area, a structured questionnaire derived from the OECD (2018) indicators was used. The validity of this questionnaire was confirmed by experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha. For this purpose, an open question was first asked, "What do you think are the most important factors affecting the achievement of good water governance?" and each respondent was asked to write down their opinion briefly and anonymously. Subsequently, the interaction analysis/driver analysis (CIA) technique was used. After collecting the questionnaires, the resulting data were analyzed, and the MicMac software was used in this section.



Results and discussion

Investigating the status of participation and consensus-based local communities in local water governance in Taze Abad: The value of this dimension in the studied area was 3.25.

Review of the rule of law (policy) in local water governance in Taze Abad: The global standard for this dimension mainly shows figures above 4 in advanced countries. The number 3.85 indicates serious problems in implementing laws and the presence of possible corruption.

Review of the level of transparency in local water governance in Taze Abad: Focusing on creating transparency, consistent implementation of laws, increasing public participation, and strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms can help improve water governance. The value of this index was 3.03.

Review of the status of accountability of local communities in local water governance in Taze Abad: Accountability means the ability of administrative institutions to provide accurate and timely reports and information to citizens and regulatory organizations, and this dimension in the studied region was 2.85, which indicates an average level.

Investigating the level of accountability in the local water governance process in Taze-Abad: Accountability refers to the level of commitment of government institutions to their assigned obligations and duties, and the level of accountability in this region (3.35) indicates the need to strengthen the responsible institutions.

Investigating the level of justice in the local water governance process in Taze-Abad: Justice and efficiency include fair distribution of resources and efficiency in resource management, and the level of 3.14 in the aforementioned basin refers to the unequal distribution of water resources and low efficiency, and the existence of inequality in access to water resources and inefficiency in resource management is problematic.

The results of this part of the research are described in detail below. At this stage, the cross-effects matrix was first developed. In this step, all the developed components were compiled in the form of a questionnaire and returned to the respondents, and they were asked to rate them. After the initial study of the cross-effects matrix, the direct effects of the solutions should be examined .

It should be noted that in the initial matrix, the row sum of each solution is considered as the level of impact and the column sum of each solution is considered as the level of impact of that solution. The higher the row sum of a solution, the greater the effectiveness of that solution. The values of the direct effects of each solution determined by the software show that, finally, the table above shows that each component that has the greatest impact is a driver.

The results of this section show that out of these 22 finalized solutions, 5 solutions can be categorized as drivers, which are:

- Establishing joint working groups between institutions with the same goal

- Strengthening cross-sectoral cooperation between related institutions

- Strengthening public participation

- Applying conflict resolution mechanisms in the region appropriate to the conditions

- Avoiding overlapping tasks between institutions related to water resources management.



Conclusion

A five-step continuous cycle can be used to achieve “good water governance” through “assessment and measurement of the state of water governance”. The assessment will redefine the concept of “good water governance” based on well-known principles (transparency, participation, accountability, equity and efficiency). To achieve “good water governance” and ensure long-term sustainability of water resources management, the state of water governance needs to be continuously measured and evaluated.