Technical and financial interactions between Iran groundwater institutions: A stakeholder analysis approach

The over-exploitation of groundwater resources (GWR) by the agricultural sector in Lorestan province in the west of Iran has been blamed for the severe depletion of groundwater and irreparable damages to them in this province. This problem partially originates from poor institutional interactions between groundwater institutions especially, their technical and financial interactive links. In this regard, a prerequisite is to study the interactions of the institutions, identify stakeholder institutions, categorize them, and then, study their interactive links. The process of identifying, categorizing, and studying the links of these institutions can be performed by the stakeholder analysis (SA) method. Therefore, based on this method the groundwater institutions related to agricultural sector of Lorestan province were identified, they were categorized according to the interest-power matrix, and their (technical and financial) interactive links were investigated by the social network analysis (SNA) method. Based on the results, 25 institutions were identified as groundwater institutions related to agricultural sector of Lorestan province. According to the interest- power matrix, the institutions located in the two upper categories, i.e, Key Players and Subjects, are the most important groundwater institutions related to agricultural sector of this province. The SNA shows that the institutions have, in general, poor technical and financial interactions and most technical and financial interaction links are the disposal of some limited institutions, which are mostly from the public sector. Policymaking experts have so far identified institutions related to groundwater resources management (GWRM) by relying on their limited information and subjective experience. In this regard, SA method is a comprehensive method to identify relevant institutions, categorize them, and study their interaction links. This study might have significant policy implications for groundwater management concerns in western Iran and the arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East. The results of this study not only helps policy makers in decisions related to GWRM but also in the analysis and policy-making related to it. • Stakeholder analysis method was used to investigate institutions interactions. • Research used both quantitative and qualitative methods. • Interest-influence matrix was used to categorization of groundwater institutions. • There was poor technical and financial interactions between institutions. • Public institutions are the most influential institutions in the networks.