Providing an Integrated Model for the Sustainable Development of "Water, Energy and Food" in Iran Using a Grounded Theory Approach

One of the biggest challenges facing societies today is the increasing demand for water, food, and energy in the long term due to resource scarcity. Since Iran is an arid and semi-arid country and its natural resource supply is in a fragile balance due to unsustainable management, climate change, and continuous droughts, this study aims to design an integrated model for the sustainable economic development of water, energy, and food for Iran. In this paper, the Grounded theory was used. In order to collect data with 37 experts in related fields, semi-structured interviews were conducted until reaching theoretical saturation, After a process of continuous data comparison and open, axial, and selective coding, the concepts were organized in the form of 264 primary codes, 66 secondary codes, and 17 categories. The final result of the study is presented in the form of an integrated environmental model of sustainable economic development of water, energy, and food. Based on the pattern obtained in this study, it can be stated that the vulnerability of water, energy, and food resources in Iran is aggravated by population growth, economic growth, excessive exploitation, management factors, climate changes, governance, sanctions, and political issues. Therefore, to create a nexus in the integrated management of water, energy, and food in the country, it is necessary to change and modify the approach and method at several levels. At the highest level, i.e. the political and institutional level, there should be a kind of convergence and integration between the involved institutions including public, private, and civil in these three areas for proper planning. In the next step, the optimal management of resources, the use of appropriate methods and technologies, education and use of social capital capacity, interaction between stakeholders, and population policies should be examined and improved. Accordingly, the necessity of the necessity of paying attention to the linkage approach as a suitable policy strategy for sustainable development has been addressed.