A novel framework for water right conflict resolution considering actors’ power and inter-organizational relationships analysis

Abstract

Water allocation from reservoirs has always been a challenging issue for decision-makers. The more the stakeholders in the allocation projects, the more conflicts among them could be expected to receive more water rights. As a result, it is necessary to study the relations and power among organizations. In this study, the Ilam dam was used as the case study, and the social network analysis was also used to assess the interactions among the involved organizations and evaluate their power using centrality measures. Based on the network analysis and actors’ power assessment, a novel approach was applied to define and analyze the conflict associated with water quantity allocation. Accordingly, the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution was used for both basic and power-asymmetric conflict analysis models. In the power-asymmetric approach, the direct power scenario gives the most powerful actor the possibility of punishing the violating organizations using their political and executive power. Based on the status quo of the conflict, the results obtained from the equilibrium analysis show that both the power of the main actor and the nature of relationships other actors have with the most powerful actor directly influence the conflict's outcome.

Reinforcing the Hydrosocial Cycle to foster water governance and stakeholders’ interdependence in urban agroecosystems: a local test in Benidorm, Spain

“…We aim to focus on the third question as we consider that the relations between water and society are extensive, so that analysis could identify countless interactions but fail to delve deeply into specific interactions. As conflict analysis always requires valuable and practical tools to clarify the nature of the conflict and the behavior of stakeholders (Zanjanian et al, 2022), we provide a primary and replicable tool (questionnaire) able to synthesize the attitudes and interactions of stakeholders by highlighting five behavioral issues: relevance, representativeness, recognition, assessment, and collaboration. They aim to better understand stakeholders' roles and relationships and simplify how their perception and interaction could be tested in hydrosocial territories (Ricart and Rico-Amoroś, 2022).…”

Comparative Evaluation of Deep Learning Techniques in Streamflow Monthly Prediction of the Zarrine River Basin

“…Among the issues that must be addressed by a variety of corporations and legislators in Iran is integrated water resource management [33]. For this purpose, the accuracy of streamflow prediction plays a key role, which is represented in some studies.…”