Water Governance: The Role of Local Social Networks in Agricultural Water Management in Dorud County

Introduction
Water scarcity has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental and social challenges of the twenty-first century. Although agricultural water management is often approached as a technical or hydrological issue, growing evidence suggests that patterns of water access, allocation, and use are deeply embedded in social relations, institutional arrangements, and local governance structures. In Iran, where agriculture consumes the vast majority of available water resources, persistent inefficiencies, groundwater depletion, and increasing competition over water have intensified concerns regarding the sustainability of existing management systems. At the same time, the decline of traditional participatory institutions and the predominance of top-down approaches have limited the effectiveness of many water-management interventions.
Recent scholarship has increasingly emphasized the importance of social capital, stakeholder participation, and local governance networks in achieving sustainable natural-resource management. From this perspective, water-use systems are not merely technical arrangements but social arenas in which cooperation, conflict, trust, power, and negotiation are continuously produced and reproduced. Drawing on sociological approaches to environmental governance and social network analysis, this study examines the role of local social networks in shaping agricultural water management in Dorud County, Iran. The study seeks to understand how social relations influence water access, allocation, cooperation, conflict, and decision-making processes among agricultural water users.
Method
This study adopted a qualitative–interpretive research design informed by the principles of qualitative network analysis. The research was conducted in the agricultural sector of Dorud County, located in western Iran, encompassing the Silakhor and Central districts. These areas were selected because agriculture constitutes the primary livelihood activity and water management plays a central role in local socioeconomic life.
Data were collected through purposive and referral-based sampling. Participants included farmers, orchard owners, local informants, and experts from the Regional Water Authority and the Agricultural Jihad Organization who possessed extensive knowledge of local water-use practices and stakeholder relationships. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached, resulting in a final sample of 18 participants.
Semi-structured interviews served as the primary data-collection method. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis following the framework proposed by Braun and Clarke. Coding and interpretation were conducted iteratively, allowing themes to emerge from participants’ experiences while also being interpreted through relevant theoretical perspectives. Particular attention was devoted to identifying patterns of interaction, cooperation, influence, conflict, and resource exchange in order to reconstruct the structure and dynamics of local water-use networks.
Findings
The findings identified 65 initial concepts, which were organized into 26 sub-themes and seven overarching themes: indigenous cooperative and participatory relations, local authority and legitimacy, local water information networks, patterns of conflict within the water-use system, the influence of non-local actors, power relations and rent-seeking networks, and the decline of indigenous participatory governance alongside the rise of profit-oriented water exploitation.
The first group of findings highlights the persistence of locally embedded forms of social capital. Traditional mechanisms such as rotational irrigation schedules, lottery-based water allocation, mediation by village elders, collective monitoring, and reciprocal exchanges among farmers continue to facilitate cooperation and contribute to the perceived fairness of water distribution. These arrangements demonstrate the continuing significance of trust, reciprocity, and collective action in managing common-pool resources.
The findings also reveal the important role of local authority structures and information networks. Village elders, respected farmers, council members, and local administrators occupy central positions within social networks and contribute to conflict resolution, information dissemination, and coordination among water users. These actors function as key intermediaries linking formal institutions with local communities and enhancing the effectiveness of local governance processes.
At the same time, the study reveals important tensions and inequalities within water-use networks. Water scarcity has intensified competition among users and contributed to the erosion of trust and cooperation. Periods of drought were frequently associated with disputes over water allocation, demonstrating how environmental pressures can weaken previously stable social relationships.
The growing influence of non-local actors has further transformed local water-use systems. The expansion of externally driven agricultural activities, particularly the cultivation of water-intensive crops, has increased pressure on water resources, altered local economic relations, and contributed to new forms of inequality. Participants also reported the emergence of informal networks facilitating unauthorized well drilling and excessive groundwater extraction.
Perhaps most significantly, the findings reveal the existence of informal power relations and rent-seeking networks that shape access to water resources. Political influence, kinship ties, and personal connections were frequently perceived as more influential than formal regulations in determining access to water and the enforcement of legal restrictions. These dynamics illustrate how social networks can function not only as sources of cooperation and collective action but also as mechanisms through which inequality, exclusion, and privileged access to resources are reproduced.
Finally, the findings indicate a gradual transformation from collectively governed and socially embedded water-management arrangements toward more individualistic and profit-oriented forms of resource exploitation. Economic pressures, environmental change, and declining water availability have weakened traditional participatory institutions and encouraged competitive rather than cooperative patterns of resource use.
Conclusion
The study demonstrates that agricultural water management in Dorud County cannot be adequately explained through technical, hydrological, or environmental factors alone. Rather, water-use practices are embedded within broader configurations of social relations, power structures, institutional arrangements, and local norms. Water therefore constitutes not only a natural resource but also a social arena through which cooperation, conflict, influence, and inequality are negotiated.
The findings underscore the dual character of social networks in water governance. On the one hand, trust-based relationships, local participation, and social cohesion facilitate collective action and contribute to sustainable resource management. On the other hand, unequal power relations, rent-seeking practices, and exclusionary networks can undermine equity, weaken institutional effectiveness, and promote unsustainable patterns of water use.
These findings suggest that effective and sustainable water governance requires moving beyond purely technical and centralized approaches toward more participatory and network-oriented forms of governance. Strengthening local social capital, supporting participatory institutions, enhancing transparency in water allocation, and fostering meaningful collaboration between governmental organizations and local communities are essential for improving the sustainability of water-resource management. Ultimately, the long-term sustainability of water resources depends not only on the quantity of available water but also on the quality of the social relationships and governance networks through which water is managed.