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Collaborative water management through revitalizing social power relationships: a social network analysis of Qanat stakeholders in Iran

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Abstract

The network relations of Qanat stakeholders in Iran as an ancient type of water-supply system were considered with the aim of clarifying the societal transformation through revitalizing power dynamics. The present network was highlighted by the interaction of three groups of new actors with the greatest social power: 1. those capable of developing trust and participation ties, 2. those with high control power and high mediation who link small family groups and play a role in empowering individuals, and 3. those who have high fame and are key players by leading thoughts and resolving conflicts. Meanwhile, Boolean Combination Index confirms the increase of various quantitative indicators, such as higher reciprocity and transitivity of relationships and shorter geodetic and diameter index. This study concluded that the revival of power relations in a social–ecological system can be effective in changing the social structure based on the recognition of internal social capitals.

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Availability of data and materials

Raw data were generated at Tarbiat Modares University. We confirm that the data, models, or methodology used in the research is proprietary, and derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the first author on request.

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Acknowledgements

This study is sponsored by Tarbiat Modares University and we appreciate them. We would also like to thank all the respondents who participated in the workshops, field discussions, and interviews, especially the people in the study area, who patiently and openly welcomed our research team for a relatively long time. We also thank the anonymous referees for their constructive comments on the original draft of this article who contributed to editing this article.

Funding

This study received no funding from any organizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rangeland Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

    Iman Islami

  2. Department of Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium

    Hossein Azadi

  3. Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Hossein Azadi

  4. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Hossein Azadi

  5. Transdisciplinary University Center for Sustainability, Iberoamerican University (IBERO), Mexico City, Mexico

    Adriana Carolina Flores Díaz

  6. Department of Watershed Management Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

    Hossein Sarvi Sadrabad

Authors
  1. Iman Islami
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  4. Hossein Sarvi Sadrabad
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Contributions

II: conceptualization, methodology, software, writing—original draft, and visualization; HA: supervision, conceptualization, methodology, reviewing and editing, and validation; ACFD and HSS: validation.

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Correspondence to Iman Islami or Hossein Azadi.

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Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Network Analysis Questionnaire of Sadrabad Qanat (SQ)

Q1: Please think back on the most recent decision you had to make regarding water management in SQ

Did you discuss this decision with any person or organization?

If yes, who was that person/organization? You may list more than one

Q2: Are there certain places or events (e.g., Water sharing/Water division/water supply/Repair the wells and channels, etc.) where you most often tend to discuss water management issues pertaining to SQ?

If so, where are these places, and with whom, at these places, do you converse about SQ water management issues?

Q3: Are there any other individuals, government agencies, non-government agencies, or NGO with whom you discuss Qanat water management issues pertaining to SQ?

Q4: Finally, think back to the last time you had a disagreement or dispute regarding SQ water management issues:

Who was the person or group with whom you had this dispute?

Based on the results provided by the respondents, we also asked respondents a series of follow-up ‘name interpreter’ questions. These questions allowed us to gather more detailed information on the nature of the tie, and they included the following:

Q1: How frequently do you interact with this person or group? [] very rarely [] a few times/year [] monthly [] weekly [] daily (Please note: We inputted the above data as 1 = very rarely…5 = daily)

Q2: How would you define your relationship to them? Select as many as apply: [] colleague [] family [] friend [] employee [] neighbor [] other

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Islami, I., Azadi, H., Flores Díaz, A.C. et al. Collaborative water management through revitalizing social power relationships: a social network analysis of Qanat stakeholders in Iran. Irrig Sci 42, 135–148 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-023-00856-9

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