Reflexive Water Management in Arid Regions: The Case of Iran

Mohammad Reza Balali, Jozef Keulartz and Michiel Korthals

Environmental Values, 2009, vol. 18, issue 1, pages 91-112

Abstract: To illuminate the problems and perspectives of water management in Iran and comparable (semi-) arid Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, three paradigms can be distinguished: the traditional, the industrial and the reflexive paradigm. Each paradigm is characterised by its key technical system, its main social institution and its ethico-religious framework. Iran seems to be in a state of transition from the 'hydraulic mission' of industrial modernity to a more reflexive approach to water management. This article sketches the contours of the emerging paradigm: a complementary system of traditional and modern methods of water provision, a participatory water resources management and a 'post-mechanistic' ethico-religious framework.

Keywords: Water; Qanat irrigation system; industrial modernity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: P14 Q25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009

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