Institutional Capacity Development of Water Resources Management in Iran

According to the geographic and climatic situation of Iran, water has always had a strategic importance. Due to this importance, our ancestors in different times and by considering temporal and spatial needs have approved different rules and established organizations for appropriate and correct management. Water needs due to an increasing population, important changes in economic and social situations, and exciting new technologies, have resulted in the compiling and gradual improvement of the “Institutional Framework” for Water Management. This recent trend can be divided into four periods in Iran: Preliminary, Establishment, Development and Alliance. As water management in Iran is experiencing a unification period, the following chapter will first provide an overview of the characteristics and history of water management in Iran, then the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Model is explained briefly, based on the international definitions. Next, a description of the executed works, especially the establishment of the needed “Legal Capacities” and “Organizational Reforms” is presented, followed by the final organizational situation. Finally, recommendations are presented for the effective and principal rehabilitation of the Integrated Water Resources Management, as well as ways to prepare the appropriate opportunities for decision-makers, decision-making and other affected procedures related to water.