Recognition of social powers and its relationship with the formation of cooperative behavior in conflict management of water resources in Doroudzan dam watershed, Fars province

A decline in watersheds or their uneven distribution can affect social relationships among the residents in watershed areas and lead to their conflicts. Due to a lack of water in Doroudzan watershed as a crisis, it seems that social relationships and communication patterns among the residents will be adversely affected. The aim of this research is to manage conflicts over the water resources in Doroudzan watershed with a focus on social relations and to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the social relation networks. In this regard, 260 local stakeholders of the water resources in the irrigated villages in Doroudzan dam downstream were selected as the statistical population using Morgan table. The required data were collected through questionnaires, and the cooperation networks among the people were investigated in order to solve the problem of water shortage. Based on the results of this research, trust and cooperation ties were the key factors identified. They are known as social power, key factors in decision making and better performance of co-management, and a resolution to water conflicts. Also, according to the results of Kruskal Wallis statistical test, there is a significant difference between the social status of the people and the approaches adopted in conflict management of the water resources in the studied area.