Semantic Reconstruction of the Water Crisis in the East of Isfahan Based on Grounded Theory

  In recent years, the data and objective conditions indicate Iran's entry into a new era of environmental crises, especially in the water. According to United Nations indicators, Iran currently has a severe water crisis, because about 69% of the total annual renewable water used in the country .Also, according to statement political officials, if the water crisis Continuity, about 50 million people will be forced to migrate in Iran in the next 25 years, and the east and south of the country will be actually empty. Meanwhile, the eastern part of Isfahan is one of the areas that, despite the seriousness of the water crisis in it, has been less an issue of independent research. This research gap is that firstly, dehydration has led to unrest in the region at least in two periods, 2012 and 2017 respectively. Secondly, the three cities studied in this research, namely, Ziar, Ezhieh and Varzaneh are very important cities in the east of Isfahan. Thirdly, these three cities are Zayande rood legal and historic lords due to their occupation. Accordingly, the research seeks to understand the meaning of Ziar, Ezhieh and Varzaneh farmers on the water crisis with the Emic approach and using the method of Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin's theoretical approach, namely Grounded Theory. The questions of this research are: What causes or causes of water crisis from the perspective of the farmers of Ziar, Eziyeh and Varzaneh? What are the strategies of these farmers in confronting the water crisis? Finally, what are the consequences of the water crisis for farmers Ziar, Eziyeh and Varzaneh?

In this research, qualitative research method has been used. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 farmers from Ziar, Ezhieh and Varzaneh in eastern Isfahan in order to understand the participants' mental world. Sampling was done using purposeful sampling method and theoretical sampling was used to collect data. The sample size and data computation method are of theoretical saturation type. In our study, after 7 interviews, theoretical saturation was achieved, but to ensure more interviews were continued to 17 cases. In this research, simultaneously with the interviews, data coding began and then analyzed using the grounded theory. The data encryption consists of three steps: open coding, central coding, and selective coding. The method of validating the grounded theory is through "accreditation by members", "analytical comparison" and "audit technique".
In the present study, in the "open coding" stage, 35 initial concepts were extracted, then by central coding we transform them into abstract concepts in the form of 16 main categories. In the "selective coding" stage, according to the categories obtained, a "core category" was extracted which is considered to be the core of the research. This categories include: Unstable Development, Semi-Finished Project, Lack of National Approach, Lack of Law, The Weakness Political Authority, Economic Monopolies, Changing Climatic Conditions, Urban Migration, Political and Social Frustration, Negotiating with the Government, Rebellion, Increase in Poverty, Increasing Unproductive Businesses, Alternative Economic Strategies, Increasing the cleavage of Nation-State and Security Challenges.
In this study, "bad governance of water" as a core category of the contextual data was extracted. According to this category, the farmers of Ziar, Ezhieh and Varzaneh understand and interpret the changes that have been made in their lives, or water crisis as a phenomenon associated with the mismanagement of water. Issues such as unsustainable development, semi-integrated water development projects, lack of nationalism and lack of law, and the weakness of political authority all fall under water mismanagement or bad governance of water. Theoretically one of the finest analyzes in the field of economic governance of natural resources, including water, is the discussion of the political economist Elinor Ostrom. She showed how natural resources can be well managed from the groups they use and not the state. This view points out that local institutions are more effective elements in managing common natural resources. From this theoretical view, the study of Zayande rood water basin also shows that during the centuries, local exploiters of Zayande Rood River have been able to manage the sustainable management of this source based on the Sheikh Bahaei Scroll. However, the basin was gradually subjected to a state-owned regime, and thus, in addition to violate of the historic and legal rights, part of the Zayanderud was owned by the state. In this process, the Sheikh Bahaei Scroll, which was once the basis of the actions of the farmers and the sovereignty, was gradually abandoned and has become the place of conflict between the farmer and the state.
Finally we try to provide paradigm research model. Based on the research findings, the water crisis in eastern Isfahan is classified into three categories: causal, contextual and effective. Casual Conditions include Unstable Development, Contextual Conditions include lack of law, the weakness of political authority and changing climatic of conditions, Effective Conditions include Semi-Finished Project and Lack of National Approach. Also in this research the Process and Interactional are Urban Migration, Alternative Economic Strategies, Negotiating with the Government, Political and Social Frustration and Rebellion. And finally, Consequential include Increase in Poverty, Increasing Unproductive Businesses, Economic Monopolies, Widening the Cleavage of Nation-State and Security Challenges.

In this research, based on the paradigm model, the bad water Governance as the core category and the final answer to the research questions have been extracted. According to this category, the farmers of Ziar, Ezhieh and Varzaneh understand the water crisis as a phenomenon that is directly linked to the mismanagement of water by the government. In fact, the government has been seen as the main culprit for the water crisis by society, which has been the exclusive agent for water governance. This teaches us that collective action in material and economic life requires attention to the various institutional arrangements governing these actions. In the form of these actions, the state must have a fundamental understanding that it is only one of the institutions associated with material life and not only an exclusive entity in this field. But the government in Iran has shown that it has not done so in the Zayande rood Basin, and that is why it is known by the social structure to blame for the water crisis. Therefore, due to such an understanding in social structure, it is necessary for the government to provide a contextual platform for the perceptual gap to be adjusted. If this gap is wider and more active than before, it can further expand the cleavage between the government and the nation in Iran.