Understanding of Local Communities from the Consequences of Allocating Dam Water to Rural Settlements in Kurdistan Province

The main purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the understanding the meaning of local communities of the consequences of allocating dam water to rural settlements in Kurdistan province. This case study was conducted in two villages of Legzi (with dam water) and Gol Tappeh (deprived of dam water) located in Saqez Township. For collecting field data, the main reliance of researchers was on individual and group interviews and thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data. In this way, in Legzi village were conducted 6 in-depth interviews and three panel sessions and in Gol Tappeh village, 7 in-depth interviews and three panel sessions. It should be noted that the sampling method was purposeful and the basis for completing the interviews was theoretical saturation. The results showed that the allocation of dam water to the residents of Legzi village evokes positive themes such as “sustainability of local economy”, “sustainability of local community”, “flourishing motivation for success”, and “increasing environmental compatibility”, which has ultimately formd the macro theme of “sustainable rural development”. On the contrary, the perception of the inhabitants of Gol Tappeh village of no allocation of dam water to them has been associated with negative themes and sometimes creating functional changes in the village, such as "feeling of relative deprivation", "fragility of the local economy", "instability of the local community" and "serviceability of rural jobs", which have led to the formation of the"rural instability" macro theme. The results show that adoption and implementation of dual policies of allocation/non-allocation of dam water to rural communities can be effective in functional-structural changes in villages by associating macro concepts of sustainability/instability of rural development. Therefore, it seems that the revision of water allocation policies in the country is an undeniable necessity.