Resolving water allocation conflicts using WEAP simulation model and non-cooperative game theory

Abstract

Disparity in water supply and demand often leads to conflicts among users over water resources in basins. Game theory is a new tool recently employed for resolving such conflicts. The present study uses non-cooperative games to resolve the conflicts in the Zayandehroud basin. The games are simulated between two stakeholders by the graph model conflict resolution (GMCR) method as one of the non-cooperative methods. The stakeholders are Isfahan Regional Water Company (IRWC) and Agriculture-Jahad Organization (AJO). Stakeholders can execute some strategies competitively, which include A: developing farming lands, B: improving irrigation efficiency, C: controlling withdrawals from aquifers, and D: selling water to the industrial sector. A and B are executed by AJO and C and D are executed by IRWC. The sustainable water allocation scenarios are obtained by GMCR and employed in a water evaluation and planning simulation model to supply consumers’ water demand. The best sustainable scenario selected based on GMCR concepts requires irrigation efficiency of agricultural lands to be improved in order to achieve a demand meeting index of 90% and, in contrast, there will be not control on water withdrawal from aquifers.

Sistem alokasi air pada Daerah Irigasi Balung Kabupaten Jember menggunakan WEAP (Water Evaluation and Planning)

“…Luaran WEAP dapat dimanfaatkan dalam mendukung upaya pengelolaan DAS, seperti konservasi air, kebijakan alokasi air dan prioritas penggunaan air. WEAP telah sukses dipakai sebagai alat bantu dalam menyelesaikan permasalahan alokasi air di berbagai negara, seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Mehrparvar, Ahmadi, & Safavi (2020), Metobwa, Mourad, & Ribbe (2018), Kandera & Výleta (2020), dan Anatoli & Putranto (2014).…”

Sustainable Development Capability Evaluation of Coal Resource-Based Cities Based on WEAP Model

“…WEAP is a comprehensive planning tool. WEAP can simulate the impact of future population and economic changes of a city, a watershed or a system on the demand and supply of local resources [7]. WEAP can assess how resources are used, developed, selected, managed, and the impact.…”

Theoretical evaluation of integrated Basin at Risk (iBAR) method for international water conflict-cooperation analysis

“…Economic approaches focus on how water resources are economically valued, traded through market mechanisms, or distributed among different stakeholders, and how economic incentives influence cooperation or conflict in managing these resources (Blatter and Ingram, 2000;Arjoon et al, 2016;Zeng et al, 2016;Hossen et al, 2021), Statistical and datadriven approaches rely on historical data to identify patterns and correlations among the drivers of water interactions and provide insights for future scenarios (Vieira and Ribeiro, 2010;Farinosi et al, 2018;Veisi et al, 2020). Game theory studies aim to mathematically analyze the strategic interactions among the stakeholders in a transboundary context in order to understand the decision-making processes and outcomes (Madani et al, 2011;Debnath et al, 2018;Jhawar et al, 2018;Mehrparvar et al, 2020). Finally, political studies tend to understand the nature of the water interactions by adopting political geography-oriented frameworks such as hydro-hegemony and water diplomacy (Zeitoun and Warner, 2006;Islam and Repella, 2015;Islam and Madani, 2017;Vij et al, 2020).…”