Water Policy Strategy in Iran: Applying Institutional Grammar Tool in Reforming the Fair Water Distribution Law

Governance in every field is achieved through a combination of formal institutions (laws, policies and regulations) and informal institutions (customary). Formal institutions undermine the functioning of informal institutions if they are not formulated properly, so the analysis of laws and policies in every area, including groundwater that is exposed to the tragedy of commons, paves the way for laws to evolve as part of the institutional transformation. .The country's latest water law, the Fair Distribution Act of 1981, due to numerous criticisms and observations of numerous inefficiencies in practice, is likely to be replaced by a comprehensive water law, which is currently in the drafting phase. Comparing these two laws together can illuminate the extent to which legislation has progressed. This study compares the groundwater sections of these two laws using the institutional grammar tool (IGT) as a method for analyzing and comparing laws and policies. The results of the institutional analysis show that, despite the difference in the title of these two laws, which refer to their separate missions, they are not substantially different. First, the major actors in both laws, are the Ministry of Energy, the stakeholders of groundwater exploitation and, to a lesser extent, excavators. Secondly, the Viewpoint to the Ministry of Energy is the same in both laws, and is as in the old view of the government as a benevolent, well-informed broker who merely seeks to enforce laws and dismiss any personal or partisan interests. Viewpoint to the exploiters and the diggers is completely negative, that is, they are looking for their own interest, and the interest lead to the tragedy of common. This view has given the Ministry of Energy a broad scope of authority and there is no room for the active role of farmers for sustainable exploitation of groundwater resources through collective action. Even though Successful groundwater management needs to facilitate the collective action of the farmers.; ; ;