LAUSR

Abstract Man-made water reservoirs called Ab-bandan in Mazandaran province, Northern Iran are used to collect precipitation for irrigating rice fields. In spite of their importance, Ab-bandans face governance difficulties such as the lack of a specific law, the lack of long-term and strategic planning, and low recognition of these reservoirs at the national level. Therefore, water policy instruments are argued to be needed in order to overcome the barriers and improve water governance. This paper aims to identify and assess relevant policy instruments for the improvement of the governance of Ab-bandans by conducting an exploratory sequential research design. Based on interviews with 30 regional experts, 31 policy instruments are identified and grouped into three reinforcing dimensions of water governance; effectiveness, efficiency, and trust and engagement. Afterwards, these policy instruments are assessed by a larger sample of participants through snowball sampling (n = 169). Confirmatory Factor Analysis reveals that, in survey participants’ opinion, 28 out of 31 policy instruments identified properly represent three reinforcing dimensions of water governance. The results indicate that the enhancement of collective action among farmers is the policy instrument which contributes more to the improvement of governance. Furthermore, the dimensions are positively related to one another. Therefore, the policy instruments are interdependent and should be addressed in a holistic way.