Introduction and Applicability of Game Theory in Watershed CoManagement

A watershed is a complex and dynamic system which is identified as planning and management unit. Hence, considering all technical, socioeconomical, physical, ecological and organizational dimensions is essential for proper planning and management processes. Since, different stakeholders usually have conflicting goals and sometimes contradictory demands; decision making for the management of the watershed in order to achieve an optimal solution is difficult. Accordingly, to achieve the comanagement of the watershed, different stakeholders should be allowed to be involved actively in decision making processes. Toward this, various management tools have been developed to facilitate multi-objective decision making processes. In this regard, the application of game theory approach seems to be of use for the comanagement of the watershed with various stakeholders. To this end, the present study aimed to introduce game theory as one of novel and useful tools in decision making and to assess the applicability of the game theory in reducing conflicts upon common resources of watersheds as well. Based on previous studies, the game theory has an essential role in analyzing various viewpoints of stakeholders and is an effective method for opting watershed management practices, comprehensively.