Development of a model for reallocation of shared aquifer resources among stakeholders based on the bankruptcy approach; Case study of Neyshabour-Sabzevar-Ataiyeh

In recent years, the increase in the shared groundwater resources’ demand and inappropriate governance in the limited resources’ allocation has led to the increase in stakeholders’ conflicts in several regions of the world. Therefore, due to the dominance of water demand over the aquifer resources, it is necessary to develop an appropriate framework for reallocation of shared aquifer resources based on the consensus among stakeholders. Accordingly, one of the widely-used approaches, is the Bankruptcy Theory, as a subset of the Game Theory. So far, this approach has been used commonly in the reallocation of surface water resources. In this research, after introduction and evaluation of the most important bankruptcy methods, the Neyshabour-Sabzevar-Ataiyeh shared aquifer, as one of the most important study areas with the critical bankruptcy conditions in Iran, were reallocated among the stakeholders. Accordingly, in the proposed approach, the stakeholders’ weights were estimated using the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP), considering the most important agricultural, drinking, and industrial sustainable development criteria. Then, the weighted form of the most practical bankruptcy methods, such as Principle of Proportionality (PRO), Constrained Equal Awards (CEA), Constrained Equal Losses (CEL) and Modified Constrained Equal Losses (MCEL) methodologies, the shared aquifer was reallocated among the stakeholders. The results indicate that based on the Bankruptcy Allocation sustainability index, the weighted CEA is selected for reallocating the shared aquifer among the stakeholders. According to the output related to this method, Neyshabour, Sabzevar and Ataiyeh plains can receive 39%, 68% and 45% of the total of their demand, respectively.