Water and the Public Good: A New Philosophy for Iran’s Transition

Nik Kowsar

For the past 75 years, major water infrastructure projects in Iran—dams, interbasin transfers, and resource allocation schemes—have too often served the interests of rent-seekers, military contractors, and political elites rather than the broader public. What should be a national service has been repeatedly hijacked by regional, factional, or ideological ambitions.

The philosophy of public service demands decision-making that is transparent, accountable, evidence-based, and grounded in the collective good—not in the pursuit of power or ethnic-political dominance. A review of early studies on the Karun River basin reveals that as early as the 1960s, engineers and environmental experts were warning against the proposed location of dams such as Gotvand. Yet, political loyalties and ideological alliances—notably the influence of figures close to Ayatollah Mousavi Khoeiniha—eventually determined the dam’s construction in a geologically flawed location. Official warnings in 1982 and 1983 were ignored, and no journalist was allowed to report them—censorship, once again, silenced accountability.

The real tragedy lies not just in the technical errors, but in the deliberate suppression of knowledge and public scrutiny. In too many Third World contexts, large infrastructure becomes a stage for demonstrating political muscle, regardless of local ecological or social realities. While the mistakes of the 1950s and 1960s may be partially forgiven as products of early-stage development, the perpetuation of these mistakes in later decades—despite improved tools, education, and global standards—is inexcusable.

A Crisis Manufactured by Corruption

In southwestern Iran, the consequences of corruption are now catastrophic. A toxic alliance between ministries, consulting firms, and military-owned contractors has turned development into devastation. Projects that should have improved people’s lives have instead enriched a corrupt elite and displaced entire communities.

Environmental impact assessments were ignored or manipulated. Public oversight was absent. The voices of affected communities—especially in provinces like Khuzestan and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari—were marginalized or erased entirely. Now, in 2025, Iran faces widespread ecological and social fallout from decades of such collusion, most acutely in its central and southern regions.

Water: Commodity or Human Right?

While pricing mechanisms can discourage waste, treating water purely as a commodity obscures its deeper social and ethical significance. Water is a human right. Any governance model that fails to prioritize access for all—especially the most vulnerable—is fundamentally unjust and unstable.

When water becomes a tool for profit or power, inequality deepens. Marginalized communities face discrimination not only in water access, but also in their right to participate in decisions about their own resources. The failure to treat all regions and ethnic groups fairly in water allocation sows resentment, undermines national cohesion, and endangers public trust.

If water governance is to reflect a philosophy of public service, it must center the needs and rights of the people. That requires active participation—not passive compliance—and the creation of systems that are accountable to those they serve. Those who cannot or will not be held accountable to public scrutiny have no place managing vital national resources.

Facing the Future: Climate Change and the Ethics of Governance

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. Rising temperatures, shrinking surface water, and shifting precipitation patterns are reshaping Iran’s hydrological landscape. This makes the public service ethos even more urgent.

Adapting to these realities requires decentralized governance and empowering watershed communities. It means involving farmers, women, and marginalized groups in decisions that affect their water, food, and future. It means discarding megaproject fantasies in favor of resilience-building strategies: groundwater restoration, ecosystem protection, urban water recycling, and agricultural reform.

In an age of intensifying environmental stress, water governance must move away from grandiose infrastructure projects designed for political spectacle, and instead invest in people-centered, nature-based solutions that build capacity and reduce vulnerability.

Redefining Water Policy in a Democratic Transition

As Iran enters a potential political transition, water policy will serve as a litmus test for whether the future is being built on justice—or on the same foundations of exclusion and exploitation. The transition period is a rare opportunity to correct historical wrongs, root out unaccountable power structures, and redesign governance around transparency, participation, and intergenerational equity.

Public service, at its core, is a commitment to the common good. It requires long-term thinking, a rejection of rent-seeking, and a willingness to prioritize the rights of future generations over the convenience of the present. In a climate-stressed country like Iran, this is not optional—it is existential.

Water policymaking in a new Iran cannot be left in the hands of elites who treat governance as an entitlement. It must be reclaimed by the people as a democratic process, grounded in science, environmental justice, and respect for human dignity.

Conclusion: Toward a Water Governance Model Based on Justice

To survive the 21st century, Iran must stop treating water as a source of political capital or commercial gain. It must be treated as a public right—a foundation of life, dignity, and national resilience.

This will require:

• Ending structural corruption and rent-seeking in water infrastructure,

• Empowering local communities through participatory basin-level governance,

• Recognizing water access as a human right, not a privilege,

• Investing in adaptive strategies over symbolic megaprojects,

• Building public trust through accountability, transparency, and independent oversight.

In this moment of transition, the country faces a choice: continue on a path of decline, or build a system where water policy serves the people—not power. If we fail to recognize and act on this, the cost will not only be ecological collapse—it will be the moral bankruptcy of a nation.