Harnessing indigenous knowledge for climate change-resilient water management – lessons from an ethnographic case study in Iran

Through an in-depth ethnographic case study, we explore water management practices within the Jiroft County province in Iran and discuss applicability of indigenous knowledge regional to resource governance arid regions across world. We explore, through qualitative analysis, relationship between community social structure, knowledge, technologies practices, rules under conditions anthropogenic climate change. From participant observational interview data (n = 32), find that historically-dependent roles establish a contract for distribution. Cultural conventions linked hierarchies ownership, profit-sharing responsibility; collectively they construct equitable system role-sharing, benefit distribution, socio-ecological resilience adaptive capacity face change-induced drought. conclude combination hierarchical land ownership-based distribution what term ‘bilateral compensatory mutual assistance’ lowest-profit agricultural users, provides model spontaneous common pool bolsters drought resilience. use this proffer recommendations adapting other centralized, grey infrastructure regulatory models from lessons learned case.