Applying cooperative game theory to develop water management strategies for the restoration of Hour Al-Azim wetland.

The Hour-Al-Azim transboundary wetland, one of Iran's most significant wetlands, is facing desiccation due to a disregard for environmental flow. A significant portion of the wetland has dried up, leading to the emergence of dust storms with detrimental effects on the region. Therefore, the imperative lies in fully restoring the wetland to mitigate the damages caused by dust storms and drought. In this study, considering the agricultural land area in the Karkheh River Basin and estimating the water requirements of the agricultural sector, the allocation scenario that satisfies all stakeholders was determined using a cooperative game theory approach and Shapley value. The results indicated that complete wetland revival is not feasible considering the available water resources. Hence, solutions were proposed to reduce water consumption considering the virtual water trade approach and ecosystem services payment method. All potential options for the government and farmers toward complete wetland revival were identified using sequential game theory. Ultimately, the findings demonstrated that adopting a cooperative approach to reduce cultivated areas benefits both farmers by increasing profits and the government by simultaneously achieving the goal of wetland revival.