Background

Maryam Nastar received her Master’s degree from Lund University in environmental studies and sustainability science. Her master’s thesis examined agent interactions in managing water resources in the Ebro River Basin in Spain. In her Master’s thesis she focused on understanding agent behaviors at micro (individual) level through application of the transition framework and by using different theories including cultural theory and social learning. This was followed by her work as a project assistant in MATISSE (Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment), one of the EU’s  FP-6 research projects.

Current Research

How to approach the complexity of urban water governance?
The objective of this research study is to develop an analytical framework and methodological approaches to harness the complexity of water governance in urban areas by illustrating how social and natural dimensions of sustainability could be integrated to analyze and address water governance issues.

Analytical Framework
The main body of this research is based on the transition heuristic (framework) to conceptualize overall dynamic patterns of changes in urban water governance. This is useful as follows: First, it provides a frame to discuss differences in perception, ambition and understating of sustainability as a normative goal, and to orient these aspirations into efforts in a systematic way. Second, transition heuristic is a flexible framework meaning that different theories and concepts can be combined to explore the intricacy of interactions among critical components of water governance system, i.e. water legislation, policies, and reforms, civil society, policy makers and water organizations. By incorporating different social theories on transitions, a comprehensive picture of change processes can be generated and be used to assess the water governance practices.

Case Studies
Employing a case-oriented research strategy as a comparative method, this research investigates a spectrum of parastatal governance models in the cities of Johannesburg in South Africa and Hyderabad in India. The issues like inequality in water distribution, its social and environmental implications and the politics of water policy and initiatives with relation to these water governance models are critically analyzed. In this qualitative research, different techniques such as policy document analysis, literature reviews, in-depth interviews and observations from the field are used to collect and analyze data. In terms of ontological and epistemological foundations, a critical realist approach is used to explore different domains of reality with regards to water governance practices and their impacts on water service delivery.

Teaching

• Teaching Assistant at “Sustainability Science” Course, LUMES
• Teaching Assistant at “Water and Sustainability” Course, LUMES
• Teaching Assistant at Swedish Institute’s Course “Sustainable Urban Planning and Development”, Summer 2008
• Teaching Assistant at Swedish Institute’s Course “Sustainable Development – Conflicts and Solutions”, Summer 2007
• Supervision of LUMES Master’s Students

Affiliated Network

Maryam is responsible for the research activities of the “Urban Water Governance” theme of U21 Water Futures for Sustainable Cities (WFSC) project. The initiative on WFSC and its planned outcome of influencing policy and practice aligns with the strategic priorities of Universitas 21, an international network of 23 leading research-intensive universities in fifteen countries. More information about the theme and the project is available here:
http://www.universitas21.com/collaboration/details/11/water-futures-for-sustainable-cities

Papers and publications

Nastar, M. (2011) Interrogating water governance approaches in Hyderabad, India, Presented at the 6th Dubrovnik Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, Dubrovnik, Croatia 2011

Nastar.M, Islar, M. (2010) Decentralization: Resolve or Hide the Problem?, presented at IASC conference, Hyderabad, India 2011

Nastar, M., Ramasar, V. (2010) Institutional Transition in Water Governance: Insights from a Perspective on Power, In Review

Nastar, M., Hanssen, M. (2009) Water legislation – what values, which ways? Institutional path dependency and transition management in IWRM in South Africa, presented at ESG Conference, Amsterdam 2009

Nastar, M., Wallman, P. (2009) An interdisciplinary approach to resolving conflict in the water domain. Information Technologies in Environmental Engineering. R. Allan, U. Förstner and W. Salomons, Springer Berlin Heidelberg: 411-424

Nastar, M. (2008) Synergy of Disciplines for Sustainability - Analysis of agent interactions in the transition management cycle to tackle the water scarcity issue. Master’s Thesis, Lund University Center for Sustainability Studies