فهرست مطالب اصغر فرج اللهی

The rangelands of Kurdistan province in Iran cover 1,182,214 hectares, equivalent to 1.4% of the country's rangelands, 10% of the Zagros rangelands, and about 40.5% of the province's total land area. There are currently 115 families, 660 genera, and 2350 species of plants in the Kurdistan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center's herbarium (HKS). With more than 200 plant species with medicinal properties, Kurdistan province holds a special place in the Zagros and the country. Through the cultivation and domestication of these plants in educational, extension and research farms, officials and individuals can gain a better understanding of planting medicinal plants and the many opportunities these plants provide for income generation and employment. The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles and challenges associated with the development of plantations of medicinal plants in Kurdistan province by conducting interviews with local operators and experts (30 stakeholders). It was found that the main challenges and obstacles to the development of medicinal plants in Kurdistan province and in the country are as follows: 1) A lack of or absence of government financial support for medicinal plants and modern irrigation systems (with a relative weight (RW) of 99.33%), 2) International economic and banking sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran (RW=96.67%), 3) Weakness in the area of commercialization and the development of transformation industries (RW=94.67%), 4) Inadequacies in the promotion of medicinal plants in Kurdistan province and throughout the country (RW=90.67%), 5) The lack of standards for the development, production, and processing of medicinal plants (RW=84%), 6) Lack of branding and presence on international markets (RW=70%), and 7) The low degree of mechanization in the production and processing of medicinal plants (RW=62.67%). It is therefore possible to increase the production the plant industry by increasing government financial support, increasing the knowledge of producers, providing the basis for exporting processed products, increasing added value through branding and processing, and reducing production costs as a result of mechanization in production, packaging, and processing.

Protecting rangelands and preventing the destruction of these valuable resources requires serious efforts and appropriate measures to ensure sustainable use and comprehensive and integrated management of rangelands, and these measures and planning should provide optimal and sustainable use of rangelands along with meeting the needs and improving the conditions of stakeholders. Recognizing the problems and challenges and subsequently providing management solutions in rangelands will provide the basis for the use of different potentials and functions in rangeland ecosystems and will facilitate the achievement of sustainable development of rangeland. The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the most important issues and problems of rangeland in Chaharbagh region of Golestan province and providing management solutions from the viewpoint of stakeholders and experts.

This research was applied based on the purpose of the study and descriptive-analytical in theme and collects data using survey and documentary methods. The statistical population of this study included stakeholders and experts familiar with the studied subject in Golestan province. The sample size was determined by available and non-random sampling method and 31 experts and 38 stakeholders participated in this study. After designing the questionnaire and confirming the validity using the opinion of experts and specialists, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the level of reliability. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained 0.81 and 0.83 for the questionnaire of stakeholders and experts, respectively that indicates appropriate reliability of questionnaires. In order to identify the existing problems and issues and provide solutions, the results were scored and prioritized by using the importance index (Iindex) coefficient and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The amounts of effect with very high and high were identified as influential factors. The hierarchical analysis process is one of the most comprehensive systems designed for decision making with multiple criteria, using Expert choice software, that weight and importance of each criterion was determined.

According to the importance index (Iindex), the amount of effect on the Likert scale as well as the weight of each problem, drought and lack of rainfall with the value of the importance index (98.3) and weight (0.088), Non-payment of compensation in case of crisis and drought by the government (lack of livestock and rangeland insurance) with the value of the Iindex (83.3) and weight (0.072) and decision-making only by officials and non-participation of stakeholders with the index of importance (80) and weight ( 0.066) were the most important problems and issues, respectively. According to experts’ viewpoint, uncontrolled grazing and excessive number of livestock is the most important problem with the highest Iindex (81.7) and weight (0.077). Then, there are early and untimely grazing with importance index (80) and weight (0.076) and untimely exit of livestock with importance index (75.8) and weight (0.072), respectively. In the presented solutions based on the viewpoint of stakeholders and experts, livestock grazing management and granting facilities for the purchase of forage, especially in times of drought, had the highest value index (88.7) and the highest weight (0.114). Then, there are training stakeholders to earn income and create jobs from the potentials of medicinal and industrial plants in the study region and increase the income of the stakeholders by providing credits and loans for buying hives and beekeeping, respectively.

The problems and reasons for degradation of this rangeland were divided into four main categories according to the stakeholders and experts opinion: A) Drought and consequently lack of water resources b) Weak grazing management c) Weakness of organization and lack of preventive laws and regulations d) Economic issues and low income of stakeholders. Also, the management strategies presented in this study classified as combating to drought and lack of rainfall, job creation and multi-purpose use of various functions of rangelands in the form of cooperatives, implementing the principles of livestock grazing management and implement the rules and regulations created by executive agencies. Finally, according to the often common viewpoints of stakeholders and experts, the results of the issues and problems as well as solutions can be accepted with more confidence

Desertification combating projects are usually developed and implemented to protect water and soil and keep sustainable development of local communities. Therefore, evaluating the socio-economic effects of such projects is highly important for identifying and addressing the challenges involved in this regard and perpetuating their positive effects. Thus, this study sought to evaluate the socio-economic effects of the desertification projects and plans implemented in the southeastern region of Ahvaz in 2021.

this study used the documentary method to investigate the theoretical dimensions of the subject and a survey method to collect the required quantitative data. The study's statistical population consisted of two groups of rural residents and experts familiar with the study area. Based on Cochran's formula and matching with Krejcie and Morgan's table, 335 rural residents were selected to participate in the study, using random sampling. Moreover, 26 experts participated in completing the questionnaires and conducting the research. After confirming the questionnaire's validity, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained as 0.86 and 0.83 for rural residents and experts, respectively. On the other hand, the prioritization of the economic and social effects of the projects was performed through the average rankings. Finally, the mean comparison of the viewpoints of rural residents and experts was assessed through a Mann-Whitney test.

According to the study's results, improving the employment opportunities and job creation, increasing the price of land in the region, and reducing the migration incentives are ranked first to third in terms of priority from the rural residents' viewpoints with the average values of 4.20, 4.15, and 4.12, respectively, followed by the influence of water and soil protection, dust reduction, and the participation of the local community in the implementation of desertification combating plans and operations, respectively. Moreover, the analysis of the experts' opinions showed that water and soil protection, dust reduction, increases in land prices, improvement of employment opportunities, reduction in migration incentives, and increases in the level of the local and rural communities' trust in goals and programs of executive departments were the most important effects of project implementation in the region with the average values of 4.46, 4.31, 4.19, 4.15 and 4.11, respectively.The mean values of the desertification combating projects were compared between the rural residents' viewpoints and experts' opinions using the Mann-Whitney test, revealing a statistically significant difference between the opinions of rural residents and experts in terms of the effects of water and soil protection and dust reduction, increases in the villagers' revenues, diversification of the villagers' income sources, and strengthening the cooperation and social cohesion among local communities. All of these items had a higher average rank in the experts' viewpoint except for "strengthening the cooperation and social cohesion among local communities. Experts significantly out-evaluated the consequences of the implemented combating desertification projects concerning the water and soil protection, dust reduction, increases in the villagers' revenues, and creation of a variety of new income resources compared to the rural residents. In other items regarding the effects of the projects, no statistically significant difference was found between the viewpoints expressed by residents and experts. As for the economic effects, there was a statistically significant difference between the experts' and rural residents' viewpoints (P<0.05), with the implementation of projects having more significant prominent effects in the experts' view. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the viewpoints offered by experts and residents in terms of the social effects of combating desertification projects (P>0.05).

According to the viewpoints expressed by both experts and rural residents, water and soil protection, dust reduction, improvement of job opportunities, increases in the price of land in the studied region, and reduction in migration incentives are the most important economic and social consequences of desertification combating projects. Moreover, the viewpoints of experts and rural residents of the region concerning the economic and social consequences of the projects were close to each other and did not differ significantly, indicating their mutual understanding and intellectual proximity of the issue. Therefore, it appears that strengthening such a relationship helps desertification combating projects to be more successful. The results of this study also showed positive and acceptable effects of the projects in the study area. In fact, the implementation of such projects has improved the conditions for the sustainability and activity of rural communities. However, new plans should be developed for improving the welfare status, increasing the revenues, improving the water quality, increasing the production of crops, and increasing horticulture products. On the other hand, attracting the stakeholders' participation by promoting conservation knowledge and culture, using the potentials and capacities of the region, and providing the necessary facilities and financial support in terms of combating desertification goals and measures can help increase the chances for the success of desertification combating projects.

Rangelands, as an important part of natural resources, play an essential role in improving or reducing the economic and social conditions of local communities and rural residents. After the Forest and Rangeland Nationalization Act of 1962, in the laws passed in 1969, the exploitation of rangelands was considered as a rangeland management plan for the first time. In the meantime, rangeland management plans are formulated and implemented with the aim of promoting ecological, economic and social indicators of stakeholders that it is necessary to evaluate the achievement of these aims in order to policy and decision making for rangeland management. Rangeland management plans are one of the main tools for managing and exploiting rangelands in Iran, which are implemented to eliminate or reduce degradation and optimal and sustainable rangeland management. In this study, economic and social effects of rangeland management projects in Bijar city of Kurdistan province were evaluated.

In this research, according to the applied objectives of the study, a survey and documentary method was used to collect data and information. The study area included rangelands of 9 completed rangeland projects in Bijar city in the East of Kurdistan province. The statistical population in this study included two groups of stakeholders of rangeland and experts familiar with the subject and rangeland projects. 175 households were selected based on Cochran's formula and adapted to Krejcie and Morgan table as study samples and participated in completing the questionnaires randomly. Also, 24 experts participated in the research. After confirming the validity of the questionnaires using the opinion of experts, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used in order to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaires. These values are obtained 0.81 and 0.84 for experts and stakeholders, respectively. It showed that the questionnaires were properly reliable. In addition to demographic characteristics, the research questionnaires included questions about the direct and indirect socio-economic effects of rangeland plans based on Likert scale. Prioritization of economic and social effects was done through the ranking average. The normality of the data was assessed by Kolmogorov -Smirnov test and after confirming the normality of the data, Student's t-test was used to compare the viewpoints of experts and stakeholders about economic and social effects of rangeland projects. Data analyses were performed using SPSS20 software.

According to the results, preventing the land use changes, improving the drinking water needs of livestock and increasing the confidence of stakeholders in the aims and programs of the executive department of natural resources by obtaining averages of 4.04, 3.96 and 3.92, were the most important economic and social effects of rangeland projects in Bijar city from the viewpoint of the experts, respectively. But from the viewpoint of the stakeholders, the sense of belonging and sense of ownership to the rangelands for stakeholders, strengthening the social spirit and participation of the local community in implementing the plan and increasing the unity and social cohesion of the with averages of 4.16, 3.92 and 3.88 were the most important economic and social effects of rangeland projects, respectively. In the majority of economic and social indicators of rangeland management projects, there was no statistically significant difference between the viewpoint of experts and stakeholders (P >0.05), but according to viewpoint of experts, the mean value of the effects of preventing land use changes (P =0.0001) and increasing the trust of stakeholders to the aims and programs of the executive department of natural resources (P = 0.012) was more significantly. Such, from the viewpoint of stakeholders, increasing the unity and social cohesion of stakeholders (P = 0.003), the sense of belonging and sense of ownership to the rangelands for stakeholders, (P = 0.019), strengthening the social spirit and participation of the local community in the implementation of the project (P = 0.012) were significantly more evaluated. Economic effects from the viewpoint of the stakeholders were evaluated significantly lower than experts (P <0.05). But there was no significant difference between the viewpoint of experts and stakeholders in social effects (P >0.05).

According to the results of this study, the implementation of rangeland management projects in the study area has only been somewhat effective in achieving some economic and social indicators, especially social goals. These projects in some economic and social aspects such as income generation, employment and reducing migration has not been very effective. The overall satisfaction with the implementation of rangeland management plans was not high from the viewpoints of both groups due to the failure to meet the economic needs of stakeholders. Therefore it is necessary to develop and implement rangeland management projects with more accuracy, sensitivity and seriousness. Finally, recognizing and using the capacities and resources, multi-purpose use of rangelands, attracting facilities and capitals of the private and public sectors and providing appropriate facilities can provide the basis for further success and improve the effectiveness of rangeland management projects.

Planning to improve the livelihoods and incomes of rural households is considered as an important and effective foundation in achieving sustainable development goals. Strategies for improving livelihoods of Bagherabad village of Sanandaj city were investigated based on natural resources approaches. The statistical population included residents of Bagherabad village and expert in rural affairs of study area that the sample size was 255 villagers and 42 experts. The questionnaire was the important tool for gathering of information and SWOT model was used to analyze the data and appropriate strategies. In order to prioritize the most important factors affecting the improvement of livelihood in the region, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) model was used in this study. Natural crisis and related threats to rural livelihood, such as drought and flood, was the most important threat according to villagers and experts with relative weights of 91.11 and 80, respectively. Existence educated human resources and their training and use of them in rural development is the most important opportunity to improve the livelihood from the viewpoint of experts and residents with relative weights of 81.78 and 87.11, respectively. Existence educated human and their training and use of them in rural development is the most important opportunity to improve the livelihood from the viewpoint of experts and residents with relative weights of 81.78 and 87.11, respectively. Strategy for improving the livelihood in study area obtained defensive strategy. This strategy is planned based on training and promotion of optimal utilization practices of natural lands and water resources, new technologies of agriculture, livestock and horticulture especially in drought conditions, improvement of rural infrastructure facilities and relying on ecotourism potentials and handicraft. The results of a network of factors showed that human-educational, climatic-geographical, economic-financial factors will be the most influential factors in the development and promotion of rural livelihood in the study area, respectively. This study recommends the use of the SWOT-ANP method as a way to identify important socio-economic-ecological axes along with determining the main strategy of promoting rural areas in the form of major capitals with the most stability and adaptively.

Sustainable land management is defined as as “the use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental function”. Undoubtedly, achieving comprehensive land management requires effective and coordinated communication, cooperation and synergy of all key stakeholders and stakeholders who have common goals but distinct tasks. The aim of this study is to investigate challenges and strategies for managing and combating dust storm using participatory appraisal among Sistan Institutional Stakeholders Network.

The aim of this research is participatory appraisal of challenges and strategies for managing, controlling and combating the dust phenomenon among 27 invited relevant key institutional stakeholders of Sistan network. Comprehensive studies of Sistan dust conducted by the Research Institution of Forest and Rangeland, and the considered challenges and strategies for managing, controlling and combating dust storm was assessed using a brainstorming technique in a collaborative way. So, the participants have been divided into 5 working groups, including Water-Agriculture, Economics-Development-Infrastructure, Environment-Natural Resources, Cultural-Social-Political, and Law-Policy Making. The challenges and solutions have been investigated.

some challenges stated by the groups are: limitation of water resources, depletion of groundwater table and the lack of optimal decision-making regarding the management of watersheds in western Sistan, the destruction of vegetation in northwestern Sistan, the lack of organizational cohesion and integrated attitude by land management authorities, the lack of communication between research and implementation, migration, insecurity due to the depopulation of villages, increasing poverty and unemployment, weak Iranian diplomacy regarding the Hamoon Wetland, strong dependence of the Sistan region on water resources and agricultural economy, lack of integrated management regarding the maintenance of wetlands. The presented solutions are: determining the extent of urban development based on the volume of available water, modifying the pattern of drinking water consumption, predicting the use of treated municipal effluents to control fine source of dust, the optimal use of precipitation to stabilize eroded areas, improve the Sistan river pathways, forming the Sistan Dust Working Group, evaluating the effectiveness of executive projects on watershed management, and education in schools.

In general, the challenges raised by various institutions indicate a weakness in comprehensive planning, integrated management and good governance based on community-based participatory management.

Rangeland plans are designed and implemented as a practical tool in the management and exploitation of rangelands. The purpose of implementing these plans is to achieve specific goals in the management and sustainable development of rangelands. Therefore, it seems necessary to evaluate the impacts of the implemented plans in order to identify and solve problems and challenges and strengthen the positive effects. This study conducted to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of rangeland plans in the Kalaleh county from the viewpoint of stakeholders and experts. Documentary research and survey method were used to evaluate the theoretical dimensions and complete the questionnaires, respectively. The statistical population are stakeholders and experts. Based on the Cochran sample siza formula and according to Krejcie and Morgan table, 109 stakeholders randomly participated in the research. Also, 25 experts complete the questionnaires. After confirming the validity of the questionnaires, Cronbach alpha coefficient was obtained 0.82 and 0.80 for stakeholders and experts, respectively. Average ranking is calculated for prioritization of the economic and social impacts. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the mean value of the economic and social impacts between stakeholders and experts. According to the viewpoint of the stakeholders, implementation of rangeland management plans has provided confidence and peace in the field of rangeland ownership for stakeholders. Also, by preserving rangelands, it has increased the trust of the stakeholders to the executive department of natural resources and experts, and has provided their more effective participation in the implementation of plans.Important and considerables impacts of the implementation of range management plans from the viewpoint of experts are including: increasing the awareness and culture of stackholders, increasing trust of the stakeholders to the executive sector and improve their participation in the implementation of the plans. The results showed that there is a significant difference in economic impacts between the viewpoint of experts and stakeholders (P<0.05). But, it was not observed a significant difference in social impacts (P<0.05). According to the results of this study, rangeland management plans in the study area have been successful in achieving social goals, but in the economic field, there are weaknesses, especially in improving income and livelihood conditions and creating job opportunities for stakeholders.

Rural poverty and its impact on degradation of natural resources is one of the major challenges for sustainable development. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between rural poverty and degradation of natural resources in rural communities of Kurdistan Province. The statistical population consisted of 2726 rural households. Based on Cochran formula and adapting to Krejcie and Morgan table, 336 households were selected as the statistical sample. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that its validity is approved by the experts' opinion and reliability of it is obtained 0.78 by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Rural residents' viewpoints in relation to degradation of natural resources were investigated in three sections: factors related to livestock and animal husbandry, cutting and harvesting and land use change. Relative poverty line was used to separate the poor and the non-poor and 66% of total monthly household expenditure was used to calculate it. Data were analyzed using chi-square and paired t-tests. Per capita relative poverty line in the study area was estimated 2465460 Rials in 1398, that 33.9% of studied rural residents were poor. There was a significant relationship between variables such as age, educational level, occupation, household dimension and income with poverty of rural residents. The average rate of destruction of natural resources by poor respondents was significantly higher than non-poor respondents. Therefore, in order to reduce degradation in the study area, it seems necessary to improve the economic condition of residents.

In the management of natural resource, recognizing socioeconomic factors affecting land use change is essential for achieving sustainable development and land use planning. In this research, we investigate and determine the socio-economic factors affecting land use changes in the Maraveh Tappeh region of Golestan province. This area has been affected by land use change in recent years. The rangelands and forests have decreased during the study period (1984-2014), and agricultural use with an annual increase of 132 hectares has reached to 10332.97 ha in 2014. This descriptive-analytic research was carried out in 16 villages in the study area with survey sampling method. Data collection was performed by questionnaire and the numbers of questionnaires were determined 310 people. Sampling was done through a Cochran formula and cluster sampling and multi-stage sampling. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the study and it was found 0.75. In this study, exploratory factor analysis method was used. For the factor analysis, the principal components method was used using rotation varimax. The results of factor analysis showed that socio-economic factors affect on land-use changes in Maraveh Tappeh region and these factors are including: non-economic efficiency of animal husbandry, Low land per capita for each farmer, rural unemployment, low income and high cost of living, increasing input price, the need for housing and the lack of awareness, social reputation and land ownership. These eight factors explained 63.80% of the total variance. Considering researching findings, attention to economic and financial problems and employment condition of village’s resident of Maraveh Tappeh region is essential. Also, husbandry and livestock production management and supply of livestock inputs have been proposed to reduce the land use changes of forests and rangelands and to protect the natural resources.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the interaction between the type of management approach and the type of combating desertification projects on soil fertility function. It is especially important in monitoring and evaluation of these projects. For this purpose, at the first, the range of three types of combating desertification projects including bush planting, constructing a crescent pond and seeding - sowing in two different management approaches, Ecological (Sarbisheh combating desertification project) and socio-ecological approaches ( International carbon sequestration project) in Sarbisheh city of South Khorasan province (which were implemented in 2005) were identified. The reference area was determined in each of them and the profile was dug randomly with five replications. Soil sample was taken from a depth of 0-15 cm. Then, the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soil samples were measured as soil fertility characteristics. The results of analysis of variance showed a non-significant difference between the interaction of management type and desertification index projects on soil potassium content due to the abundance of potassium in the soils of arid regions. However, in relation to nitrogen and phosphorus, a significant difference was observed (P< 0.05). As a result, the highest amount of these elements was observed in socio-ecological management (Respectively 0.19 and 0.005 g/kg) based on bush planting project. Rather, the lowest amount was observed in ecological management based (Respectively 0.14 and 0.002 g/kg) under the same project. The results of this study showed that although bush planting has a greater effect on soil fertility than other projects due to its greater focus on the transfer, planting and irrigation of seedlings and ultimately the increase in vegetation. However, the soil fertility status of this project in the ecological management approach indicates the importance of the type of management, including the implementation, protection and proper operation of projects which will have an important effect on soil fertility performance. The socio-ecological management has thus been able to achieve more success in this field due to the active participation of the local community in all stages of planning, implementation, monitoring and operation, and better protection of the revived areas. Therefore, it can be concluded that although the restoration of the structure and function of the ecosystem is the main aim of all restoration activities, its sustainability process is largely related to the motivation of stakeholders and the effectiveness of economic, social and political mechanisms.