جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "مدیریت مشارکتی" در نشریات گروه "کشاورزی"

Forests are one of the complex ecosystems of natural resources with an important role in the environment and multiple production capacities and functions. The benefit of different human societies from these resources in various forms has various effects and consequences. Without accurate and complete identification of all its stakeholders, logical and acceptable results cannot be achieved in decision-making and policy-making. Therefore, it is essential to fully understand the stakeholders (actors) and their identification criteria in line with basic policies for planning, decision-making, and success in this field. Because decision-making in the management of forest resources always faces challenges and is often associated with complexity, immutability, and uncertainty due to the multi-purpose nature of the benefits and services of these resources, the difficulty of monetary valuation of ecological services, and the great diversity of the stakeholders of their services. Therefore, the stakeholders in the fields of natural resources and forests are considered vital components, and their presence and activity in these fields are undeniable and provide a guarantee of success in cooperative management for the protection of forests. The advancement of the sustainable management goals of natural resources and forests is realized by identifying an active presence of key actors and the most important and effective groups involved, i.e. forest producers and users, along with other identified stakeholders. The primary purpose of identifying those involved is the names of all those who can and should have a role in the planning and management process, and their identification is an important part of the participatory planning process because it is considered a part of the prerequisite for participation. Therefore, identifying and determining the stakeholders make it possible to take advantage of their cooperation in a planned way in the implementation and management of forestry projects and to facilitate the implementation process of the programs.

To identify, weight, and prioritize the stakeholders involved in the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem services using multi-criteria decision-making models, the stakeholders involved in the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem services were first identified and gathered based on the review of various studies. Then, the research questionnaire was designed to answer two important questions in this study: a) who are the people involved in Hyrcanian forest areas? and b) what is their priority? Therefore, the beneficiaries of the economy of Hyrcanian forests were identified by designing a questionnaire scored with a Likert scale, designing items with five priority options, and determining the individuals or groups of stakeholders. In this research, the opinions of 50 experts, academics, and experts of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization at the provincial and regional levels were used to identify the beneficiaries of the ecosystem services of Hyrcanian forests. The questionnaire was validated and confirmed by experts, and its reliability was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha statistic of α = 0.97. The stakeholders of the forest ecosystem services were weighted  with the Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method, the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), and Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS), and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used to prioritize them.

By analyzing the findings of the questionnaire using experts' opinions, the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem goods and services stakeholders were identified in 19 groups and five levels, such as international, national, regional, stakeholders outside the forest, and stakeholders inside the forest. Based on the results of the weighting of the stakeholders using the SWARA technique, the forest dwellers and communities downstream of the forest edge are among the most important Hyrcanian forest ecosystem goods and services stakeholders with the highest weight, and other stakeholders were placed in the next priorities based on the received weight. The prioritization of the stakeholders of the goods and services of the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem in the TOPSIS, ARAS, and SAW models showed similar results in terms of the prioritization of the stakeholders of the surveyed services.

The results of stakeholder prioritization models were compared using the slope of the service weight curve (R2) in three models. The slope of the relative closeness curve of the weights in the ARAS model was a descending exponential function with an explanatory degree of 0.93, which indicated an obvious difference between the stakeholders of Hyrcanian forest ecosystem services. The slope of the curve of the relative closeness of the weights is higher and closer to one in the ARAS model than in the other two models from different points of view. Based on this result and the consensus of some experts, the prioritization of stakeholders in the ARAS model is closer to reality. Therefore, the ARAS model was proposed as a suitable model for prioritizing the stakeholders of Hyrcanian forest ecosystem services. According to the results of this model, forest dwellers, downstream communities on the edge of the forest, and the off-site users of the forests are considered the major stakeholders of Hyrcanian forest services. Therefore, the role, presence, and influence of these stakeholders cannot be ignored in the management of natural resources and the environment, especially in forestry projects, and it is recommended to optimally use the presence of these communities in cooperative forest management. Furthermore, the human relationship with the natural ecosystem should be at the top of policies and comprehensive management of forest resources. It is necessary to support wood planting projects through subsidy policies and to grant facilities and low-interest loans to forest dwellers and communities downstream of the forest edge. Other necessary measures include efforts to reduce deprivations and increase the socioeconomic development of the villages on the edge of the forest, holding training entrepreneurship courses and classes, introducing handicrafts and non-wood products, identifying target markets, and strengthening the marketing network for the export of non-wood products to increase the share of the forest in the growth and economic development of rural communities on the edge of the forest. Employment programs should also be developed for local communities in the forest protection sectors.

Conservation of water and soil resources is necessary and inevitable for sustainable development. Planning is necessary for achieving this development both now and in the future. In this regard, the human relationship as a beneficiary of the natural ecosystem should be at the top of policies and comprehensive management of water resources. Based on this, the requirement for successful management of water resources is to change the approach towards cooperative management. The success of watershed projects entirely depends on people's participation in the decision-making, implementation, and conservation of the projects. One of the main components in water resources management at the local level is the local stakeholders and their interactive relationship between them and the government institutions is necessary for forming a cooperative mechanism of water resources. In this regard, social networks can be effectively used in collaborative management. The purpose of this study is to analyze the social network of water and soil resources stakeholders in Khaeiz and Ghale Seyed Moghim villages and to determine the main strengths of the network in order to apply successful collaborative management of these resources.

In the current research, social network theory and its principles were used to investigate and analyze the pattern of relations between the stakeholders of water and soil resources in Ghale Seyed Moghim and Khaeiz villages. First, using a local survey and a questionnaire, trust, and participation data were collected based on the Likert scale (zero, very little, low, medium, high, and very high), and a matrix of trust and participation relationships was formed, and the matrix of trust and participation relations was formed. Then, different network indicators in macro (including density, concentration, and size of the network, degree of ambidexterity and transferability of links, average geodesic distance, and E-I index), meso (including indicators of peripheral center and density of subgroups) and micro (including input degree centralities, output and intermediate) levels were calculated and evaluated using UCINET software.

Based on the calculated indicators, the network of beneficiaries in both villages is stable and balanced. Therefore, it is possible to plan to preserve water and soil resources well. The network of the stakeholders in Ghale Seyed Moghim village is more cohesive, which will be more effective in cooperative activities in the matter of local sustainable development Instead, people in Seyed Moghim villages were able to connect with each other more quickly, and building trust as well as their collective activities takes place in less time. Also, key actors were identified in both networks and should be involved in the decision-making and participatory management of water and soil resources in the region.

Social network analysis provides managers with an effective tool to identify users and their relationships, making water resources management efficient. Considering the results of network cohesion in Khaeiz, non-key actors should be encouraged to create trust and partnership bonds. Also, through educational and promotional activities, the existing participation and trust in the networks should be maintained, and the opportunity to create new trust and participation of stakeholders should be provided.

Human behavior can have a significant impact on forest ecosystems, including urban forests. Encouraging pro-environmental behavior among individuals is crucial to prevent the degradation. Understanding the behavior of visitors to urban forests is an essential step in effectively managing their conservation. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors that influence environmental behavior among visitors to urban forests in Khorram Abad, Lorestan. By doing so, it seeks to contribute to predicting their willingness to participate in the protection and preservation of these forests.

The study was conducted in the urban forests of Khorram Abad, located in the Lorestan province. The target population was consisted of visitors to these urban forests, and a sample size of 401 individuals was selected using the Krejci-Morgan table. The sample selection process involved proportional allocation based on classification. Data were collected through a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The validity of the questionnaire was ensured by seeking expert opinions, and its reliability was assessed using the Cronbach's alpha test. The statistical analysis employed was the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and its developed model. Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS, and Smart PLS software was used for structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

The research findings supported the hypotheses proposed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). In the extended TPB model, all hypotheses, except for the influence of environmental concern on behavioral intention, were confirmed. The results indicated that the variables in the initial TPB model accounted for 49.4% and 73.1% of visitors' intentions and environmental behavior, respectively. Similarly, the variables in the extended model explained 49.4% and 74.4% of visitors' intentions and environmental behavior, respectively. Notably, the inclusion of environmental concern (EC) in the developed TPB model increased the explanatory power of the environmental behavior variable by 1.3%. All obtained fit indices for both the initial TPB model and its developed version fell within the desired range, indicating a good fit.

The study findings highlight the positive and significant effects of attitude (ATT), perceived behavioral control (PBC), and subjective norms (SN) on visitors' intentions, environmental behavior, and their active participation in protecting urban forests. Understanding these influential factors of environmental behavior and emphasizing the importance of conserving urban forests can facilitate effective conservation measures and enhance visitors' sense of belonging and willingness to participate. This, in turn, can lead to a positive shift in attitudes towards adopting environmentally friendly behaviors.

Biosphere Reserves are international natural-biological protected areas that, besides offering protection, showcase achievements such as providing rare study habitats to scientists and demonstrating human skills in support of sustainable development. This study aims to evaluate the participatory management in the protection of Golestan National Park, one of the first biosphere reserves in the country.

This descriptive field research prepared the required data by having the target community, including non-governmental organizations, nature partners, local communities, government forces, and other members of society, complete internet questionnaires. The results highlight the cooperation of nature partners in their desire to participate in community education and in dealing with wood smuggling. Local communities showed prominence in fire prevention, and non-governmental organizations stood out in community education, fire prevention, and combating wood smuggling.

The results indicate a significant difference in participation in community education, firefighting, fire prevention, desire to participate in firefighting, dealing with forest destruction and conversion, dealing with illegal hunting, preventing livestock entry to the forest, and combating wood smuggling among groups.

Therefore, given the significant difference between the groups, it is possible to plan in the field of their interest and participation. Lastly, since society members frequently use social networks like WhatsApp and Instagram, and the target groups have strong membership in environmental groups, this capacity can be utilized in education and participation in the management of biosphere reserves.

Golestan province, located in the northern part of Iran, covers an area of 20,367 square kilometers, accounting for 1.3% of the country's total area. Unfortunately, the natural resources of Golestan province have been under threat in recent decades due to deforestation, excessive livestock grazing, and other human activities. As a result, the province faces significant challenges in this regard. The considerable depletion of natural resources, coupled with environmental crises such as floods and droughts, highlights the need for a detailed investigation and research into the management state of natural resources in the province. This research aims to improve the situation by addressing and resolving the existing problems, ultimately enhancing the management of natural resources in Golestan province. The present study seeks to evaluate the model of good governance as a novel theoretical approach in the field of natural resource management. Specifically, the research aims to assess the current state of natural resource management in the eastern regions of Golestan province and its compliance with, as well as proximity to, the criteria of good governance.

In the current research, the natural resources departments in the eastern region of Golestan province were selected as the level of analysis. This includes the cities of Ramyan, Minodasht, Kalaleh, Galikesh, Maraveh Tappeh, and Gonbad kavous. The focus of the analysis was on the users and beneficiaries of natural resources. Cochran's formula was employed to determine the required sample size. Based on this calculation, the estimated sample size was determined to be 189 samples. After receiving and reviewing the questionnaires, a total of 177 valid questionnaires were accepted for statistical analysis. Next, the prepared questionnaires were distributed among the users and beneficiaries of natural resources. Due to difficulties in accessing the target community, the research utilized available samples to answer the questions and complete the questionnaires. The research employed the one-sample t-test to analyze the governance indicators in natural resource management and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the level of good governance in natural resource management among the surveyed cities.

The obtained results revealed that among the seven indicators used to assess good governance, four indicators, namely participation, responsibility, efficiency and effectiveness, and the consensus index, received higher scores compared to the theoretical average, while the remaining indicators scored lower. Specifically, the participation and consensus indicators achieved the highest scores of 3.3838 and 3.7333, respectively, while the rule of law and justice index and the transparency index obtained the lowest scores, averaging 2.2551 and 2.2570, respectively. When comparing the governance scores across different departments, it was found that the cities of Ramyan and Maraveh Tappeh exhibited the best and worst good governance conditions, with average scores of 3.2 and 2.12, respectively. The results of Lon's test demonstrated a significant difference in the variance of good governance among the cities. The overall average of the good governance index for natural resources in this research was determined to be 2.8884, which falls below the theoretical average and indicates relatively poor governance of natural resources in the research area. The one-sample t-test confirmed a significant difference between the good governance of natural resources and the average level of the objects under investigation. Additionally, the results revealed a significant difference between the indexes of good governance of natural resources in Maraveh Tappeh city compared to other surveyed cities. In other words, Maraveh Tappeh city displayed a distinct and weaker governance situation compared to the other cities. Examining the indicators of good governance in Maraveh Tappeh city revealed that, from the users' perspective, the indicators of transparency and law scored the lowest among the seven indicators, with scores of 1.458 and 1.647, respectively. This suggests that compliance with laws is not in a favorable state according to the users of natural resources in Maraveh Tappeh city.

According to the results obtained from this research, as well as the importance of governing natural resources, particularly through collaborative activities, involving users in the planning and formulation of natural resource plans and projects, and utilizing their knowledge, are crucial. Local users, in addition to being members of natural resource cooperatives, can play a significant role in achieving good governance of natural resources. Based on the results and findings, it is suggested that the areas under research focus more on improving the indicators of accountability, the rule of law and justice, and the transparency index, as these indicators are positioned lower compared to others. In order to achieve this, conducting public meetings to present reports from natural resource managers can be an effective approach.

Currently, the protection and sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the Zagros vegetation area has always been the main concern of activists and officials in this area. On the other hand, the agricultural Extension as an interdisciplinary science examines the phenomenon of decline of Zagros oak forests from a sociological and psychological perspective, as well as from an agricultural and rural perspective, and offers strategies that maintain the sustainability of natural resources while maintaining livelihoods. Also elevate. the present study aimed to Explain the Sustainable Management Extension Strategies of Zagros Oak Forest by using SWOT method. In this regard, internal and external factors were collected through in-depth interviews with 30 scientific and executive experts in the provinces of Zagros basin in the form of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Additionally, they were identified through line-by-line analysis in the form of common content and using MAXqda12 software analysis. In the next step, the internal and external factors questionnaire was adjusted and and the weight factor of each factor was calculated and the identified strategies were prioritized based on the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix.Considering the results in the internal and external factor evaluation matrix for the sustainable management of forests in the basin, as well as the dominance of weaknesses in the external factor evaluation matrix and threats in the internal, defensive pattern was more prioritized for managing the forests sustainably compared to the other strategic patterns.

The present research was conducted with the purpose of applying the theory of planned behavior in explaining the environmental behavior of the villagers in Ilam province about protection of the oak forests in South Zagros. The statistical population of the research consists of all the villagers of Ilam province settled in the South Zagros region (N=5512). Sample size using the table of Bartlett et al. (2001), 416 people were determined and stratified random method with proportional assignment (according to the city of activity) was used for sampling. In this research, the status of the environmental behavior pattern of the villagers of Ilam province in the protection of the oak forests of South Zagros region was analyzed using SPSS22 and SMART PLS3 statistical software. And according to the calculated indicators, the reliability and validity of the model was confirmed. The results of the structural equation modeling approach indicate that attitude variables (β=0.745), mental norms (β=0.638) and perceived behavioral control of the villagers of Ilam province (β=0.589), influence It has a positive and significant effect on their intention to carry out the environmental behavior of protecting the mentioned forests. Also, based on the results, perceived behavioral control (β=0.602), intention (β=0.711), time perspective (β=0.653) and spatial attachment of the villagers of Ilam province towards the protection of oak forests of South Zagros (β=0. 473), have a positive and significant effect on their environmental behavior in the protection of said forests. In general, based on the findings, it can be seen that the theory of planned behavior through the variable of the intention of the villagers of Ilam province to carry out the environmental behavior of protecting the oak forests can respectively account for 52 and 61% of the changes in the variables of the intention and behavior of the rural households towards the protection of To predict the oak forests of South Zagros basin.

Maintaining and improving environmental security and quality of life is still the main challenge of the current period. Conservation of natural resources, especially in rural communities, requires effective communication between resource managers and indigenous communities. However, environmental conflict hinders the effectiveness of communication strategies. Therefore, in order to remove the obstacles to the participation of indigenous and local communities, it is possible to identify and prioritize the factors that lead to their poor cooperation in watershed management projects. In this regard, the purpose of the upcoming research is to examine and prioritize the obstacles to the participation of local communities in the watershed management projects of the Tajan river basin of Hyrcanian forests.

The research area is located in the area of Tajan river forests in the north of the country with an area of 30685 hectares in Mazandaran province. Identifying the effective factors on the barriers to people's participation in the watershed projects of the Tajan river area of the northern forests of the country was done based on library studies, asking experts, referring to the area, and face-to-face interviews with the residents of local communities. In the upcoming research, barriers to participation were categorized as 8 indicators. The tool for measuring and collecting data was a questionnaire. The group of experts confirmed the validity of the questionnaires. In order to check reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. In order to know the views of local communities about the importance of these factors, among the 425 household heads in the basin, 202 samples were selected according to Cochran's formula and questionnaires were completed. Also, to know the opinion of experts, questionnaires were completed by 23 experts. Alfie Cronbach's test checked the reliability of the questionnaires. In the following, the indicators affecting the weak participation of local communities in watershed projects were simultaneously ranked and prioritized using the OPA method.

The results showed that in prioritizing the criteria from the point of view of the researched communities using the Dimatel model, the educational criterion was chosen as the most effective criterion. Also, the results of the average rating of the indicators showed that the index "Interest in participating in forest projects" has the highest average rating of 4.72 among the indicators examined in the upcoming research. In addition, the results of weighting using the OPA model showed that the index "Participation in planting and fencing of Qargh areas" has the highest rank and the most weight among the indicators affecting the barriers to sustainable participation of local communities with a rank of 1 and a weight of 0.28.

The findings of the research show that, based on the opinion of those involved, if the education tools are properly provided to these communities, they are ready to participate and participate in the implementation of the plans.

Choosing an optimal decision-making method for watershed management is a problem that has always attracted the attention of researchers, and various methods have been used to achieve this goal. Participatory management is a collaborative process to participate in gathering information, making decisions, and carrying out projects that lead to solving complex social and environmental problems. As it is known, the integrated watershed management approach is a method to achieve sustainable development. Considering the existence of challenges such as floods, one of the useful approaches to solve the existing challenges is to use the approach of integrated watershed management, which is agreed upon by most of the scientific and executive community. The multidimensionality of the watershed system, its integration with socio-economic systems, and the involvement of stakeholder opinions are one of the most important components in the watershed operation and conservation. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the necessity of using inter-sectorial management and benefit from the consensus of the main stakeholders using game theory algorithms in 15 sub-watersheds of the Cheshmeh-Kileh Watershed in Tonekabon City. Sehezar and Dohezar rivers are the most important rivers of the Cheshmeh-Kileh Watershed which originate from the Takht-e-Soliman, Alamut, and Khashchal mountain regions. The high capacity of the riverside lands and the limitation of suitable lands in the watershed have caused many agricultural activities to be concentrated along the river, which is severely affected by floods.

In the present study, semi-structured interviews were used to collect information about the flood generation potential. The stakeholders included local stakeholders, policy makers, and the executive organization. Game theory algorithms including the Condorcet algorithm, Borda scoring, and Fallback bargaining were used to prioritize the sub-watersheds. First, the prioritization of each of the three groups was analyzed, and then the results of the consensus of the group and their comparison with the sectional decisions were examined. In this connection, first, the sample size was determined using Cochran and the opinion of the stakeholders was asked regarding the flood generation potential of the sub-watersheds. The number of interviewees in subgroups of local users, policy making institutions, and executive organizations were 75, 13, and 6 respectively. It is worth mentioning that in order to eliminate the effect of the number of interviewees in the final results; the priorities were standardized and dimensionless. In order to prioritize by the stakeholders, first, various maps of sub-watersheds, roads, and even the location of villages were prepared with appropriate quality. Then, they were asked to prioritize the sub-watersheds in terms of flood generation potential based on their personal experiences, local knowledge, technical and policy. In the group of local watershed users and residents, random sampling was done from 21 Cheshmeh-Kileh Watershed villages in Tanekabon city and Mazandaran province.

Based on the study findings, by comparing the two priorities of the stakeholders and the differences between the popular, institutional and policy-making sectors, it can be said that in the Condorcet algorithm, the rate of differences in the voting of local users with policy-making institutions, local users with the executive organization and policy-making institutions with executive organization is 33.33, 66.67, and 80 %, respectively. These differences based on Borda scoring algorithms and Fallback bargaining are 53.33, 66.67, and 93.33 %, respectively. According to the local operators, in all three algorithms based on game theory, Takht-e-Soleiman, Garmarood, and Selajanbar sub-watersheds have the highest flood generation potential in the Sehezar River. Meanwhile, Ketehroud, Holian, and Yandasht sub-watersheds have a low flood generation potential in this river. Regarding the Dohezar River, it can be said that the results of all three algorithms based on the theory of games were almost the same, and Niardareh, Khashchal, and Nosha have the highest potential, and Miankooh, Daryasar, and Golestan-Mohalleh sub-watersheds have the lowest flood generation potential. The second group of interviewees was the executive organization that used the opinions of technical and watershed management experts of the General Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management of West Mazandaran-Nowshahr. The opinions of this department were different from those of local users. Also, in the Dohezar River, the Niardareh, Khashchal, and Nosha sub-watersheds were given the highest priority, and the Miankooh, Daryasar, and Golestan-Mahalleh sub-watersheds were the lowest priority.

Due to the fact that in the watershed system and in optimal decision-making, there is a wide variety of opinions and differences of opinion, on this basis, the conceptual basis of the application of multi-objective decision-making methods such as game theory algorithms appears. Therefore, the game theory provides an optimal compromise mode based on different opinions, at the same time, the opinions of different interest groups are considered to an acceptable extent without mixing. This basis clearly confirms the necessity of using participatory management. Because when the number of votes and interest groups increases, it becomes difficult to make a decision, and in this regard, by using multi-objective decision-making methods, a general consensus can be reached to identify the optimal pattern of prioritizing sub-watersheds. The first point is that the amount of differences in voters was the same based on two algorithms, Borda and Fallback, which, of course, the Condorcet algorithm has provided more balanced and acceptable values ​​in terms of comparison. Another point was that in all three algorithms, the amount of differences between the two local user groups and the policy-making body was less, and somehow their opinions were close to each other, and they had high differences with the executive organization. In all three algorithms, the amount of disagreement between the two local user groups and the policy-making institution was less, and in a way, their views were close to each other and had high differences with the executive organization. Also, a different prioritization was observed between the final consensus and the inter-sectorial and inter-institutional views. In general, it can be said that using the opinions of stakeholders in the watershed is fundamental for optimal and efficient decision-making and integrated watershed management, and this framework can be used in various issues in the watershed.

Golestan National Park is the oldest registered national park in Iran and a unique sanctuary for wildlife. This area was registered as one of Iran's Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO in 1957. Different non-governmental sectors play a role in the protection of this park, and the purpose of this study is to prioritize the importance of their role in its protection. For this purpose, participatory indicators of preventing forest destruction, educating local communities, extinguishing fire, dealing with predators, preventing the entry of livestock, preventing fire, cleaning the environment and performance scores for non-governmental groups, non-governmental organizations, nature partners and local communities with The use of the questionnaire was investigated, and the weight of each index was calculated using Shannon's entropy, and finally, the importance of each influential community in park management was prioritized using the TOPSIS model. In this study, the high importance of participatory indicators of forest destruction prevention, cooperation with environmental department, dealing with illegal hunters and environmental cleaning in park management were obtained with weights of 0.337, 0.187, 0.145 and 0.112, respectively. The results also show the high importance of non-governmental organizations with a weight of 0.87 in the participatory management of the park, so that local communities and nature partners were placed in the next priorities with weights of 0.36 and 0.06. Since the park, with its large area and special regional conditions, is affected by environmental and human tensions, according to the results obtained from this study, it can be said that non-governmental organizations and communities

Many of the social and security issues of the Zayandeh-Rud basin are the result of the government becoming the sole agent of governance and the gaps in the command-control governance structure. It is clear that the main issue to achieve participatory governance is the gap in stakeholder relations and the lack of a coherent and flexible agenda to improve these relations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to provide solutions for improving relationships as a starting point and key to reforming the governance structure. The management and transition framework (MTF) was used to analyze the stakeholders and the relationships between them that showed the concentration of tension in the relationship between Isfahan farmers and the Ministry of Energy (Isfahan Regional Water Company). Also, using the MTF database and the participatory model building (PMB) based on interviews with key Stakeholders, the causes, solutions, consequences, and obstacles to improve these relationships were extracted in the form of causal circles. Finally, by focusing on the solutions, the conceptual model of improving the relations between the Stakeholders and the solutions presented by the interviewees, including holding local elections and convening the Zayandeh-Rud Basin water assembly, mediation with interdisciplinary knowledge approach, participatory management working groups, the formation and strengthening of the economic committee improve the livelihood of farmers, the holding of government meetings with farmers and industries were reviewed.

The current research was conducted with the aim of identifying the weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities in the operation of the Dasht Varamin Network from the viewpoint of users, experts, and managers of the network. The research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was improved by completing 30 prototypes and checking reliability under the supervision of university professors, managers, and experts in this field. Data was collected by single-stage, random, and field survey. The statistical population included the network operators, experts, and active managers. The statistical sample size was 98 through the Cochrane relationship and 105 to avoid errors. The results of the SWOT analytical model showed that with increasing information and real awareness of the users about the challenges of the network, the cost of construction and maintenance, the actions of the Irrigation Department and Water Affairs, Agricultural Jihad, and other related organizations, will encourage the users to stop confronting and having a negative attitude. Thus, they would probably have a more responsible and concerned participation and would take more effective steps in order to remove the threat, eliminate the weakness, enhance the strength, and use the opportunities. The comparative examination of the opinions of experts such as users determined opportunities more than threats, weaknesses and strengths, this shows a shared view and hope for the existing opportunities of the network. From the respondents’ point of view, the priority was to determine the competitive strategies, then, the defensive ones. Knowing the problems of the users (challenge of the administrative process, inconsistency of the sectors related to water, negative view of the government measures by considering the previous unsuccessful experiences) experts can eliminate the weaknesses and threats in order to facilitate the affairs for the water users. Activities such as promoting new methods of irrigation and agriculture and showing the successful experiences of cooperative management of water users in the network, should have pioneering and practical results.

One of the integrated water resources management requirements based on participatory management planning is identification and analysis of key stakeholders. Identifying structural aspects of organizational stakeholder's network can be evaluated using social network analysis and their position and role for inter-organizational integration and coordination in water resources management can be determined. In this study, using social network analysis method, stakeholders related to participatory governance of Abhar plain water resources, including 20 organizational stakeholders were analyzed and policy indicators were evaluated at the level of the network of organizational stakeholders. Indices of density, size, reciprocity, transitivity, centralization and geodesic distance in network of relationships at the macro level, core-peripheral index in the middle scale and centrality indicators at the micro scale of network were examined. Rate of network density index is moderate and according to index of reciprocity, moderate amount of bilateral and reciprocal relations among organizational actors, cohesion and organizational capital are assessed as moderate. According to transitivity index, stability and balance of information exchange network is low. Analysis of core-periphery index of stakeholder's network shows a higher density of links and greater organizational cohesion among central organizations compared to peripheral subgroup and amount of information exchange between central and peripheral subgroups was evaluated as moderate. Based on centrality indicators, geometric position of each actor in network was determined. For decision-making, planning, policy-making and participatory governance of water resources in Abhar Plain, key and effective organizations and political forces, as well as organizations with low power and marginalized, were identified.

Having considered governmental constraints, the feasibility assessment of reassigning the nomadic rangelands’ responsibility to the nomads is underway. Accomplishing a study investigating the given proposal, the winter rangelands of Sargache-Bisim in Masjed-Soliman city were selected as a pilot. The evaluated indicators were rangelands capacity, rangelands condition, trend, and percent of utilization before arrival as well as after the departure of the nomads from the rangelands. The study took three years starting in 2016. For this purpose, 20 plots of 1 square meter were installed alongside two 500-meter transects, and the rangelands capacity indexes were defined using systematic-random sampling. The grazing results showed that most licensees did not have livestock; on the contrary, the herders present in the area did not have grazing licenses. The vegetation assessments also showed that the condition and trend of the rangeland before entering and after leaving the nomads were moderate and negative in type I; weak and negative in type II, respectively. Similarly, the capacity per hectare decreased during the operation period in both types. Utilization percentage increased in type I while decreasing significantly in type II. Conducting ANOVA, the results approved the significance of treatment of year-to-year surveying on all the vegetation parameters at 0.01 level. Comparison of the means, net productions were 92.433 and 72.833 for the first and last years, respectively. Meanwhile, rangeland capacity and utilization percentage were respectively 0.2717 and 41%, and 0.205 and 45% for the first and for the last year. In general, the impact of the defined co-management system in improving the rangeland conditions of Sargache-Bisim winter rangeland in Masjed-Soliman city was evaluated as weak. The more related organizations cooperate with tribal representatives, the more lucrative outcomes are achieved for beneficiaries.

Considering the expansion of Tehran, the multifaceted problems that the pillars of urban management are facing it. Tehran requires an urban management that requires a participatory and bottom-up development approach to achieve developing in this mega-city. Therefore, the study of participatory management is one of the cases that can help to improve green space of this city. One of the most important requirements of urban participation is the existence of a participatory culture that will happen through education. The present study conducted with the aim of necessity to achieve a participatory model of green space management in Tehran Municipality. The method of research was a combined nested method and implemented in three parts. The statistical population of this research consisted of two sections, for the quantitative part, 190 specialists and 150-trained citizens were selected. In qualitative part, 12 experts in green space and urban planning were selected to participate in this research process. Sampling method for quantitative parts stratified sampling with proportional assignment, while for qualitative part a purposeful sampling method used. In order to process information and analysing data, software (PLS-SEM) win3, SPSS win18 and visual paradigm Win 16.3 were used. The results of structural analysis of this study showed that participation in decision making has a significant relationship only with the green space maintenance component. The results also showed that stakeholders can play a role in the design and proper implementation of the participatory management process model following through citizenship training and green space improvement steps.

Participatory management in the protection of desert ecosystems is important due to the high sensitivity and fragility of these ecosystems. However, insufficient attention to the position of stakeholders in the social relations network has led to its failure. Therefore, identifying key actors is significant in the participatory management of the desert ecosystems. This study was conducted to investigate the coherence of the cooperation network and determine the key actors of government stakeholders at both levels of government and public institutions considering the participatory management approach. Information and data were collected through surveying, interviews, and participating meetings with representatives of the organizations and local communities. After identifying 45 beneficiary government institutions, a social network analysis questionnaire was developed and completed by 41 members of the local community and 34 members of the governmental institutions. Then, the prepared data were entered into the Microsoft Excel software and were analyzed using the UCINET6.718 software. Two one-dimensional matrices of organization-organization and people-organization were used to delineate the networks; then, different macro and micro indicators of the network such as density, shear points, degree centrality, and betweenness centrality were calculated to interpret the networks. The results showed that density index in both organization-organization (0.672) and people-organization (0.77) cooperation networks were evaluated more than average. So, it is acceptable. Also, the Department of Environmental Protection of Qeshm city has the highest index of betweenness centrality among 45 identified devices in both cooperation networks. Therefore, more cooperation of the organizations involved in participatory management of natural resources is suggested to protect and develop the mangrove forests to reduce each type of environmental pollution.

In the current era of participation, the rule of common sense and the involvement of all stakeholders in key decisions have been accepted. Targeting and directing partnerships to conserve and rehabilitate natural resources will lead to sustainable development. The concepts of participation and the affecting factors need to be explained and studied. The aim is to investigate the factors affecting the participation of local communities in natural resource management from the perspective of experts in the region, Kerman. The research is descriptive-analytical, and the survey technique is used. Necessary information has been collected by completing 40 questionnaires from all natural resources experts of the province and the project (RFLDL) in the form of a census. The research tools of the questionnaire and its validity have been approved by experts. Using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the reliability coefficient for the questionnaire items was determined to be 0.84. The reliability of the research items was measured by Cronbach's alpha statistic, the results of which (coefficient 0.84) indicate the high reliability of the items for measuring variables. Multiple regression tests have been used to determine the share of factors (eocnomic, extension, educational and managerial) on the participation of users from the perspective of experts.  The results showed that social factors had a much greater share in predicting the dependent variable than other variables. Based on the results, giving importance to social factors can play an important role in attracting the participation of rangers in rangeland management.

Nowadays, wetlands are indispensable ecosystems and play a crucial role on the stability of cosystems in future. Considering the importance of sustainable management of the saline wetlands and their impacts, participatory patterns of sustainability management of the saline wetlands in the plain of Masileh in Qom province is discussed in this paper. The population of this study includes all experts in Agriculture Organization of Qom province, Qom Regional Water Company and all Environmental Protection Department experts, Natural Resources and Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of Qom, as well as the Subsidiary Department of these organizations that are located in Qom and Qomrud counties (the area of the Masileh Plain). The sample of the study are 251 experts, based on Cochran, selected through simple random sampling. Two section questionnaires were utilized for data collection, including participatory management section and sustainability section. The reliability of Questionnaire was measured through pre-test and analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Meanwhile, the research committee confirms the validity of the questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient, one-sample t-test and path analysis were used through SPSS and Lisrel softwares for analyzing the data. The results showed that social sustainability, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability have significant and positive effects on the participatory management. In addition, the role of interest groups (consultation, intervention in planning, intervention in decision-making, motivation, independence, communication and individual rights) have significant and positive effects on the social, environmental, and economic sustainability.

The present study was formulated in order to determine institutional capacity in participatory water management in Peyvand Cooperative in Aqqala. A survey method was adopted and data collection was carried out by using questionnaire. Target population included 102 experts and authorities in this initiative and data gathered based on a census. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires in terms of importance and status quo of institutional capacity were confirmed through experts’ opinions and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. Institutional capacity was measured in 6 attributes and 62 items. The results obtained from components ranking revealed that the component “human capital”, “norms”, “provision of resources”, “management capacity”, “institutional integrity”, and “knowledge development and learning” were more important in participatory water management, respectively. Moreover, the results obtained from paired t-test indicated that the average of all components of institutional capacity during design and administration of participatory water management project in real setting is below the expected value. Furthermore, the results of one-sample t-test showed that the average of all the components is >3, which means the components of institutional capacity are in favorable level in administration of participatory water management project. The results acquired from the effect of institutional capacity on institutional effectiveness via multiple regression showed that six components of institutional capacity have positive and significant effect on institutional effectiveness. It is noteworthy that the component “management capacity” had the highest effect.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors effective on staff participation of Tehran green space research, Education and consulting centers in urban green space development. The statistical population of this study consisted of 266 employees of 92 green space research, education and counseling centers in 22 districts of Tehran municipality. Based on the Cochran formula, the sample size of 157 persons concluded. The data collection tool was a questionnaire where the validity confirmed by the viewpoints of the university staffs and its reliability confirmed by a pre-test and ordinal theta coefficient (0.86). Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that, among the structural indicators of the process of evaluating the performance of goals, attempting to solve problems in the performance of goals with the agreement of employees, the structure of employees' performance impairment, failure to retake the center of the goals were not met, organizational support structural indicators. Supporting the center by encouraging staff to achieve their career goals, as well as through tangible reward structure markers, increased chances of promotion if they achieve their goals, influencing staff participation in goal setting for sustainable urban green space from the perspective of the staff of Tehran Municipality's green space Research, Education and Counseling Centers.