Social and economic factors affecting the willingness of ranchers to participate in rangelands rehabilitation and restoration projects (The case of study: rangeland of Dehgolan)

Rangelands cover over 53 % of the country’s area. These areas require proper management practices for preservation, rehabilitation, development and optimal utilization. Nowadays, participation of people, particularly ranchers, is an essential step towards sustainable development in watershed management. The purpose of this study was to investigate social and economic factors affecting the willingness of ranchers to participate in rangeland rehabilitation and restoration projects in Dehgolan city. The number of samples was calculated to be 68 using Cochran equation and Krejcie and Morgan table. Results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between social and economic factors with the willingness of ranchers to participate in the rangeland rehabilitation and restoration projects. Also, the results of stepwise regression showed that among the variables affecting the willingness of ranchers to participate, four variables including social factors, economic factors, education and the number of livestock could explain 80% of the variance.