Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• jamshid yarahmadi ¹
• amin salehpourjam ²
• Hossin Derakhshan ³

¹ Associated Professor, East Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Tabriz, Iran

² Associate Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department Of Geography and Urban Planning, Pnu University Of Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: The increasing demand for the exploitation of natural resources, along with the condition of watersheds in terms of weak vegetation, formations sensitive to erosion, and the presence of heavy rainfall, has led to the increasing destruction of the main resources of human life, namely water and soil.The aim of the present study is to prioritize the factors affecting the lack of sustainable participation of rural communities in watershed management projects in the watershed of East Azarbayjan province Silab Chay).
Materials And Methods: This research is an applied-descriptive research. The statistical population of the research includes experts, residents, and users, who were selected based on the Cochran formula, numbering 323 people.
Results and discussion: In the Silab Chay watershed, the range of changes in the consistency ratio of expert judgments also varies between 0.035 and 0.072, which is acceptable. Prioritization of indicators affecting people's lack of participation in watershed management projects shows that economic, educational, and extension indicators have the highest and lowest priority, respectively. From the perspective of local communities, the sub-index "ignoring people's income as a direct economic incentive" with an average rank of 13.33 has the highest relative priority, and the sub-index "ethnic and local differences" with an average rank of 16.5 has the lowest relative priority in people's lack of participation in watershed management projects. Also, from the perspective of experts, the sub-index "low income of basin residents" with an average rank of 12.69 has the highest relative priority, and the sub-index "local and ethnic differences" with an average rank of 10.4 has the lowest relative priority in people's lack of participation in watershed management projects.
Conclusion: the development of a description of new integrated watershed management services based on stakeholder participation and cooperation between natural resource management organizations is proposed as a fundamental step

Keywords

• "non-participation"
• "watershed projects"
• "non-parametric statistical tests"
• "Selab-chai subasin"