Abstract
Every year, a great part of forests in Iran is ruined for various reasons. Meanwhile, the main factor responsible for deforestation and environmental challenges is the environmentally irresponsible behavior of people. Thus, the main goal of the present research was to discover the determinant factors of the participation of local communities in sustainable forest management (SFM) in Iran. The conceptual framework of the study was developed through reviewing the relevant literature. The statistical population consisted of local communities in Kerman province, southeastern Iran. Data were collected via a questionnaire and analyzed by the SPSS software package. The results indicated that nearly 70% of local communities did not participate in SFM sufficiently. In addition, the results of hierarchical regression indicated that among 25 studied variables, 10 variables (education, local communities’ participation, extension of forest conservation methods, favorable attitude towards sustainable management, reducing livelihood dependence on forest, increasing non-forested income, indirect use, improving exploiters’ knowledge and awareness, information channels, and resources, specifying forest boundaries with people participation) had a positive and significant impact on farmers’ participation in SFM and accounted for 70% of the total variance in the factors. The results can be used by natural resources and environment policymakers to develop and adopt sustainable policies and alleviate forest degradation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afrough A, Zaremehrjerdi M, Amirteimuri S, Ha MK, Baniasadi M (2018) Identification and prioritization of effective factors on participation of local exploiters in management, conservation and reforestation of oak forests Lorestan County. Iranian J Forest Poplar Res 16(1):23–37
Agrawal A, Gibson CC (1999) Enchantment and disenchantment: the role of community in natural resource conservation. World Dev 27(4):629–649
Aligholizadeh-Firouzjaei N, Mehrali-Tabar M (2016) Investigation of rural people’s participation in management of forest natural resources in eastern Bandpey district, Babol county of Iran. Village and Development 19(1):1–26
Azadi H, Samari D, Zarafshani K, Hosseininia G, Witlox F (2013) Sustainable forest management in Iran: a factor analysis. Sustain Sci 8(4):543–551
Azadi Y, Yazdanpanah M, Forouzani M, Mahmoudi H (2019a) Farmers' adaptation choices to climate change: a case study of wheat growers in Western Iran. J Water Climate Change 10(1):102–116
Azadi Y, Yazdanpanah M, Mahmoudi H (2019b) Understanding smallholder farmers’ adaptation behaviors through climate change beliefs, risk perception, trust, and psychological distance: evidence from wheat growers in Iran. J Environ Manag 250:109456
Bijani M, Ghazani E, Valizadeh N, Haghighi NF (2017) Pro-environmental analysis of farmers' concerns and behaviors towards soil conservation in central district of Sari County, Iran. Int Soil Water Conserv Res 5(1):43–49
Boazar M, Yazdanpanah M, Abdeshahi A (2019) Response to water crisis: how do Iranian farmers think about and intent in relation to switching from rice to less water-dependent crops? J Hydrol 570:523–530
Boazar M, Abdeshahi A, Yazdanpanah M (2020) Changing rice cropping patterns among farmers as a preventive policy to protect water resources. J Environ Plan Manag:1–17
Carvalho-Ribeiro SM, Lovett A, O’Riordan T (2010) Multifunctional forest management in Northern Portugal: moving from scenarios to governance for sustainable development. Land Use Policy 27:1111–1122
Casaló LV, Escario JJ (2018) Heterogeneity in the association between environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior: a multilevel regression approach. J Clean Prod 175:155–163
Cerutti PO, Nasi R, Tacconi L (2006) Sustainable forest management in Cameroon needs more than approved forest management plans. Ecol Soc
Colombo SJ, Chen J, Ter-Mikaelian MT, McKechnie J, Elkie PC, MacLean HL, Heath LS (2012) Forest protection and forest harvest as strategies for ecological sustainability and climate change mitigation. For Ecol Manag 281:140–151
DeMarsh P, Boscolo M, Savenije H, Grouwels S, Zapata J, Campbell J, Macqueen D (2014) Making change happen. In: What can governments do to strengthen forest producer organizations
Dennis RA, Meijaard E, Nasi R, Gustafsson L (2008) Biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asian timber concessions: a critical evaluation of policy mechanisms and guidelines. Ecol Soc 13(1):25
Elliott S, Young T (2016) Nature by default in early childhood education for sustainability. Aust J Environ Educ 32(1):57–64
Eskandari H, Borji M, Khosravi H, Mesbahzadeh T (2016) Desertification of forest, range and desert in Tehran province, affected by climate change. Solid Earth 7(3):905–915
Etongo D, Kanninen M, Epule TE, Fobissie K (2018) Assessing the effectiveness of joint forest management in Southern Burkina Faso: a SWOT-AHP analysis. Forest Policy Econ 90:31–38
FAO (2015) Strengthening criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management (SFM) in policy and practice. In: Lobal FAO C&I Expert Workshop, FAO Rome, Italy, http://www.fao.org/forestry/42459-08248fccad99fbd1f1795db78417 a066b. pdf
FAO, AgriCord (2016a) Forest and farm producer organizations–operating systems for the sustainable development goals (SDGs): strength in numbers. FAO, Forestry Economics and Policy Division, AgriCord., Rome
FAO F (2016b) Agriculture Organization, 2014. Livestock primary. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome
FFF (Forest and Farm Facility) (2014) Roadmap for strengthening Forest and farm organizations. Policy Brief, Forest and Farm Facility, Rome
Gangadharappa H, Pramod V, Shiva KHG (2007) Gastric floating drug delivery systems: a review. Indian J Pharm Ed Res 41:295–305
Ghanian M, Ghoochani OM, Dehghanpour M, Taqipour M, Taheri F, Cotton M (2020) Understanding farmers’ climate adaptation intention in Iran: a protection-motivation extended model. Land Use Policy 94:104553
Ghoochani OM, Ghanian M, Baradaran M, Alimirzaei E, Azadi H (2018) Behavioral intentions toward genetically modified crops in Southwest Iran: a multi-stakeholder analysis. Environ Dev Sustain 20(1):233–253
Ghoochani OM, Ghanian M, Khosravipour B, Crotts JC (2020) Sustainable tourism development performance in the wetland areas: a proposed composite index. Tourism Review
Giljum S, Burger E, Hinterberger F, Lutter S, Bruckner M (2011) A comprehensive set of resource use indicators from the micro to macro level. Resource. Conserv Recycl 55:300–308
Glucker A, Driessen P, Kolhoff A, Runhaar HAC (2013) Public participation in environmental impact assessment: why, who and how? Environ Impact Assess Rev 43:104–111
Goldman MJ, Davis A, Little J (2016) Controlling land they call their own: access and women's empowerment in Northern Tanzania. J Peasant Stud 43(4):777–797
Hage O, Soderholm P, Berglund C (2009) Norms and economic motivation in € household recycling: empirical evidence from Sweden. Resour Conservation Recycl 53(3):155e165
Hahn WA, Knoke T (2010a) Sustainable development and sustainable forestry: analogies, differences, and the role of flexibility. Eur J For Res 129(5):787–801
Hahn WA, Knoke T (2010b) Sustainable development and sustainable forestry: analogies, differences, and the role of flexibility. Eur J For Res 129(5):787–801
Hanna P, Vanclay F, Langdon E, Arts J (2014) Improving the effectiveness of impact assessment pertaining to indigenous peoples in the Brazilian environmental licensing procedure. Environ Impact Assess Rev 46:58–67
Imanirastabi M, Jalilvand H, Zandbasiri M (2014) Examination of socio-economic problems of Kalgachi of Zagros yurt forests in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari. J Nat Ecosyst Iran 4(2):59–70
Isundwa KF, Mourad KA (2019) The potential for water stewardship partnership in Kenya. Arab J Geosci 12(12):389
Jafari A, Kaji HS, Azadi H, Gebrehiwot K, Aghamir F, Van Passel S (2018) Assessing the sustainability of community forest management: a case study from Iran. Forest Policy Econ 96:1–8
Jana SK, Lise W, Ahmed M (2014) Factors affecting participation in joint forest management in the West Bengal state of India. J For Econ 20(4):317–332
Johnson D, Dagg S (2003) Achieving public participation in coastal zone environmental impact assessment. J Coast Conserv 9(1):13–18
Jurin RR, Donald ED (2010) Environmental communication: skills and principles for natural resource, 2th edn. Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg, London, pp 45–50
Kalantari K (2010) Processing social and economic data analysis using SPSS software. Consultation Engineering Publication. Fourth Edition. 181-183
Khandker V, Gandhi VP, Johnson N (2020) Gender perspective in water management: the involvement of women in participatory water institutions of eastern India. Water 12(1):196
Khoshmaram M, Shiri N, Shinnar RS, Savari M (2020) Environmental support and entrepreneurial behavior among Iranian farmers: the mediating roles of social and human capital. J Small Bus Manag:1–25
Khosravi H, Azareh A, Dameneh HE, Sardoii ER, Dameneh HE (2017) Assessing the effects of the climate change on land cover changes in different time periods. Arab J Geosci 10(4):93
Kotwal PC, Omprakash MD, Gairola S, Dugaya D (2008) Ecological indicators: imperative to sustainable forest management. Ecol Indic 8:104–107
Krajewski P, Solecka I, Mrozik K (2018) Forest landscape change and preliminary study on its driving forces in Ślęża Landscape Park (Southwestern Poland) in 1883–2013. Sustainability 10(12):4526
Kwiatkowski M, Tikhonov C, Peace D, Bourassa C (2009) Canadian indigenous engagement and capacity building in health impact assessment. Impact Assess, Project Appraisal, pp 57–67
Lajoie G, Bouchard M (2006) Native involvement in strategic assessment of natural resource development: the example of the Crees living in the Canadian taiga. Impact assess. Project Appraisal 24(3):211–220
Lange F, Dewitte S (2019) Measuring pro-environmental behavior: review and recommendations. J Environ Psychol 63:92–100
Laurie R, Monoyama-Tarumi Y, Mceown R, Hopkins C (2016) Contributionsof education for sustainable development (ESD) to quality education: a synthesis ofresearch‖. J Educ Sustain Dev 10(2):226–242
Lawe L, Wells J, Mikisew C (2005) Mikisew Cree first nations industry relations corporation cumulative effects assessment and EIA follow-up: a proposed community-based monitoring program in the Oil Sands region, northeastern Alberta. Impact assess. Project Appraisal 25(3):191–196
Liu Y, Sheng H, Mundorf N, Redding C, Ye Y (2017) Integrating norm activation model and theory of planned behavior to understand sustainable transport behavior: evidence from China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14(12):1593
Liu H, Wu J, Liao M (2019) Ecosystem service trade-offs upstream and downstream of a dam: a case study of the Danjiangkou dam, China. Arab J Geosci 12(2):17
Liu H, Zheng L, Wu J, Liao Y (2020) Past and future ecosystem service trade-offs in Poyang Lake Basin under different land use policy scenarios. Arab J Geosci 13(2):46
Marchi E, Chung W, Visser R, Abbas D, Nordfjell T, Mederski PS, Laschi A (2018) Sustainable forest operations (SFO): a new paradigm in a changing world and climate. Sci Total Environ 634:1385–1397
Martire S, Castellani V, Sala S (2015) Carrying capacity assessment of forest resources: enhancing environmental sustainability in energy production at local scale. Resour Conserv Recycl 94:11–20
Mc Gregor D (2011) Aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations and sustainable forest management in Canada: the influence of the Royal Commission on aboriginal peoples. J Environ Manag 92:300–310
Menconi ME, Grohmann D, Mancinelli C (2017) European farmers and participatory rural appraisal: a systematic literature review on experiences to optimize rural development. Land Use Policy 60:1–11
Mirfardi A (2016) Investigating the relationship between socio-economic base and social responsibility with environmental management (case study: Noorabad Mamsani residents). Journal of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development 5(1):101–114
Monfared N, Yazdanpanah M, Tavakoli K (2015) Why do they continue to use pesticides? The case of tomato growers in Boushehr Province in Southern Iran. J Agr Sci Tech 17(3):577–588
Nakamura N (2008) An effective’ involvement of indigenous people in environmental impact assessment: the cultural impact assessment of the Saru River region. Japan Aust Geogr 39(4):427–444
Perkins P (2010) Public participation in watershed management: international practice for inclusiveness. Journal of physics and chemistry the Earth 36(5–6):204–212
Pinyopusarerk K, Tran TTH (2014) Making community forest management work in northern Vietnam by pioneering participatory action. Land Use Policy 38:257–263
Pokharel RK, Neupane PR, Tiwari KR, Köhl M (2015) Assessing the sustainability in community based forestry: a case from Nepal. Forest Policy Econ 58:75–84
Prno J, Slocombe DS (2012) Exploring the origins of ‘social license to operate’ in the mining sector: perspectives from governance and sustainability theories. J Res Policy 37(3):346–357
Raeisi A, Bijani M, Chizari M (2018) The mediating role of environmental emotions in transition from knowledge to sustainable use of groundwater resources in Iran's agriculture. Int Soil Water Conserv Res 6(2):143–152
Rahimian M, Irwani H, Kalantari K, Etemad W (2016) Evaluation of effective factors on forest sustainable exploitation among forest residents of Lorestan County. Iran Agric Dev Econ Res J 7(3):673–381
Rahmati O, Samani AN, Mahdavi M, Pourghasemi HR, Zeinivand H (2015) Groundwater potential mapping at Kurdistan region of Iran using analytic hierarchy process and GIS. Arab J Geosci 8(9):7059–7071
Ranjit Y (2014) Determinants of people’s participation in forest protection and management: a study in Kaski. Nepal Economic Journal of Development Issues:175–186
Rasethe M T, Semenya S S, Potgieter M J, Maroyi A (2013) The utilization and management of plant resources in rural areas of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 9:27
Rozema JG, Bond A, Cashmore M, Chilvers J (2012) An investigation of environmental and sustainability discourses associated with the substantive purposes of environmental assessment environ. J Assess Rev 33(1):80–90
Salari F, Yazdanpanah M, Yaghoubi J, Forouzani M (2019) Understanding Iranian livestock breeders’ intentions and behavior regarding nonhuman animal welfare. Society & Animals, 1(aop), 1-22
Salehpour-Jam A, Sarreshtehdari A, Tabatabaei M (2018) Prioritizing preventing factors affecting on stakeholders’ participation in watershed plans based on experts’ idea, case study: watershed area surrounding city of Tehran. Watershed Engineering and Management 9(4):441–450
Savari M, Gharechaee H (2020) Utilizing the theory of planned behavior to predict Iranian farmers’ intention for safe use of chemical fertilizers Journal of Cleaner Production, 121512
Shobeiri SM, Mieboudi H (2013) Evaluation of environmental education and provide suggestions for improving the current situation in Iran. J Environ Sci 11(1):119–130
Spectra Energy (2014) Environmental assessment certificate application for the Westcoast connector gas transmission project. Prepared under the British Columbia environmental assessment act for Westcoast connector gas transmission ltd.Victoria, BC,TERA Environmental Consultants
Stupak I, Lattimore B, Titus BD, Smith CT (2011) Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest fuel production and harvesting: a review of current standards for sustainable forest management. Biomass Bioenergy 35(8):3287–3308
Tajbar SR, Menaria BL, Dugaya D, Kotwal PC (2008) Sustainable forest management in India. Curr Sci 94:996–1001
Thondhlana G, Hlatshwayo TN (2018) Pro-environmental behaviour in student residences at Rhodes University, South Africa. Sustainability 10(8):2746
Timah EA, Ajaga N, Tita DF, Ntonga LM, Bongsiysi IB (2008) Demographic pressure and natural resources conservation. Ecol Econ 64:475–483
Tirivayi N, Nennen L, Tesfaye W, Ma Q (2018) The benefits of collective action: exploring the role of forest producer organizations in social protection. Forest Policy Econ 90:106–114
Vaccaro I, Norman K (2008) Social sciences and landscape analysis: opportunities for the improvement of conservation policy design. J Environ Manag 88:360–371
Varnosfaderani MK, Kharazmi R, Samani AN, Rahdari MR, Matinkhah SH, Aslinezhad N (2017) Distribution changes of woody plants in Western Iran as monitored by remote sensing and geographical information system: a case study of Zagros forest. J For Res 28(1):145–153
Vicente-Molina MA, Fernández-Sáinz A, Izagirre-Olaizola J (2013) Environmental knowledge and other variables affecting pro-environmental behaviour: comparison of university students from emerging and advanced countries. J Clean Prod 61:130–138
Wang P, Liu Q, Qi Y (2014) Factors influencing sustainable consumption behaviors: a survey of the rural residents in China. Journal of Clean. Prod. 63(12):152–165
Yadav R, Pathak GS (2016) Young consumers' intention towards buying green products in a developing nation: extending the theory of planned behavior. J Clean Prod 135:732–739
Yaghoubi Farani A, Sepahpanah M, Parmozeh F (2016) Barriers of local people participation in forest conservation plans in Gilan-e Gharb County. J Zagros For Res 2(2):79–89
Yazdanpanah M, Feyzabad FR (2017) Investigating Iranian farmers' satisfaction with agricultural extension programs using the American customer satisfaction index. J Agric Food Inf 18(2):123–135
Yazdanpanah M, Forouzani M, Abdeshahi A, Jafari A (2016) Investigating the effect of moral norm and self-identity on the intention toward water conservation among Iranian young adults. Water Policy 18(1):73–90
Zandebasiri M, Parvin T (2012) Investigation on importance of Near East Process's criteria and indicators on sustainable management of Zagross forests (case study: Tange Solak Water Catchment, Kohgiloye and Boyer Ahmad province). Iranian J For Poplar Res 20(2):204–216
Zandebasiri M, Parvin T (2016) Investigation on importance of near east process’s criteria and indicators on sustainable management of Zagross forests (Case study: Tange Solak water catchment, Kohgiloye and Boyer Ahmad province). Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research 2(2):204–216
Zenteno M, Zuidema PA, de Jong W, Boot RG (2013) Livelihood strategies and forest dependence: new insights from Bolivian forest communities. Forest Policy Econ 26:12-21.h
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Haroun Chenchouni
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Savari, M., Eskandari Damaneh, H. & Eskandari Damaneh, H. Factors influencing local people’s participation in sustainable forest management. Arab J Geosci 13, 513 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05519-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05519-z