Socio-economic Effects of Implemented Projects of Watershed Management from the Expert’s Perspective in Rimeleh Watershed, Lorestan Province

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Department, Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Khorramabad, Iran

2 Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Abstract

Introduction and Objective
Assessing the socio-economic effectiveness of natural resources and watershed management projects on the conservation and principled use of forests and pastures is an important executive tool for managers and implementers of such projects. Therefore, by evaluating the performance of watershed projects from the perspective of experts, while determining the effects of the project and the factors affecting it, the necessary guidelines for the optimal implementation of these projects in the future can be provided to officials and planners.
Materials and Methods
The current research is defined in two stages: in the first stage, the researcher conducts interviews with specialists, experts and experts to identify the criteria and indicators for evaluating the socio-economic effects of watershed management projects, in the next stage, in order to prioritize and rank indicators for evaluating the socio-economic effects of watershed projects, quantitative data was collected through the design and distribution of paired comparison questionnaires. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the socio-economic effects of watershed management projects implemented in the Rimeleh Watershed of Lorestan province based on the opinions of experts. For this purpose, after preparing the initial list of indicators and criteria, the final list of criteria and indicators was evaluated using the Delphi method and a survey of experts. Then, a pairwise comparison questionnaire was designed and distributed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Finally, in order to prioritize the indicators, multi-criteria decision-making methods were used.
Results and Discussion
According to the results obtained based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method and pairwise comparisons, among the six evaluation criteria, the economic criterion - added value has the most weight and the social criterion - increasing the level of knowledge and awareness has the least weight. The results of weighting the evaluation criteria showed that the economic criterion-value added (0.246) had the highest weight and the social criterion-increased level of knowledge and awareness (0.078) had the lowest weight. The results of prioritizing the indicators showed that "increasing the price of land in the region", "increasing the yield of horticultural products", "increasing the participation of watersheds in decision-making and decision-making" and "converting low-yield rainforests into sloping orchards" Respectively, they are one of the most important indicators in evaluating the effects of watershed management projects. The indicators of "activating the private sector to invest in production", "developing local markets and market access for watersheds" and "strengthening the role of women and low-income groups in society" are also high priority.
Conclusion and Suggestions 
The results of the social evaluation from the experts' point of view showed that increasing the participation of watershed residents in decision-making and decision-making took the largest role in human and financial participation. It is suggested that the participation of stakeholders in future decisions and the use of participatory measures in this basin and other basins are of importance. Therefore, in order to evaluate the socio-economic effects of the implementation of watershed management projects, it is suggested that attention to the mentioned priorities be included in the agenda of managers and planners.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 05 April 2022
  • Revise Date: 12 June 2022
  • Accept Date: 21 June 2022

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