A Review and evaluation of Social Approach to people's participation in sustainable management of Watershed plans in Iran, case study: Watershed plans of Urmia Lake
Abstract
The degree of popular participation in development programs is a major determinant of success or failure, but the factors which makes participation efforts successf ul still remain unknown, especially in Iran participation is quite a challenge for country with a long tradition of top -down management. Many studies have developed numerous and sometimes different views concerning to the dimensions of participation. This study was designed to analyze people participation in watershed management programs by using the framework of social Approach theory. An instrument consisting of 41 items was developed to measure the level of participation and social exchange factors. In o rder to achieve this goal, three WMPs were chosen in Hable -Rud basin in Iran. In these areas 300 respondents were selected randomly and data were gathered through personal interviews by using an administered questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, factor anal ysis, Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regressions were employed to analyze the data. Results of study showed that level of people participation in WMP was low, but social participation was relatively higher than economic and environmental participation. Pearson product moment correlation showed that there are significant relationships between exchange factors and level of participation (r =.61.5). Multiple regression analysis discovered that exchange factors explained about 35.41 percent of variation in the level of participation. This study suggests that participation is quite a complex issue and research would benefit from a pluralistic approach that uses multiple levels and perspectives.
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Introduction
Rural development in many of developing countries closely linked with water, consequently to bring progress in the rural area requires changes and improvements in the Exploitation of water resources sector. In the other side agriculture is closely linked with land and water resources, without land and water, agriculture are not possible. Moreover, because of rural dependency to agriculture, without developing agriculture the rural development goals for a sustain able livelihood cannot be met.
The term participation has gained a lot of popularity during the last years, particularly in reference to sustainable agricultural and rural development projects. At the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) in 1979, the international community's linked the reason for the failure of rural development initiatives to the lack of active participation of the poor people in the programs supposedly designed to assist them. The WCARRD declared that participation of the poor by rural people was a basic human right, and if rural development was to realize its potential, disadvantaged rural people had to be organized and actively involved in designing policies and programs, and in controlling social and economic institutions (FAO, 1992).
Some of the scientists believe that lack of participation in wider society is one aspect or one definition of poverty (Platt, 2006). Some of social scientists viewed social participation in terms of "community participation". People can participate in all sorts of social activities in many different forms of formal and informal social networks (Baum et al., 2000).
Conclusion
As mentioned in this article Watershed management has emerged as a new paradigm for planning, development and management of land, water resources in recent years. And now greatly from country to provide comprehensive programs for the saw .In this study five hypotheses which are related to social exchange theory were tested. Data showed that there is significant relationship between level of participation and exchange factors. These hypotheses were; need satisfaction, fairly of benefit cost, equality of benefit cost, voluntarily joint to project and satisfaction with prior projects. Multiple of regression analysis showed that exchange factors explained 35.41 percent of variation in level of participation as dependent variable.
Based on social exchange theory and consistent with model suggested by Mark Searle (1990) about social exchange theory and its hypothesis, data showed that a person whose needs were more satisfied with projects has had more participated in project. In the second hypothesis people whose perceived that benefit cost of project was fairly they were more participate in project, In the third hypothesis people whose perceived that benefit cost of project was equally to all participants, they we re more participate in project, In the fourth hypothesis people whose perceived that benefit cost of project was people who's more satisfied with prior projects, were more participate in project. Finally In the fifth hypothesis people who were jointed voluntary to project were more participate d in the project activities.
