Journal of Watershed Management Research

Extended Abstract
Background: The occurrence of natural disasters, such as floods, has always left devastating effects in related geographical areas, especially in rural regions. Natural disasters often endanger residents' health and security through the destruction of economic resources and welfare facilities, which have always been regarded as a serious threat to development. Enhancing the resilience of rural households can facilitate development and improve the living conditions of residents and the environment. Nowadays, enhancing the resistance of societies toward natural hazards has been given more attention, so that the dominant view is focused on increasing "resilience" in the face of natural hazards. Resilience is considered the ability of a system to prepare for threats, absorb impacts, recover, and adapt to persistent stress or a disruptive event. In this respect, Mazandaran Province has faced frequent floods that have negative consequences for its agricultural and rural sectors. Consequently, this study aimed to assess the resilience of rural households living in the Tajan watershed basin to floods.
Methods: The data required for this descriptive-analytical research were gathered through a survey. The statistical population of the research was the rural households of the Tajan watershed basin (N = 44014), and the sample size was determined using the formula provided by the Australian Statistics Center, resulting in 264 distributed questionnaires, 257 of which were returned. The subjects were selected using a multi-stage proportional stratified random sampling method. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire, and its face and content validities were confirmed by a panel of experts in the fields of agricultural extension, education, and rural development. The reliability of its scales was evaluated through a pilot study. Cronbach's alpha coefficients indicated the appropriate reliability of the scales used in the research.
Results: The rural households living in the Tajan watershed had lower ecological and economic resilience than the other dimensions of resilience, including social, institutional and infrastructural, and physical and infrastructure resilience. The regression analysis exhibited that the effectiveness of socioeconomic strategies, the degree of technical strategies' adoption, the level of education, and natural capital were the four variables that could explain approximately 46.5% of changes in rural households' resilience to floods.
Conclusion: To increase economic resilience, it is imperative to provide low-interest loans, bank facilities, and credits to the villagers. To enhance social resilience, it is recommended to educate at-risk local communities to follow appropriate and timely measures in the face of floods. In addition, general education to the residents of rural communities, especially through textbooks and mass communication media, and also the implementation of educational exercises, are the recommended procedures. Local administrative councils (i.e., dehyaries) should help and cooperate with the local government to prepare a flood risk map for the villages by delineating the points at risk, safe points, and access routes (escape routes). These activities can be an effective step to enhance the institutional-infrastructural resilience of the rural households. Additionally, the management and protection of the Tajan watershed through measures, such as preventing deforestation and allocating funds for the construction of cities and villages away from the flood plains, are suggested by relevant organizations to increase the ecological resilience of  rural households. Moreover, proper building design and compliance with national building regulations and the use of durable materials in construction should be considered to improve the physical resilience. Cultivation management in sloping lands should also be emphasized as one of the most important technical strategies to prevent torrential runoffs. Moreover, monitoring the performance of various agricultural activities will help to make rural communities more resilient. Preserving vegetation around farms and houses and protecting forests are other important strategies that should be taken into account in the Tajan watershed. Changing the cultivation pattern should also be concentrated, considering ongoing natural hazards. Moreover, since natural capital played an important role in the resilience of rural households to floods, adopting conservation agriculture aiming to improve soil organic matter and its fertility, and increase water absorption and permeability is another proposal. Crop rotation and cultivation of plants, such as perennial medicinal plants, and help conserve water and soil should also be included in the agricultural development plan.