Volume 13, Issue 26 (12-2022)
J Watershed Manage Res 2022, 13(26): 82-92 |
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Mosaffaie J, Sarfaraz F, Salehpour Jam A, Tabatabaei M. (2022). Analysis of Barriers to Public Participation in Watershed Management Projects in Ninehroud Watershed, Qazvin Province. J Watershed Manage Res. 13(26), 82-92. doi:10.52547/jwmr.13.26.82
URL: http://jwmr.sanru.ac.ir/article-1-1165-en.html
URL: http://jwmr.sanru.ac.ir/article-1-1165-en.html
1- Soil Conservation & Watershed Management Research Institute
2- Department of natural resources, Qazvin Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Tehran, Iran
3- Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran
2- Department of natural resources, Qazvin Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Tehran, Iran
3- Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (1815 Views)
Extended Abstract
Introduction and Objective: People's participation in watershed development projects is an important factor in their success or failure. Therefore, in any watershed, it is necessary to identify the factors affecting the weakness of public participation. Previous studies have rarely analyzed the factors preventing people's participation. One of the most important measures that can be taken to remove barriers to the participation of local communities in watershed management projects (biological, mechanical, biomechanical, and managerial operations) is to identify, categorize and rank the factors that weaken their participation in these projects. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize these factors in the Ninehroud watershed of Qazvin province. A comparison was also made between the views of experts and the local community's viewpoints on the importance of these factors.
Material and Methods: Ninehrood watershed with an area of 12,336 hectares is located 30 km northeast of Qazvin. Detailed-executive studies of this watershed were approved by the technical committee of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization of Qazvin province in 2006 and various biological, mechanical, biomechanical, and managerial projects were implemented during the years 2009 to 2016. Identifying the factors affecting the weakness of public participation in the watershed management projects was done based on questions from experts, visits to the area, and face-to-face interviews with residents, as well as previous studies. These factors were classified into four managerial, economic, social, and educational-promotional categories which totally include 18 sub-indicators. In this study, the data collection tool was two types of questionnaires including pairwise comparisons and Likert scale questionnaires were designed and their validity was confirmed by a group of experts. In order to know the views of local communities about the importance of these factors, according to Cochran's formula, 298 samples were selected from 1323 household heads in the watershed, and questionnaires were completed. To find out the views of experts on the importance of these factors, questionnaires were also completed by 19 experts. The reliability of the questionnaires was assessed by Cronbach's alpha test. Then, the FAHP technique and Friedman test were applied respectively to prioritize the indicators and sub-indices preventing public participation in watershed management projects.
Results: The results showed that from the perspective of both groups, managerial and economic indicators had a greater role in weak public participation than social and educational-promotional indicators. The results also indicated some differences in the importance of the sub-indices from the perspective of the two groups. From the experts' perspective, "lack of full allocation of operating funds on time" and "local and tribal disputes" with an average rank of 13.72 and 7.03 had the most and least importance respectively. This is while the watershed residents have introduced "Non-matching of proposed projects with their needs" and "lack of full allocation of operating funds on time" with an average rank of 14.96 and 3.98 as the most and the least important sub-indicators respectively. From the perspective of both groups, three sub-indicators including the lack of multipurpose projects design, the concentration of decision-making power at headquarters, and the lack of employing local laborers in project implementation (Employment), were also ranked as the first six priorities which have had more role in the weak participation of people.
Conclusion: In general, the results of this study showed some similarities in the views of the two groups on some of the participation barriers, but in some cases, there were significant differences. Therefore, group decision-making with the presence of local communities on watershed management projects is proposed as a way to converge the views of these two groups.
Introduction and Objective: People's participation in watershed development projects is an important factor in their success or failure. Therefore, in any watershed, it is necessary to identify the factors affecting the weakness of public participation. Previous studies have rarely analyzed the factors preventing people's participation. One of the most important measures that can be taken to remove barriers to the participation of local communities in watershed management projects (biological, mechanical, biomechanical, and managerial operations) is to identify, categorize and rank the factors that weaken their participation in these projects. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize these factors in the Ninehroud watershed of Qazvin province. A comparison was also made between the views of experts and the local community's viewpoints on the importance of these factors.
Material and Methods: Ninehrood watershed with an area of 12,336 hectares is located 30 km northeast of Qazvin. Detailed-executive studies of this watershed were approved by the technical committee of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization of Qazvin province in 2006 and various biological, mechanical, biomechanical, and managerial projects were implemented during the years 2009 to 2016. Identifying the factors affecting the weakness of public participation in the watershed management projects was done based on questions from experts, visits to the area, and face-to-face interviews with residents, as well as previous studies. These factors were classified into four managerial, economic, social, and educational-promotional categories which totally include 18 sub-indicators. In this study, the data collection tool was two types of questionnaires including pairwise comparisons and Likert scale questionnaires were designed and their validity was confirmed by a group of experts. In order to know the views of local communities about the importance of these factors, according to Cochran's formula, 298 samples were selected from 1323 household heads in the watershed, and questionnaires were completed. To find out the views of experts on the importance of these factors, questionnaires were also completed by 19 experts. The reliability of the questionnaires was assessed by Cronbach's alpha test. Then, the FAHP technique and Friedman test were applied respectively to prioritize the indicators and sub-indices preventing public participation in watershed management projects.
Results: The results showed that from the perspective of both groups, managerial and economic indicators had a greater role in weak public participation than social and educational-promotional indicators. The results also indicated some differences in the importance of the sub-indices from the perspective of the two groups. From the experts' perspective, "lack of full allocation of operating funds on time" and "local and tribal disputes" with an average rank of 13.72 and 7.03 had the most and least importance respectively. This is while the watershed residents have introduced "Non-matching of proposed projects with their needs" and "lack of full allocation of operating funds on time" with an average rank of 14.96 and 3.98 as the most and the least important sub-indicators respectively. From the perspective of both groups, three sub-indicators including the lack of multipurpose projects design, the concentration of decision-making power at headquarters, and the lack of employing local laborers in project implementation (Employment), were also ranked as the first six priorities which have had more role in the weak participation of people.
Conclusion: In general, the results of this study showed some similarities in the views of the two groups on some of the participation barriers, but in some cases, there were significant differences. Therefore, group decision-making with the presence of local communities on watershed management projects is proposed as a way to converge the views of these two groups.
Keywords: Fuzzy hierarchy analysis, Multi-criteria decision making, Public Participation, Watershed Management Plan
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