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

The degree of popular participation in development programs is a major determinant of success or failure, but the factors which makes participation efforts successful 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 order 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 analysis, 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.

Social Approach, Participation, Watershed Management, Urmia Lake, Iran.