Analyzing Local Community Participation in Watershed Management Programs in Iran

Purpose of this study is to explore level of local community participation in Watershed Management Programs (WMP) within the rural population in Iran, and explore how level of people participation varies according to their socio demographic backgrounds. Data for this study were collected from 200 respondents through personal interviews using a pre-coded questionnaire from three villages in Hable-Rud basin during the August and September of 2008. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze the data. Results of this study indicated that level of local people participation in WMP was moderate to low and there was variation in patterns of participation. Data showed significant differences between level of participation in gender, marital status, educational groups, occupational groups, sources of motivation to join to program, and number of local group membership.