Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Mehdi Ghorbani ¹
• Melika Maleki Aderani ²
• Khaled Ahmadaali ³
• Majid Rahimi ⁴
• Hannaneh Sadat Sadat Mousavi ⁵

¹ Department of Arid and Mountainous Areas Rehabilitation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

² Department of Arid and Mountainous Areas Rehabilitation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

³ Department of Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculties of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

⁴ Researcher, Social Business Institute, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

⁵ Department of Natural Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) is an integrated approach that addresses economic, social, and environmental issues simultaneously with the aim of coordinated management of water, soil, and vegetation resources. This research was conducted with the goal of identifying the social and ecological drivers affecting the integrated management of the Taleghan watershed. In order to identify the social and ecological drivers and extract and examine the relationships between the drivers affecting the integrated management of the Taleghan watershed, the research literature review method was used, and the network analysis method was used to examine the relationships between the drivers affecting the integrated management of the watershed. For this purpose, the collected data were examined and analyzed using UCINET 6 software. Analysis of the Taleghan Integrated Watershed Management Network showed that the network density was 21%, the network concentration was 47.22%, the periphery was 33.44%, and the network transferability was 63.87%, which indicates mutual interactions and easy transfer of information. The average geodesic distance was 2.085, which indicates the proximity of the drivers. The central drivers included environmental attitudes, education and awareness, community participation, and government policies, which had a direct impact on management, while peripheral drivers such as local culture, economic development, and legal systems had an indirect impact. Considering the challenges such as soil erosion, land use changes and water resource pollution that result from lack of effective management, adopting integrated approaches is essential to solve this need. Therefore, this research can be a basis for developing effective management policies and programs that aim to preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life of the region's residents.

Keywords

• Complex systems
• Social-ecological system
• Social network analysis
• Social participation
• Watershed management