An Environmental Psychological Analysis of Farmers' Participatory-Oriented Behavior toward Water Conservation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Former M.Sc. Student, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Agricultural Extension and Education Department of Agricultural Extension and Education College of Agriculture Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

“Combining the technological and social-behavioral solutions: is one of the most important exit strategies in the water crisis that can be useful in creating infrastructural changes in society members towards water resources conversation. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to analyze farmers' participatory-oriented water conservation behavior (FPOWCB) in the environmental psychological background. The study was a descriptive-correlational research. The research instrument was a questionnaire which its validity confirmed by a panel of agricultural extension and education specialists and water experts and its reliability verified using Cronbach's alpha coefficients (0.75≤α≤0.90). The statistical population was farmers in southern part of Urmia Lake's catchment area (N= 23750) that 378 farmers were selected as a sample using Krejcie and Morgan sample size Table and stratified random sampling method. Regression analysis findings revealed that farmers with individualistic values show fewer participatory-oriented behavior toward water resources conservation than whom with collectivist values. Moreover, these two variables could predict 32.5% of changing FPOWCB. The result of independent t test showed there is a significant difference in terms of FPOWCB between two groups of farmers who participated in training courses related to water issues and those who had not participated in such classes.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abbasian A R, Chizari M, Bijani M (2017) Farmers’ views on the factors inhibiting the implementation of soil conservation practices (the case of Koohdasht Township, Iran). Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology (JAST) 19(4):797-807
Bamberg S, Möser G (2007) Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: a new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology 27(1):14-25
Bijani M, Hayati D (2013) Application of environmental attitudes toward analyzing water conflict: the case of Doroodzan dam irrigation network. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal 9(1):83-102 (In Persian)
Bijani M, Hayati D (2015) Farmers’ perceptions toward agricultural water conflict: The case of Doroodzan dam irrigation network, Iran. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology (JAST) 17(3):561-575
Bijani M, Ghazani E, Valizadeh N, Fallah Haghighi N (2017) Pro-environmental analysis of farmers' concerns and behaviors towards soil conservation in central district of Sari County, Iran. International Soil and Water Conservation Research 5(1):43-49
Corbett J B (2002) Motivations to participate in riparian improvement programs: applying the theory of planned behavior. Science Communication 23(3):243-263
Corral-Verdugo V, Bechtel R B, Fraijo-Sing B (2003) Environmental beliefs and water conservation: an empirical study. Journal of Environmental Psychology 23(3):247-257
Curtis A, Ross H, Marshall G R, Baldwin C, Cavaye J, Freeman C, Syme G J (2014) The great experiment with devolved NRM governance: lessons from community engagement in Australia and New Zealand since the 1980s. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management 21(2):175-199
Fielding K S, Russell S, Spinks A, Mankad A (2012) Determinants of household water conservation: the role of demographic, infrastructure, behavior, and psychosocial variables. Water Resources Research 48(10):1-12
Gregory G D, Leo M D (2003) Repeated behavior and environmental psychology: the role of personal involvement and habit formation in explaining water consumption1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 33(6):1261-1296
Harland P, Staats H, Wilke H A (2007) Situational and personality factors as direct or personal norm mediated predictors of pro-environmental behavior: questions derived from norm-activation theory. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 29(4):323-334
High C, Nemes G (2007) Social learning in LEADER: Exogenous, endogenous and hybrid evaluation in rural development. Sociologia Ruralis 47(2):103-119
Howley P (2011) Landscape aesthetics: assessing the general publics' preferences towards rural landscapes. Ecological Economics, 72:161-169
Ives C D, Kendal D (2014) The role of social values in the management of ecological systems. Journal of Environmental Management, 144:67-72
Jihad-e Agriculture Administration of Miandoab Township (2015) Agricultural Statistics of Miandoab Township. Unpublished report (In Persian)
Kaiser F G, Hübner G, Bogner F X (2005) Contrasting the theory of planned behavior with the value‐belief‐norm model in explaining conservation behavior1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 35(10):2150-2170
Katuwal H (2012) Demand for water quality: empirical evidence from a knowledge, attitude, behavior, and choice experiment survey about the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal. PhD Dissertation at University of New Mexico
Kim Y, Choi S M (2005) Antecedents of green purchase behavior: an examination of collectivism, environmental concern, and PCE. Advances in Consumer Research 32:592-599
Kollmuss A, Agyeman J (2002) Mind the gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research 8(3):239-260
Krejcie R V, Morgan D W (1970) Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement 30:607-610
Matsumoto D, Weissman M D, Preston K, Brown B R, Kupperbusch C (1997) Context-specific measurement of individualism-collectivism on the individual level the individualism-collectivism interpersonal assessment inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 28(6):743-767
Mojarad Ashena M (2014) Cost-benefit analysis of agricultural development and drying of Lake Urmia according to available estimates. Journal of Forest and Range 98:80-82 (In Persian)
Noguera-Méndez P, Molera L, Semitiel-García M (2016) The role of social learning in fostering farmers’ pro-environmental values and intentions. Journal of Rural Studies 46:81-92
Prager K, Nienaber B, Neumann B, Phillips A (2015) How should rural policy be evaluated if it aims to foster community involvement in environmental management? Journal of Rural Studies 37:120-131
Ramezanpour Ghavamabadi M, Sanaeipour S (2014) Legal probe of commitment to wise use of Urmia Lake in the light of Ramsar convention.  Journal of Legal Studies 5(3):109-140 (In Persian)
Safavi H R, Rastghalam M (2017) Solution to the water crisis in the Zayandehrud river basin: joint supply and demand management. Iran-Water Resources Research 12(4):12-22
Sheban K (2014) Understanding environmental behaviors: a modification of value-belief-norm theory applied to farmer nutrient management decisions in the Maumee Watershed. M.Sc. Thesis. The Ohio State University
Steg L, Vlek C (2009) Encouraging pro-environmental behavior: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology 29(3):309-317
Stern P C (2000) New environmental theories: toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues 56(3):407-424
Triandis H C, Gelfand M J (1998) Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74(1):118
Trumbo W, Garrett J, O'Keefe C (2001) Intention to conserve water: Environmental values, planned behavior, and information effects: a comparison of three communities sharing a watershed. Society and Natural Resources 14(10):889-899
Valizadeh N, Bijani M, Abbasi E (2016) Pro-environmental analysis of farmers' participatory behavior toward conservation of surface water resources in southern sector of Urmia Lake’s catchment area. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal 11 (2):183- 201 (In Persian)
Vucetich J A, Nelson M P (2010) Sustainability: virtuous or vulgar?. BioScience 60(7):539-544
Yazdanpanah M, Hayati D, Hochrainer-Stigler S, Zamani, GH (2014) Understanding farmers' intention and behavior regarding water conservation in the Middle-East and North Africa: a case study in Iran. Journal of Environmental Management 135:63-72
 
 
Iran-Water Resources Research
Volume 13, Issue 4
January 2018
Pages 17-27

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 13 March 2017
  • Revise Date: 14 May 2017
  • Accept Date: 19 May 2017

Share

How to cite

Statistics