درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- The implementation of participatory projects aiming socio-economic empowerment and environmental sustainability is one of the sustainable management strategies in arid rural areas across the world in the recent decades. This study was conducted to answer two questions: What have been the characteristics and achievements of participatory development and community-based projects in rural areas located within the critical centers of Sistan, Jazmourian, and Rigan? How is a process model for rural development planning consistent with the geography of aforementioned areas? Design/methodology/approach- The present study is descriptive-analytical and the research process includes the analysis of the goals and final achievements of participatory plans in Rigan (RFLDL), the progress and development Plan in Ghaleh-Ganj, the Carbon Sequestration plan in Jazmourian and Lashar, the Menarid Project in Sistan, "Village without unemployed" project, SAHAB community-based projects, and ASEMAN project from Barekat Foundation in Sistan region. The required data consisted of the performance statistics of the above-mentioned projects, and the required analysis was conducted on the dat. Finding- Each of these projects has positive achievements in accordance with its short-term goals. Although it is quantitatively desirable, they failed to continue to operate in a regular and stable planning process in rural areas. Execution of a process model for rural development planning requires institutional transformations and the establishment of an integrated facility direction system for the economic infrastructure of rural areas (with a focus on the value chain) and a series of previous and subsequent jobs in each chain.  Research limitations/implications- Among the main limitations of reformation in the programs and continuous learning from past experiences are the effort of conductors in charge of implementing rural development projects to indicate the expected achievements by relying on seemingly favorable statistics with false documentation, and the weakness or lack of a public oversight system on the actual achievements of projects. Real decentralization in the country's rural planning system, the establishment of a public oversight system, and a process planning are the best strategies for sustaining local communities.

Purpose- This study aimed at identifying the successful aspects of the LEADER Approach in European countries. Design/methodology/approach- The methodology in this study is a systematic overview. The statistical population of the present research consisted of 30 scientific articles on the LEADER Approach published in different journals during 2000-2017. Findings- The results showed the success cases (items) of the LEADER Approach in European countries can be defined in four general categories contains: economic, social, environmental, and management dimensions. Moreover, among the successes of the LEADER Approach, the economic dimension with a rate of 38.4% has the highest percentage relative to the other dimensions. One factor behind the success of the LEADER to European countries, which is an important guide for rural development programs in Asian countries including Iran, is a very important issue of networking in the rural development process, which has recently been intensely debated in the discussions of academic and executive development spheres in the EU countries. However, the effects of LEADER vary from region to region, so any generalizations between regions are likely to be unreliable. Therefore, it is still difficult to judge its true impact on rural development. Originality/Value- The LEADER Program is one of the performed programs being implemented by European Union countries in the new vision of rural development planning. When the European Union started its new program with a completely new approach, there were a lot of skeptics against the initiative based on local development. LEADER has often been praised as a successful approach to rural development, although its implementation is not without scholarly critiques.

Purpose: The use of solar energy has long been human interest. Some countries are trying to gradually replace fossil energy with solar energy because of special benefits such as lack of environmental pollution, frequency, immortality, and sustainable access. The potential of solar energy provides a good platform for the development of marginal villages and regions that are deployed away from urban centers or rural population centers. However, in some countries, despite the favorable weather conditions, for various reasons, the use of solar energy technology is still not commensurate with the potentials. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research adopted a descriptive-analytical method to explain the potentials of solar energy technology for sustainable rural development in the study area on 400 randomized samples. The potential and process of developing and expanding solar energy technology, as an effective factor, was determined by 34 items under indicators such as education and awareness-raising, knowledge and skills, trust-building, capacity building, participation, and partnership in investment. The dependent research variable was also measured through 106 items in ecological, socioeconomic, and physical dimensions of settlement development. Findings: The results suggested that the utilization of solar energy technology was effective in promoting sustainable development indicators of rural settlements in the study area. Hence, it is suggested to pay further attention to improving training and raising awareness as well as building support for villagers to increase the level of employment, participation, and investment in the utilization of solar energy technology.

Purpose- Due to its special geographical location in the arid and semi-arid climate belt of the world, Iran suffers from water scarcity and limited usable water resources, notably considering the population growth and increasing demand for water and food. High water consumption in agriculture as one of the main water use sectors is estimated as 90% of total water, thereby necessitating consideration of water conservation methods. However, there are a number of barriers to use the current water conservation practices. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in Shahrabaad rural district, Bardaskan city. Design/methodology/approach- This is an applied study in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method, carried out using the random sampling method. The sample size was 338 households in the research area which was determined using Cochran's formula. Data were collected based on field and library studies. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by university professors and experts. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.78 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Moreover, the TOPSIS fuzzy model was used to rank the villages in terms of the effect of barriers to using the new irrigation technologies, and SPSS software was used for analyzing the research questions. Findings: Results showed that the economic dimension was the most important barriers to using the new irrigation technologies. In addition, low-socioeconomic status of the farmers and small loans are the most prominent barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in the research rural district. Research limitations/implications - unavailability of statistical information when referring to the agricultural jihad and the governor’s office, and completing the questionnaire, depending on the subject at the village level, is one of the main challenges of the present study. Practical implications - Given the specific research findings, it is necessary for agriculture and water policy-makers take serious measures concerning the incentive (low-interest and long-term loans, micro-land integration and the like) and punitive (imposing restrictions on traditional land users and stipulating other supports to change the irrigation method) instruments, because otherwise water restriction and the consequences of water scarcity will be challenging in  many areas and even may lead to a serious crisis. Originality / value: This study is prima facie significant in terms of statement of the reasons for the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies from the users' perspective and then, in terms of a more detailed analysis of the research findings to change the implementation of traditional irrigation methods.