<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-economic issues of a protected area and participation of the local stakeholders in conservation of the protected area. This study was conducted at 7 villages in Hamedan province in the midwest part of Iran. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Reliability of the data was determined by Cronbach's alpha. In order to investigate the relationship between the average incomes of different villages, a t-statistic test was used. Results indicated that at the 0.05 significance level, there were significant differences between most villages. Furthermore, the results indicated that there was no significant relationship between mean income of Jara and Saadat Abad villages. In order to investigate the interest for the preservation of different villages, a t-statistic test was used. Results indicated that at the 0.05 significance level of, there were significant differences between Shademaneh and Maloosan, Siyah Dare and Gheshlagh Najaf, Shademaneh and Taemeh, Taemeh and Gheshlagh Najaf villages. Results also showed that the Maloosan village has the highest income in the area and willingness to participate in conservation activities was highest at this village. The results of this study show a new approach to the protection of biodiversity of protected areas with connection to economic, biological and humanistic studies.</p></abstract>

The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-economic issues of a protected area and participation of the local stakeholders in conservation of the protected area. This study was conducted at 7 villages in Hamedan province in the midwest part of Iran. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Reliability of the data was determined by Cronbach's alpha. In order to investigate the relationship between the average incomes of different villages, a t-statistic test was used. Results indicated that at the 0.05 significance level, there were significant differences between most villages. Furthermore, the results indicated that there was no significant relationship between mean income of Jara and Saadat Abad villages. In order to investigate the interest for the preservation of different villages, a t-statistic test was used. Results indicated that at the 0.05 significance level of, there were significant differences between Shademaneh and Maloosan, Siyah Dare and Gheshlagh Najaf, Shademaneh and Taemeh, Taemeh and Gheshlagh Najaf villages. Results also showed that the Maloosan village has the highest income in the area and willingness to participate in conservation activities was highest at this village. The results of this study show a new approach to the protection of biodiversity of protected areas with connection to economic, biological and humanistic studies.

A socio-economic evaluation of a protected area - A case study: Hamadan province, Iran

Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, Lahijan, Iran

Department of Environment, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, Lahijan, Iran

Deptartment of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, Iran

Faculty of Environment and Energy, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-economic issues of a protected area and participation of the local stakeholders in conservation of the...

A socio-economic evaluation of a protected area - A case study: Hamadan province, Iran

Published Online: Jun 24, 2016

Page range: 9 - 16

Received: Jan 28, 2016

Accepted: May 17, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2016-0007

Keywords
protected area, local stakeholders, Morgan test, socio-economic evaluation

© 2016 Haniyeh Moradpanah et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A socio-economic evaluation of a protected area - A case study: Hamadan province, Iran

Published Online: Jun 24, 2016

Page range: 9 - 16

Received: Jan 28, 2016

Accepted: May 17, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2016-0007

Keywordsprotected area, local stakeholders, Morgan test, socio-economic evaluation

© 2016 Haniyeh Moradpanah et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
protected area, local stakeholders, Morgan test, socio-economic evaluation