The Impact of Government Policies on the Use of Clean Technology for Sustainable Soil Management (Case Study: Agricultural Research and Education Center of Ahvaz)
Subject Areas : International Environmental Law
1 - Department of Public Administration, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Government Policies, Clean Technologies, Sustainable Soil Management, Ahvaz Agricultural Research and Training Center,
Abstract :
Preserving the environmental performance of soil is one of the most critical challenges of sustainable development, influenced by government policies and the adoption level of clean technologies in soil pollution management. This study was conducted in 2024 to investigate the impact of government policies (including government incentives, laws and regulations, financial and tax support, and governmental monitoring of soil environmental performance) on the use of clean technologies for sustainable soil preservation and management. The statistical population consisted of managers, environmental experts, and technical officers of the Ahvaz Agricultural Research and Education Center, totaling 186 individuals. Based on stratified random sampling, the sample size was determined to be 126 using the Cochran formula. The research tool was a researcher-designed questionnaire, and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 2022 software. Initially, univariate descriptive analysis was performed, utilizing central tendency measures such as mode, median, mean, and standard deviation. A multi-point Likert scale was used for scoring the criteria. For bivariate analysis, Spearman’s correlation test and multiple regression analysis were employed. Additionally, for multivariate analysis, regression analysis using the ENTER method was applied. In generalizing the results to the statistical population, a significance level of less than 0.05 was considered. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the highest significant correlation was between the variable of financial and tax support for sustainable soil preservation and management and clean technology (0.940). The variables of government laws and regulations (0.780), government incentives (0.719), and governmental supervision and monitoring of soil environmental performance (0.813) also showed significant effects on clean technology adoption. Therefore, the use of innovative and clean technologies for the remediation of contaminated soils, along with the implementation of prudent government policies, should be prioritized to reduce pressure on this valuable resource
Azizmohamadluo, H., Fazli, S., Mohamadnezhad madradim S. (2017). Clean technology selection and green innovation, a strategy to improve the environmental performance of SMEs. Quarterly journal of Industrial Technology Development, 15(30), 5-12. [In Persian]
Bouma, J., de Haan, J., Dekkers, M. F. S. (2022). Exploring Operational Procedures to Assess Ecosystem Services at Farm Level, including the Role of Soil Health. Soil Systems, 6(2): 34.
Deen, R. (2023). Analysis of government policies in soil resource management and conservation in light of the upstream documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran (with an emphasis on the Soil Protection Act, approved on 25/05/2019). 1st International Conference on Management Capabilities, Industrial Engineering, Accounting, and Economics, Babol, Iran. [In Persian]
Hamzehnejad, R., & Khodaverdilou, H. (2020). Quantitative assessment of heavy metal pollution in soil. Journal of Applied Soil Research, 8(2), 37-52. [In Persian]
Hansjürgens, B., Lienkamp, A., Möcke, S. (2018). Justifying Soil Protection and Sustainable Soil Management: Creation-Ethical, Legal and Economic Considerations. Sustainability, 10(10): 3807.
Hessel, R., Wyseure, G., Panagea, I. S., Alaoui, A., Reed, M. S., van Delden, H., …. & Chivers, C.A. (2022). Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe. Land, 11(6):780.
Heuser, D. I. (2022). Soil Governance in current European Union Law and in the European Green Deal. Soil Security, 6:100053.
Ingram, J., Mills, J. (2019). Are advisory services “fit for purpose” to support sustainable soil management? An assessment of advice in Europe. Soil Use and Management, 35(1):21-31.
Ingram, J., Mills, J., Black, J. E., Chivers, C.-A., Aznar-Sánchez, J. A., Elsen, A., … &
Katsir, S., Biswas, A. K., Urs, K., Kumar Lenka, N., Jha, P., Arora, K. (2024). Governing soils sustainably in India: Establishing policies and implementing strategies through local governance. Soil Security, 14: 100132.
Khajavi, P. (2016). Review policy issues of water, soil and food security in Iran. Strategic Studies of public policy, 6(20), 165-180. [In Persian]
Kutter, Th., Louwagie, G., Schuler, J., Zander, P. (2011). Policy measures for agricultural soil conservation in the European Union and its member states: Policy review and classification. Land Degradation and Development, 22(1):18 – 31.
Meena, M., M P, H., haruman, R., Nath, D. (2023). Soil Management and Sustainable Agriculture. Advances in Soil Science Volume-1, Bright Sky Publications.
Najafi Sheikhjan, S., Morabi Heravi, H., & Varshousaz, K. (2020). The role of policies in soil pollution management. Journal of Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, 4(2), 62-84. [In Persian]
Parvank, K., Khamisabadi, A., & Pakmanesh, P. (2018). The use of modern technologies in soil pollution control. 4th International Conference on Agricultural Engineering and Environment with a Sustainable Development Approach, Shiraz, Iran. [In Persian]
Petrescu-Mag, R. M., Petrescu, D. C., Azadi, H. (2020). A social perspective on soil functions and 858 quality improvement: Romanian farmers’ perceptions. Geoderma, 380:114573.
Rezaei, H., shahbazi, K., saadat, S. and Bazargan, K. (2022). Investigation of Soil Pollution and Agricultural Crops in Iran. Land Management Journal, 10(1), 61-93. [In Persian]
Ristić, R., Solomun, M. K., Malušević, I., Ždrale, S., Radić, B., Polovina, S., & Milćanović, V. (2020). Healthy Soils—Healthy People: Soil and Human Health—The Reality of the Balkan Region. In The Soil–Human Health Nexus (pp. 223-248): CRC Press. 868
Rust, N., Ptak, E., Graversgaard, M., Iversen, S., Reed, M., de Vries, J., …. & Dalgaard, T. (2020). Social capital factors affecting uptake of sustainable soil management practices: a literature review. Emerald Open Research, 2(8).
Santos Telles, T., Moraes de Cesare Barbosa, G., Henrique Merten, G., Pellini, T., Jonas Didoné, E., de Fátima Guimarães, M. (2023). Soil governance as a requirement for agricultural land conservation: a historical overview. Revista Ciência Agronômica, 54: e20218315.
Sayed Tabatabaei, B. (2018). The Role of Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Protection of the Environment. Strategic Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, 3(1), 77-84. [In Persian]
Shamsoddini A, Esmaeili S. (2023). Modelling of Soil Heavy Metal contamination using Machine learning techniques and spectroscopic data. MJSP, 26 (4) :139-160. [In Persian]
Strauss, V., Paul, C., Dönmez, C., Löbmann, M., Helming, K. (2023). Sustainable soil management measures: a synthesis of stakeholder recommendations. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43(1):17.
Thorsøe, M. H., Keesstra, S., Buchová, K., Bøe, F., …………& Munkholm, L. J. (2023). Sustainable soil management: Soil knowledge use and gaps in Europe. European Journal of Soil Science, 74(6): e13439.
Thorsøe, M. H., Noe, E. B., Lamandé, M., Frelih-Larsen, A., Kjeldsen, C., Zandersen, M., & Schjønning, P. (2019). Sustainable soil management-Farmers’ perspectives on subsoil compaction and the opportunities and barriers for intervention. Land Use Policy, 86:427-437.
Vanino, S., Pirelli, T., Di Bene, C., Bøe, F., Castanheira, N., Chenu, C., . . . Farina, R. (2023). Barriers and opportunities of soil knowledge to address soil challenges: Stakeholders’ perspectives 898 across Europe. Journal of Environmental Management, 325:116581.
Veerman, C., Pinto Correia, T., Bastioli, C., Biro, B., Bouma, J., Cienciala, E., . . . Wittkowski, R. (2020). Caring for soil is caring for life: ensure 75% of soils are healthy by 2030 for healthy food, people, nature and climate: interim report of the mission board for soil health and food. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.
Visser, S., Keesstra, S., Maas, G., De Cleen, M., & Molenaar, C. (2019). Soil as a basis to create enabling conditions for transitions towards sustainable land management as a key to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Sustainability, 11(23):6792.