Comparative Study of Social Sustainability in the Rural Areas Covered by the Gavoshan Dam Irrigation and Drainage Network

Subject Areas : Environmental managment

Fatemeh Javanbakht-Sheikhahmad ¹ , farahnaz Rostami ² , Hadi Veisi ³ , Farzad Amiri ⁴

1 - Ph. D of Agricultural Development, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. *(Corresponding Author)
3 - Full Professor, Department of Agro Ecology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran.

Received: 2023-02-13 Accepted : 2023-08-16 Published : 2024-03-20

Keywords: Comparative comparison, Independent groups T-test, Rural development, Social sustainability.,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Rural development provides a platform for macro-development at national level by strengthening social sustainability criteria. A lack of understanding of social sustainability criteria makes the planning and implementation process of rural development projects more difficult. Therefore, it is important to study social sustainability indicators in the rural development process. The water supply project of the Gavoshan dam is an example of a rural development project that did not pay attention to social sustainability criteria and caused many problems in the upstream and downstream rural areas. To fill this gap, this research has investigated the social sustainability indicators and compared them in the rural areas of the Bilehvar and Miandarband plains. Material and Methodology: This study surveyed 155 farmers from rural areas covered by the Gavoshan dam irrigation network, whose farms were more than half a hectare in size. A questionnaire was used for descriptive statistical and inferential analysis in this research. One-Sample T-test and independent groups T-test were performed to compare social sustainability indicators between the rural areas of Beilevar and Miandarband plains. Findings: The results showed that the social responsibility index with the highest average (3.69) in the rural areas of Bilehvar plain and the social security index with the lowest average (2.65) in the rural areas of Miandarband plain are among the influencing indicators in social sustainability. Furthermore, analysis of variance showed that the indicators social security, quality of life, social responsibility and social trust affect the level of social sustainability with a significant difference at the 95% level. Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the results, the rural areas in the Bilehvar plain show a favorable level of social sustainability, while the average of the social sustainability indicators in the rural areas of the Miandarband plain is in an unfavorable state. In fact, the unbalanced development in the mentioned rural areas is due to the lack of fair access to water resources. Hence, it is suggested managers and policy-makers pay attention to the quantitative and qualitative strengthening of social sustainability indicators to achieve rural development.

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