Affecting Factors on Participation of Rural Cooperatives Members in Biological Restoration and Natural Resource Management Projects (Case Study: Sustainable Development Co-operative, Lapooei, Fars Province)

The aim of this study was identifying the factors affecting the participation of members of cooperative company in biological restoration and natural resources management projects in Lapooei village using survey method. Six hundreds households selected between 1574 active members of cooperative society as the statistical population. The sample size calculated 234 using Krejcie and Morgan table and sampled in completely randomized manner. Data collected using researcher-made questionnaire, which it's validity and stability confirmed respectively by panel of experts and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (value greater than 0.9). Data analysis done by SPSS and AMOS software. The results showed that the age variable had the most direct and positive effect on participation rate and job and marital status had a significant negative correlation with participation rate. Satisfaction with the implementation of previous plans, informing and advertising of the goals of the plans, and the role of people in the plans had a positive and significant effect on the level of participation. The most effective item was informing and raising awareness of people in different ways and then the objectives of the plans. All studied items had a significant positive correlation with participation rate. Ultimately, the development of the role and participation of people living in villages and have direct relation to the resources evaluated as a strong factor affecting biological restoration projects. In conclusion, raising people information about the goals and impacts of biological restoration projects has led to improvement of their participation in management and restoration plans of natural resources.