A Sociological Explanation of Environmental Protection in Rural Areas

The main purpose of this study is to assess the environmental behavior and to recognize the effect of social capital on environmental behavior. The research method is survey and the statistical population includes 467 people settling in the rural areas of Mazandaran province which were selected using cluster sampling method. The main tool for collecting data in this research is questionnaire.The results indicate that there is a positive and direct relationship between social capital and environmental behavior and environmentally responsible behaviors increase with the increase in social capital. In addition, through stepwise multiple regression analysis it confirms that social capital- as a first variable which is entered the model- has a highest correlation with the environmental behavior and the environmental attitudes- as a last variable which is entered the model- has a lowest correlation with the environmental behavior. Moreover, social capital is the most powerful predictor than other variables.