Assessing Attitudes of the Rural Populations of Khorasan Razavi Province to Watershed Management Programs

The success of soil conservation and watershed management programs requires the understanding of individuals’ attitudes towards these programs. Therefore, the goal of the current study was evaluation of the attitude of the residents towards watershed management practices in the rural areas in the Khorasan Razavi Province using a cross sectional survey. The required data were collected from 60 respondents who were randomly selected in two watersheds through personal interviews by a questionnaire. Descriptive and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the knowledge level of the respondents about watershed management practices were satisfactory. Also, the acceptance level of watershed residents was moderate. Factor analysis showed that priorities of the residents towards watershed management programs were the economic, social, and educational service items. Data analysis discovered that these factors explained 66% of the variation of reactions to the programs.