Analyzing Attitudes of Local People towards Socio-Economic Impacts of Land Use Change in Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve

Understanding attitudes of local people on protected areas, especially land use management is necessary for maintaining, managing and achieving sustainable development in these areas. Considering local resident's attitudes can promote protected areas management and help to recognize the problems and potential solutions. So in this research the attitudes and perceptions of people of Arsabaran Biosphere Reserve's about socio-economic impacts of land sue changes were analyzed.

367 questionnaires consist of 24 questions distributed using stratified random method and full field by interviewing with local residents of the zones within the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve (including the core, buffer and transitional zones). Validity and reliability of research was determined.

Analysis show that the people consider scales and so socio-economic impacts of land sue changes in the local and regional scales is more important.

Local residents understand the necessity of maintaining land uses, but preferring the socio-economic issues and their livelihoods. People showed obviously the rational choice on their answers, and based on their current and future needs introduced future useful land uses. Using local residents' attitudes may help the managers to find out their needs as direct driving force of land use changes within the area and leads them to design win-win plans though land use management.