Investigating the interaction of beneficiaries and natural resources authorities in the watersheds of West Gilan

Because ofthe conflicts of interest, the interaction of beneficiaries and natural resource experts inIran hasbeen challenged.This area was studied asthetarget, due totheechologic andsocial condition andconsideringthe existing conflicts. In this study, legal, managerial, exploitation, and social components were examined from the perspectives of both experts and beneficiaries. 188 questionnaires were completed with the Snowball Method. The validity of the main variables of questionnaire was greater than 0.7. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare differences between two groups. The results show that in addition to the natural resources conflict in the whole region, in terms of perspective, there is a significant difference between the factors affecting the conflict between the local community and government experts. The most important components for increasing the conflict in this region from the perspective ofstakeholders are the lack oflaws, the presence of non-natives inrangelands and forests, the low presence of women in this natural resources field and according to the experts, lack of land-use conversion, and level of awareness of stakeholders. Land grabbing, Coaling and understory tillage are the most challenging issues in the west of Gilan province.From the managerial point of view, both groups have declared that the most effective way to reduce the conflict is the confinement of forests and pastures, but the participatory management issues was not accepted according to the two groups’ viewpoints. Effective presence of experts in the field, recognizing the livelihood potentials of the region, and encouraging and educating people to know alternative jobs are suitable ways to reduce conflict.