A Study of the Role of Ecological Culture in Increasing the Ability of Environmental Protection of Rural Community (Case Study: Villages of Mazandaran Province)

The issue of social responsibility for the protection of the environment at all levels and segments of society is an issue that is explicitly emphasized in paragraph 14 of the general environmental policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And the villagers, as the main users of environmental resources, are no exception. The research method in the present study is survey. Using multi-stage cluster sampling method selected 30 villages and sample size were determined 384 people. The data required for the research were collected through a questionnaire tool. According to the findings, the rural community's ability to protect the environment was moderate. Regression analysis suggests that awareness of the severity of environmental hazards and environmental values has had the greatest impact on the components of protection capability, namely self-efficacy and efficiency. While in addition to these two variables, religious beliefs have also influenced the component of action costs. The step-by-step model in regression analysis showed that among the components of ecological culture, awareness of the severity of the risk had the greatest impact on the ability to protect the rural community. Structural modeling has also confirmed the impact of ecological culture on the village's environmental protection capacity.