Causes of Conflict in Rangelands Exploitation: Evidence from Iran

Rangeland is a common-pool resource that has become a context for conflict among different exploiter groups. Hence, the present study aimed to identify and evaluate the causes of the Rangelands Conflict (RC) in Iran. This study used a mixed analysis (first qualitative then quantitative) in terms of purpose in the field of applied research. The research sampling method was snowball sampling method in the qualitative phase and random stratification with proportional assignment method in the quantitative phase. Thematic analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used in the qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively. The result of data analysis in the qualitative phase led to the identification of six causes of conflict based on "Society-Culture", "Economy", "Educational-Extension", "Technique-Specialization", "Structure-Legislation", and "Management". The second-order confirmatory factor analysis technique was used in the quantitative phase. The results revealed that the causes of the conflict and their indicators were identified correctly. According to the results, understanding the context of conflicts helps the convergence of views among different stakeholders in achieving the rangelands co-management.