نشریه روستا و توسعه پایدار فضا
پیاپی 1 (بهار 1399)

Rangeland projects consume a considerable portion of the budget allocated to natural resources all over the country; therefore, their appropriate assessment results in saving costs and increasing efficiency. High efficiency of projects means that the projects have economic, social, and environmental benefits and can compete with other parts of society, and the privileges the government gives to this section encourage investment. Therefore, it is quite clear that these projects need assessment. In order to increase the success and positive spatial results of Southern Khorasan rangeland projects, the present research tries to investigate and assess the different dimensions of the targets predicted for these projects and offer an appropriate model for overcoming limitations. The research is an applied, descriptive-analytical one in which techniques of documentary research and field study were used for data collection. The research population included rangeland operators in those Southern Khorasan watershed management projects who had been finished several years ago. Therefore, 13 rangeland projects in the province, including 327 operators, were selected by clustered random sampling and appropriate optimal allocation. The results indicated that implementing rangeland projects in Southern Khorasan has resulted in better conditions for rangelands and improvement in rangelands’ soil in terms of water and wind erosion. Furthermore, following the implementation of rangeland projects in the province, decrease has occurred in livestock condition improvement index. Economically speaking, the implementation of rangeland projects has had no significant effect on the improvement of economic condition of operators. Considering social issues, it has resulted in decrease of social condition improvement index of operators.

Abstract Zohaan village in Qaenat area, has had important endowments at least since the Safavid Dynasty, and they have played a role in cultural and educational development of the village and also the spread of social norms. If one pays attention to the books highly valued by the Islamic religious school, books donated to the school, construction and repair of the central mosque and other mosques in different places, devoting the revenues of public utility buildings such as bathrooms and morgues, and the attention paid to the poor and foreigners all indicate the high status of endowments in Zohaan rural development. The social points considered in endowment letters clearly show that Zohaan enjoyed a desirable condition in the time and was developing well even though it was a village. There are some other points which show that Zohaan was socially and religiously developed from the Safavid to Qajar Era, including emphasis on scientific terminology and units of measurement, writing some endowment letters bilingually (i.e. in Arabic and Persian), and using verses from the Holy Quran or narratives or poems in texts. Although Zohaan has 113 registered endowments, the endowments reported and studied in this paper are all related to the central part of Zohaan; furthermore, here merely those endowments are discussed which were registered before Zohaan was promoted to an independent town.

Any organization whose customers and clients are the general public needs to assess its plans and actions to develop better policies, improve current methods and plans, and finally achieve better effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of the research was to identify the effectiveness of the activities of Basij in rural areas of southern Khorasan. Considering research methodology, the research is quantitative, applied, descriptive-analytical, using surveys. In order to collect the data, two questionnaires (for the general public and experts) were distributed among the villages of eight cities of South Khorasan (Birjand, Qaen, Ferdows, Sarayan, Sarbisheh, Nehbandan, Darmiyan, Boshrouyeh). The Sample included 498 and 239 respondents respectively. The results indicated that the level of economic effectiveness of the activities of Basij is above average and statistically significant. Frequency distribution of the views of respondents on economic effectiveness of the activities of Basij in the villages of the province shows that more than 70% of the residents of the villages under study (including experts and the general public) consider the activities to be moderately effective. The difference of the economic effectiveness of activities in the cities studied were statistically significant. The largest and the smallest mean of the economic effectiveness in the counties studied were related to Sarbisheh and Nehbandan respectively. The results of the correlation test indicated a significant relationship between education, the participation of skilled people in projects, the time of conducting activities, and their effectiveness. Therefore, to increase the effectiveness of activities, it is recommended that attention be paid to the needs of the villagers, appropriate time for the activities, participation of villagers in projects, and utilization of their skills.

Construction and development of the infrastructure needed pave the way for development. Dams can manage water sources and the environment, and are therefore one of the most important infrastructures needed for development. Dams provide a high capacity for tourism development. Karun-3 Dam, Izeh, is one of the biggest arch dams in the Middle East which can play in important role in rural tourism development due to its geographical location and ecotourism attractions. The purpose of the research was to study the role of this dam in tourism development in upstream villages. The research method was descriptive-analytical based on field study and using questionnaires as the research tool. The sample included 330 persons living in three upstream villages. The results showed that Karun-3 Dam has had a role in improving tourism economy indices in upstream villages (p < 0.05). The mean of indices was 3.56, which clearly confirms the positive role. The results indicate that dams develop service jobs and handicrafts, increase revenue and job opportunities, improve construction, increase the value of lands, and encourage investment. The results of Wilcoxon Test (p < 0.05) indicates the role of dams in improving tourism facilities in upstream villages. The mean of the test was 2.09 before the construction of the dam and 3.67 after it, which clearly shows the improvement of tourism facilities after the construction of the dam. Furthermore, the results of Wilcoxon Test indicate the role of dams in attracting local tourists from adjacent cities and provinces. From among the three villages investigated, Large Sheyvand Village had a significant difference from the perspective of tourism development, indicating the significant role of the distance between the villages and the dam.