Investigating the challenges of the participation of livestock farmers in rangeland protection plans and projects (Case study: Saral region in the west of Iran)

Background and objectives: Environmental problems and challenges are one of the most important concerns and preoccupations of humans in the third millennium. Pastures are crucial components of the enviroment and natural resources, yet they have endured significant destruction in recent decades. For this reason, in recent years, restoration and protection projects and plans have been implemented in different countries. However, due to various reasons, livestock farmers, as the most important beneficiaries of this sector, did not participate much. Therefore, the main idea of this research was to discover the challenges of participation of livestock farmers in this sector. In this regard, this study was conducted with the general aim of investigating the challenges of livestock farmers' participation in pasture protection plans and projects in Kurdistan province in 2022.  
Methodology: This research is quantitative in nature. In relation to its practical purpose, it involved field research for data collection and was conducted as a single-section study in terms of time. The statistical population of the research comprised all livestock farmers in the Saral region of Kurdistan province. Saral district, spanning 1000 km2, is situated in western Iran within Kurdistan province. The region experiences an average annual rainfall of 480 mm, characterized by a cold, semi-arid climate. Saral features sandy loam soils, well-suited for grazing livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats. Ecologically, Saral district serves as a secure habitat for a diverse range of plants and animals. Notably, this natural region has yet to be thoroughly and systematically studied, with a majority of research focusing on the regions plant and animal species rather than the factors contributing to degradation. The primary occupation of people in the Saral region is animal husbandry, marking it as one of Irans most susceptible areas for this practice. The study utilized a sample size of 385 individuals, determined by the Karjesi and Morgan table, employing a muli-stage sampling method with proportional allocation. The primary research tool, a questionnaire, was validated by a panel of experts, and its reliability was confirmed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and Lisrel software. 
Results: The results of the coefficient of variation showed that the challenges of "not being familiar with forest protection methods" and "not holding workshops and training courses for livestock farmers" were the most important factors. In addition, the results of the exploratory factor analysis classified the challenges of participation of livestock farmers in pasture protection projects into four socio-cultural factors (15.021 percent), educational challenges (14.364 percent), managerial and legal challenges (13.324 percent), and economic challenges (9.521 percent), and these factors could explain 52.23 percent of the total variance of the factors. Considering that educational factors were one of the most important challenges in this field, it is suggested that policy makers and natural resource planners should pay more attention to the category of ranchers' education, because many ranchers do not have much knowledge of appropriate conservation behaviors.
Conclusion: This study marks the inaugural effort in western Iran to safeguard rangelands. Previous studies on pasture conservation have often overlooked pastoralists, who maintain a close connection with these areas. Livestock farmers are pivotal in pastur protection, given their intimate ties to this sector. With appropriate training, they have the potential to make substantial contributions to the sustainability of this crucial domain.