Modeling the environmental behavior of the rural people of Ilam province in the protection of the oak forests of south Zagros

Abstract

This study aimed to design a model of environmental behavior among rural people in Ilam province, Iran, to protect oak forests in the South Zagros basin. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample size of 416 rural people living in the region, and structural equation modeling was used to validate the conceptual model and assumptions of the study. The results showed that rural people had a favorable attitude towards forest protection and identified selfishness as their top priority. Factors affecting subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental intention, institutional factors, time perspective, and spatial attachment were ranked in order of importance and priority. The study found a significant positive relationship between attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control and rural people's intention to protect the oak forests. Perceived behavioral control, intention, time perspective, and spatial attachment had a positive effect on their environmental behavior. The independent variables explained 52% and 61% of the changes in the intention and environmental behavior of rural people, respectively. The findings have important implications for promoting forest conservation and sustainable development in rural areas worldwide, and can inform policymakers, environmental organizations, and researchers.

Keywords

• Theory of planned behavior
• Oak forests
• Zagros basin
• Sustainable management
• Cooperative management