مریم شریف زاده

Purpose- The irrigated wheat farms of Doroudzan District in Marvdasht County, Fars Province face agricultural water deficit challenges due to mis-management of water resources. This research aims at investigating water conflict strategies among the irrigated wheat farms of Doroudzan Dam Network. Design/methodology/approach- The study was descriptive regarding its nature and used survey research procedure. The statistical population included 803 wheat farmer households residing in Ramjerd 2 and Abarj Dehestans in Doroudzan District. According to Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) sample size table, the samples were 260wheat farmers selected based on simple random sampling technique. Systematic questionnaires were used to collect data by means of face-to-face interviews. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts, and a pilot study was also done to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. The estimated Cronbach's alpha coefficients were between the accepted range (i.e. 0.50 - 0.75) for the different measures used in this study. Findings- Results revealed that the most prevalent conflicts were intra-group conflicts among the counterparts. Verbal conflicts were the current form of water conflicts regarding the conflict intensity in the region. Physical attacks and third party (police) controls were placed in the second and third position. The results of cluster analysis indicated three clusters of farmers; “educated aggressors”, “low-literate aggressors” and “peace-oriented farmers”. All the clusters were statistically different regarding their demographic characteristics (age and education level), farming-system portfolio (area under cultivation, annual income and cost) and water conflict in response to water shortages. According to the contingency table, collaboration strategy was the prominent conflict management strategy among the three groups followed by compromising strategy. Research limitations / implications- The lack of institutional support to get information on conflict attacks among the rural residents and the time-consuming nature of the survey study are the most important challenges in this study. Practical implications-According to the findings, it is of prominent importance to provide the context of problem solving with counterparts. As a result, it needs more attempts to share all the stakeholders’ interests to reach a common decision. It seems that reaching a satisfactory solution needs drawing out different parties’ expectations to help them get organized through collaboration. Originality/value- Numerous studies have been carried out on water deficiencies. However, this study is the first in the context of rural settlement and valued based on the analysis of the conflict management strategies among famer groups that has not been addressed in previous studies.

At present, environmental crises caused by irresponsible agricultural activities are known to increase environmental vulnerability around the world. So, it is important to know how people think about the environment, what they know, and how concerned they are with nature and the environment. This survey research was aimed at understanding the pro-environmental behavior and its influencing factors among the apple orchardists of the Dena Kooh area of Semirom County. The population consists of 4019 horticultural producers in 28 villages in the Dena Kooh district, and the sample size was determined by random cluster sampling regarding the economic status of villages in two rich and poor clusters. 320 interviews were carried out with all sample members.  The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire, and its face validity was confirmed by Yasouj University faculty members. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated between 0.61 and 0.92, indicating acceptable reliability of the measures. The results showed that the average environmental behavior of the orchardists is at a poor level. A comparison of the average current and past environmental behavior of orchardists showed that their pro-environmental behavior has developed. The results of hierarchical regression showed that knowledge, responsibility, socio-cultural norms, values and emotions, external commitment, and past behavior accounted for 69% of the variance in orchardists’ environmental behavior in the economically rich cluster. The results of hierarchical regression in the economically poor cluster showed that emotions, knowledge, responsibility, socio-cultural norms, external commitment, and past behavior accounted for 75% of the variance in orchardists' environmental behavior. The current research can benefit policymakers, researchers, and farmers in determining pro-environmental practices, considering the viewpoints of farmers. However, various issues identified in this study have implications for future research and for other crops under different farming systems