اسماعیل روحی

Livestock grazing pressure in East Azerbaijan province, located in the northwest of Iran, is 2.5 times higher than the capacity of rangelands. This study employed a two-stage Delphi technique to identify and rank supervisory, natural, economic, cultural, legal, administrative, and infrastructure factors. The second Delphi round results indicated that, from the experts’ point of view, poverty among rural residents on the outskirts of rangelands (scoring 4.7), insufficient support of the Agriculture Organization in providing livestock feed and allocation of loans to livestock farmers (scoring 4.53), conversion of rangelands into agricultural and horticultural lands to gain higher profits (scoring 4.43), overgrazing and long term grazing (scoring 4.4), were the important factors contributing to rangeland degradation. Comprehensive legal, legislative, executive, and monitoring measures to prevent overgrazing and premature grazing were identified as key solutions to reduce rangeland degradation. Among economic factors, poverty among rural residents on the outskirts of rangelands and their livelihood dependence on rangelands were recognized as the most significant factors in the destruction of rangelands and forests. Additionally, collaboration with the Agriculture Organization in providing alternative forage for livestock, strengthening the monitoring mechanisms of relevant organizations, and enhancing education and awareness levels among the public, regarding the protection of natural resources have been highlighted as other important strategies in reducing the level of rangeland degradation.