معصومه نصیری

The change in the concept of social development over the last few decades, from the physical aspects to human dimensions has increased women’s participation in socio-economic activities and enhancement of their capabilities has been regarded as key strategies in sustainable development. The present study attempts to achieve the following objective: Investigation of the impacts of NGO’s activities in enhancing women’s socioeconomic participation in the management of watersheds. This paper has presented the results through employing parts of the phases, methodologies, and techniques of participation Rural Appraisal(PRA) in sample villages located in Hableh Roud watershed in the Garmsar plain. Among the achievements of the project is the actualization of local community participation including women’s participation in decision-making on sustainable development, improvement of natural resource management through integration of modern and traditional technologies, increasing local community income sources through production of pharmaceutical plants, planting seedlings, strengthening traditional women’s organizations, improvement of exploitation methods and conservation of soil and water resources. The most important result obtained from the present study is the finding that participatory activities are cultural and social issues. As such, work must continue until participation becomes institutionalized in the target community. The milestone and deliverable showing success in this endeavor will be gradual but steady changes observed in the behavior of the rural communities with reference social and economic problems reflecting their self-reliance and self-confidence. Continuity and sustainability of the projects are also determined by direct involvement and participation of local communities, especially women, in all phases of project implementation from concept development to implementation, monitoring, and assessment.