Introduction: Setting the wheels of sustainable development in environmental areas, including mangrove forests, in motion requires social-based management. The aim of this study is to investigate the drivers affecting the participation of local communities in the mangrove social forestry project.
Materials and Methods: The scope of this study is the three villages of Soheili, Tabl, and Haftrangou on Qeshm Island. The statistical population includes fishing, tourism, and dock workers, of whom 211 people were randomly selected as a sample. The questionnaire was the measurement tool of this study. The questions were a five-point Likert scale from very low (1) to very high (5). The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by using university professors and a technical expert from the Hormozgan General Directorate of Natural Resources. Cronbach's alpha values were calculated to estimate the reliability of the questionnaire for "willingness to participate", "economic factors", "social", "environmental", "environmental knowledge" and "perceived environmental value" as 0.92, 0.90, 0.86, 0.92, 0.85 and 0.89, respectively. SPSS version 25 software was used to analyze the research data. Mean and standard deviation were used in the descriptive statistics section. Stepwise regression was used to examine the determinants of willingness to participate in the mangrove social forestry project. Then, a causal path analysis model was used to explore the direct and indirect effects of independent variables on the dependent variable.
Results: Participants reported a mean score of willingness to participate related to the mangrove social forestry project of 3.18 (standard deviation = 1.067). Also, the results showed that the economic factor was the strongest predictor of the community's willingness to participate in the mangrove community forestry project (β = 0.444, p < 0.000). Perceived environmental value was the second factor for predicting the willingness to participate (β = 0.388, p < 0.000) and social factors were the third predictor for the dependent variable (β = 0.381, p < 0.000). According to the causal model of the research, the highest direct effect on the willingness to participate was related to the "economic" index, and the highest indirect effect and the highest total effect were related to the "perceived environmental value" index.
Discussion: Among the variables studied, the economic index was the strongest predictor of participation and had the highest direct effect on the willingness to participate in the mangrove community forestry project. Due to the expectations of local communities regarding the economic impact of these projects on their livelihoods and in order for the mangrove social forestry project to be effective, the economic dimension of the project should be given more attention by planners and decision-makers. Therefore, with coherent planning and continuous monitoring of the implementation of the mangrove social forestry project, it is possible to provide a platform for improving the economic situation and, as a result, a desire for greater participation of local communities.
Conclusion: According to the results of the research, mangrove social forestry, with its emphasis on sociality, takes on its true meaning when local people actively take steps towards sustainable development. Achieving sustainable development is possible by moving through the economic channel and focusing on the economy of the projects.