Sorayya Ebrahimi, Abdolreza Rahmanye Fazli, Farhad Azizpour,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Factors affecting the adaptation of rural settlements to the water crisis of Lake Urmia Case study: Miandoab County
Problem statement
In recent years, Lake Urmia, the largest lake in Iran, has faced severe water shortages, which has raised concerns in terms of economic, social and environmental consequences in the surrounding communities, especially in rural areas. Livelihood dependence of rural community stakeholders, to the natural resources and agricultural products have caused the harmful effects of drying Urmia Lake to be more visible. The drying up of Lake Urmia is not limited to this lake, but human communities have also suffered a lot from their sphere of influence. Due to the human effects of the drying of Lake Urmia, it is necessary to analyze the effects of this phenomenon from a human perspective in research. Identifying the adaptive capacity of rural community stakeholders makes it possible to adopt appropriate management strategies to reduce the damage caused by lake drying. Therefore, despite the importance of the subject of this research, it seeks to study the factors and forces affecting the adaptation capacity of rural settlements in the face of the drying crisis of Lake Urmia in the city of Miandoab and so on.
Research Methodology
In terms of methodology, strategy and design, the present study is a combination of (mixed), sequential and explanatory exploratory, respectively. In this study, for a detailed study of community mentalities, a discourse on effective factors to increase the adaptive capacity of rural settlements in the face of drying or water retreat of Lake Urmia, the combined method of (Q) was selected. The research discourse community included local managers (governorate experts, heads and employees of government departments, districts, rural districts and Islamic councils) as well as local experts in the sample villages of Miandoab city. Targeted sampling method (snowball) was used to select the statistical sample. Q statements were also compiled using first-hand sources (expert opinions, local managers, field observations, etc.) and codified sources (books, articles, publications, etc.) using the library and field methods. The Q questionnaire was also used to assess the attitude of experts. In order to analyze the data of the Q (Q) method matrices, heuristic factor analysis based on the individual method (Stanfson method) was used.
Description and interpretation of results
In reviewing the findings of the exploratory factor analysis model with KMO criterion, Bartlett test confirmed the sufficient number of samples and its appropriateness for the research. To investigate the most important influencing factors, the specific value and percentage of variance were calculated and the number of factors was determined by pebble diagram and Kaiser Guttman criterion. The results showed that the most important factors and forces affecting the increase of adaptation capacity to the drying of Lake Urmia in the sample villages of Miandoab are: 1) Increasing economic capital and the use of natural resources, 2) Increasing social capital and investment, 3) Developing infrastructure facilities and improving the skills of villagers, 4) Economic diversification and improving rural management .. Among these factors, the first factor with a specific value of 5.40 and a percentage of variance of 24.55 was recognized as the most important factor and effective force in increasing the adaptation capacity of the studied villages against the drying of Lake Urmia. Thus, economic and natural factors, as the most important assets of the villagers, are endangered at any time by the drying up and retreat of the water of Lake Urmia and have a direct impact on the livelihood of the villagers.
Keywords: Adaptation capacity, Lake Harumiyeh, Miandoab County.
