The Effectiveness of People’s Participation in Natural Resource Management Projects in Iran

This article analyses the effectiveness and outcomes of people's participation (PP) in natural resource management projects in Iran. Two projects were selected as case studies on the subjects of watershed management and range management. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to collect necessary data. The participants in the studied projects, as respondents in both cases, stated their economic and social well-being have not improved because of their participation in the projects as much as they expected. Their participation could not substantially benefit them and increase their income because of certain environmental problems and lack of management capacity among the directors. In conclusion, participation had given some opportunity to rural people to decide who should be involved in the project, and provided shared influence in making ongoing decisions about what activities should be implemented; and what each individual had to contribute. However, decision-making power is still concentrated on the directors or local leaders. Furthermore, both projects are experiencing financial difficulties and suffering from some managerial weaknesses which undermined PP and have reduced its outcomes. It could be stated that PP is a necessary approach but not sufficient for promoting sustained rural development. Adequate attention should be paid to both the managerial and the technical dimension of projects