Introduction of Participatory Conservation in Iran: Case Study of the Rural Communities’ Perspectives in Khojir National Park

Participatory conservation, as bottom-up management, is currently the most acceptable model for management of protected areas across the world. Social context is a central issue in the sustainable management of conservation areas. It is also crucial to introducing participatory conservation. The new approach therefore recognizes rural communities as key partners in biodiversity management and seeks their participation in social development and biodiversity conservation. This paper examines the opinions and perceptions of local residents towards conservation, ecotourism, and Khojir National Park (KNP) in Iran. A questionnaire and informal interviews were conducted in five villages in or around the park. A comparative analysis of community participation and its barriers among the villagers were also employed. A model was developed to study attitudes of the local people and how they affect conservation and ecotourism development. The results revealed a moderate general knowledge about KNP and environmental issues, the lack of interaction between local people and government authorities, eagerness to participate in the activities of KNP, general support for the conservation cause, and important differences among the villages. Furthermore, the majority of respondents were classified as supportive of biodiversity conservation and neutral to ecotourism development, which may indicate a coexistent relationship. The research clearly identifies the need for devising strategies and initiatives appropriate to specific local groups for optimizing their input in conservational issues. The optimization process of participatory conservation in Iran should be undertaken to create a congruent, sitespecific model with the best possible results based on world experiences.