Prioritization of factors preventing participation of rural people in soil water conservation projects (The case of Vers watershed)

People s participation is an important strategy for successful watershed management. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors that prevent people from participation, based on local people s and experts viewpoints in Vers Watershed. These factors were identified and categorized using literature reviews and interviews with experts and local residents. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were checked by experts and Cronbach s alpha test, respectively. The sample size was calculated by the Cochran formula. Finally, the indicators and sub-indicators that prevented people s participation were prioritized using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Friedman test. The results indicated that, in some cases, the views of experts and local residents about the preventing factors were consistent, and in others inconsistent. In general, managerial and economic indicators have a greater role in preventing people from participating than the social and educational ones. Experts believe that the factors X13 (lack of timely and complete project budget allocation) and X2 (local disputes) have respectively the most and the least degree of importance. However, local residents ranked X7 (lack of multipurpose projects) and X6 (weakness in teamwork) as, respectively, the most and the least important factors. These differences imply that, in addition to the viewpoints of experts, policy-makers must also consider the views of stakeholders on the factors preventing their participation. These findings can be appropriate and practical for executive officials since removing these barriers, especially the high- priority ones, will increase the stakeholders’ participation level.