Institutional Trust and Cognitive Motivation toward Water Conservation in the Face of an Environmental Disaster

The agricultural sector in general, and Iran particular, is a major consumer of water now finds itself under significant pressure due to deficiency. This study used the Protection Motivation Theory detect reasons for imprudent consumption further its conservation. was extended particular application seriously affected basin, Urmia Lake Basin Northwest Iran. factors governing water-saving intention among farmers were investigated. Three hundred selected through multi-stage, clustered, random sampling method. results structural equation modeling illustrated that while original model variables accounted 58% variance intention, this rate increased 63% when institutional trust as variable. Whereas response efficacy showed be strongest determinant all except perceived severity both models. Furthermore, multi-group analysis revealed adopt conservation measures commensurate with distance from resource proximity (drying) lake. findings are expected provide important information policymakers looking tailor policies work extreme deficiency cases like Basin.