Promoting Natural Resource Management with an Emphasis on Good Governance

Background and Objectives: Good governance has received a lot of attention regarding the better management of natural resources, because of its efforts to improve the ability of the natural resource management system. In other words, good governance can affect the socio-economic components of the region and ultimately the improvement of natural habitats. In this regard, evaluating good governance leads to improve various factors such as values, beliefs, and interests of stakeholders in the administration of each area. Another point to note is the poor state of natural resources, which has been over-exploited. Therefore, one of the ways to better management and reorganization of rangeland is to use potentials of local stakeholders, especially beneficiaries, towards good governance. Methodology: In this study, the dimensions of good governance in Basaruj region are the basis of the research. Basaruj watershed is located in Ahmadabad section of Mashhad County, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Its rangelands have been seriously damaged due to a series of conflicts and contentions among different stakeholders. To study the governance of the region and to compare it with good governance indicators, data has been collected and analyzed using field-descriptive-analytical methods. In this regard, a questionnaire was prepared to assess the governance with eight criteria and was provided to local people and managers of relevant natural resources in the region. Basaruj region includes four villages of Basaruj, Aghanj, Qalehno and Siasar, which are using common resources. All related locals from four villages were identified by snowball method. A two-dimensional questionnaire was prepared for governance analysis and stakeholder analysis and was provided to the community. The questionnaire was also completed with experts from the provincial office of Natural Resources and Watershed Management of Khorasan Razavi Province and the city of Mashhad, who were familiar to the region. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using Excel, SPSS and Origin software. It should be noted that Excel and SPSS software were used for statistical analysis. But Origin software was used to extract the differences among the views of experts and users. Results: The results showed that the pastoralists of Aqanj village have a higher degree of activity than other villages. They have a higher degree of activism in the eight criteria of interest, influence, urgency, interests, cooperation, and effectiveness. There is also a fundamental difference among the views of the officials and the beneficiaries in meeting the criteria of good governance. In addition, the results show that in analyzing the level of activity of experts of the General Department of Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi Province and Mashhad City, the criterion of cooperation is stronger than other criteria, but the criterion of urgency has been less. It is noteworthy that key stakeholders can act as facilitators to promote good governance in the region. A person from the Department, with the code "Mn", and individuals with the codes of "MZA", "RKHA", "GHaGHA", "AGHA" and among the pastoralists were recognized as having the highest level of activity. Comparison of the governance status of the region with good governance showed that the criterion of carrying capacity with 75.4% and the capacity building criterion of actors with 31.3% have the highest and lowest similarity with good governance, respectively. Conclusion: In general, the governance situation in the study area is 53.23% similar to good governance. In fact, the low level of stakeholder engagement in the natural resources management is the key factor in poor governance of the region. In other words, improving the state of natural ecosystems is difficult to achieve successful results in the field of natural resource management if all-out efforts for good governance are applied only externally and the necessary ideological, cultural and infrastructural contexts for participation are not provided. To improve the level of good governance criteria in the region, it is suggested that the institutions of the natural resources management at the province and the city levels should focus more on good governance criteria endogenously and from within the system, by focusing on key stakeholders.