The attitude of local communities towards socio-economic effectiveness and participation in restoration actions of Lake Urmia

Introduction
The drought in Urmia lake basin has been for more than two decades, which has challenged the survival of a large number of urban and rural settlements around it. If this trend continues, we will witness many social and economic problems for local communities in the northwest of the country. Urmia Lake Restoration Headquarters has carried out actions since its establishment until now, and there are disagreements between supporters and opponents about its outputs. One of the main reasons for these disagreements is the lack of effective monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of actions over time from various aspects and presenting clear reports based on these assessments. In line with the evaluation and monitoring of the actions of the Lake Urmia Restoration Headquarters, this research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the socio-economic effectiveness of the actions of the Lake Urmia Restoration Headquarters and measuring the participation of local communities on the shores of Lake Urmia related to the country's forests, rangelands and watershed management organization activities , including; Identification of dust centers, stabilization and monitoring of their condition and livestock grazing management were carried out on the edge of Lake Urmia in East Azerbaijan province.
Methodology
In the current research, according to the nature of the subject and research objectives, the descriptive-analytical and survey method (survey of local communities) has been used. To evaluate the attitude of local communities, a questionnaire was used. To select the sample population through the snowball sampling method with the priority of white beards in the studied villages, local experts and people active in the activities related to the restoration of Lake Urmia in the region were used, and finally, the number of 150 questionnaires including 30 questionnaires in the study area of Azarshahr, 30 questionnaires in Shebaster study area and 90 questionnaires were completed in Ajab Shir study area In order to carry out this research, three types of restoration actions were selected, including planting with Atriplex species in Azarshahr city, planting and with Tamarix, Nitraria and Atriplex species in Shabestar city, and constructing a non-living windbreak using Tamarix species in Ajabshir city.
Results
The results of Friedman's test showed that soliciting opinions from local communities in different stages of planning and implementing restoration actoins with a score of 4.9 is the most important factor affecting the participation of local communities. Also, local communities are most willing to participate in the implementation of new irrigation systems in order to save water consumption, agriculture with less water demand, and participation in planning and formulation of revitalization plans. According to the obtained results, the ranking of the factors affecting the participation in the restoration projects of Lake Urmia is different from the point of view of the local communities, and the local communities have different views regarding the factors affecting the participation in the restoration projects of Lake Urmia. According to the results of Friedman's test, from the point of view of local communities, the most important factors affecting the participation of local communities in the restoration projects of Urmia Lake are the opinions of local communities at different stages of planning and implementation. The level of people's trust in the public sector and the executors of rehabilitation projects and job creation of revitalization projects for local communities. According to the results, from the point of view of the local communities, the actions of the restoration headquarters have a significant difference in terms of economic effectiveness, and the economic effects of constructing a non-living windbreak have been greater than the other two methods.
Discussion
The descriptive results of the research showed that about 62% of the respondents were farmers. In fact, it can be said that the main occupation of the residents of the study area is agriculture, which is directly related to the water resources of Lake Urmia. Therefore, the participation and involvement of this group in the restoration plans of Lake Urmia is of special importance. In this regard, Yaghobi and Molan-Nejad (2017) stated that farmers are one of the main factors in the management of optimal water consumption and the production of agricultural products, therefore, considering this group of society in the restoration plans of Lake Urmia will bring sufficient and favorable results. . Therefore, knowing the attitude of the users towards the category of participation in the preservation and restoration of Urmia Lake and knowing the factors related to it can act as a guarantee for the success of the plans, decisions and programs for the preservation and restoration of the lake. In other words, one of the most important topics that is discussed today in the preservation of natural resources is the participation of people and local communities.
Conclusion
It seems that we can hope for positive results of rehabilitation actions if the appropriateness of rehabilitation actions is observed with the conditions of the region and the participation of local communities. In order to succeed in the restoration of Lake Urmia, it is necessary to carry out corrective restoration actions at the same time; The empowerment and capacity building of local communities should be addressed and the actions taken should be accepted by local communities. Wide implementation of alternative livelihood plan training courses in the cities of Lake Urmia can be a successful solution in reviving the lake and empowering local communities.