Assessing the Role of Economic and Social Empowerment of Rural Households in Reducing the Effects of Drought (Case Study: Sarpol-e Zahab Township, Kermanshah Province)

جغرافیا و مخاطرات محیطی

Article 14, Volume 11, Issue 1 - Serial Number 41, March 2022, Pages 255-277   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/geoeh.2021.68728.1017

Authors

Jamshid Einali^{* 1}; Hosein Farahani¹; Bahareh Mohammadi²

¹Associate Professor in Geography and Rural Planning, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

²Master in Geography and Rural Planning, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Most parts of Iran have special climatic conditions that are among the least rainy regions of the world as they are in the arid geographical belt and desert strip of the world. Therefore, drought is one of the most important natural hazards in Iran. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of empowerment of villagers in dealing with drought and reducing its effects in rural areas of Sarpol-e Zahab County in the west of Kermanshah province. Therefore, it tried to answer the following question:  What is the relationship between economic and social empowerment of rural households and reducing the effects of drought in the study area? The applied research used a descriptive-analytical method. Questionnaire was used to collectg the required data. Due to the geographical extent of the region and a large number of rural settlements, from among the villages located in the political area of ​​Sarpol-e Zahab county that had 100 families and more, considering the natural location, 10 rural points were selected as a sample. At the household level, out of 1966 rural households based on census data (2016), 321 items were selected as a sample using Cochran's formula and questionnaires were distributed randomly. One-sample t-test, factor analysis, and path analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that from the perspective of residents, empowerment in economic and social dimensions have positive effects on reducing the effects of the drought disaster. The results of path analysis show that access to financial resources, improvement of the business environment, and local social capital respectively have the greatest impact on economic and social empowerment for reducing the effects of the drought disaster. 

Keywords

Disaster Management; Rural Economy; Empowerment; Kermanshah Province

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