The Influence of Implementing Watershed Management Plans on Sustainable Development in Peripheral Settlements (The Case of Rural Operators in South Khorasan)

Rangeland projects consume a considerable portion of the budget allocated to natural resources all over the country; therefore, their appropriate assessment results in saving costs and increasing efficiency. High efficiency of projects means that the projects have economic, social, and environmental benefits and can compete with other parts of society, and the privileges the government gives to this section encourage investment. Therefore, it is quite clear that these projects need assessment. In order to increase the success and positive spatial results of Southern Khorasan rangeland projects, the present research tries to investigate and assess the different dimensions of the targets predicted for these projects and offer an appropriate model for overcoming limitations. The research is an applied, descriptive-analytical one in which techniques of documentary research and field study were used for data collection. The research population included rangeland operators in those Southern Khorasan watershed management projects who had been finished several years ago. Therefore, 13 rangeland projects in the province, including 327 operators, were selected by clustered random sampling and appropriate optimal allocation. The results indicated that implementing rangeland projects in Southern Khorasan has resulted in better conditions for rangelands and improvement in rangelands’ soil in terms of water and wind erosion. Furthermore, following the implementation of rangeland projects in the province, decrease has occurred in livestock condition improvement index. Economically speaking, the implementation of rangeland projects has had no significant effect on the improvement of economic condition of operators. Considering social issues, it has resulted in decrease of social condition improvement index of operators.