The Role of Environmental Education in the Management of Protected Areas (Case Study: Sorkhabad Protected Area in Zanjan Province)

This study aimed to investigate the role of local communities’ education in the management of Sorkhabad protected area in Zanjan province. Sorkhabad protected area with an area of ۱۱۹۲۲۵ hectares is one of the protected areas under the management of the Environmental Protection Organization in Zanjan province, which includes habitat of species such as: deer, leopard, wild cat, brown bear, boar, hyena, wolf, squirrel, peacock and etc. This research uses a variety of tools such as library studies (reviewing books, magazines, related articles, internet search, etc.), interviewing local community residents and environmentalists, two questionnaires for local community residents and experts (university professors, experts, and experts). A questionnaire was developed to conduct this research. The statistical population of this study is ۲۳۸۴۳ people living in cities and villages of Sorkhabad Protected Area. The sample size is ۳۸۷ people which is obtained using Cochran's formula. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by ۵ experts and the reliability of the questionnaire of local community residents with ۴۵ questions with ۵ Likert scale options was equal to ۰.۹۱۵ and the questionnaire of experts by ۱۲ university professors, experts and senior environmental experts in the template of ۱۰۲ standard AHP questions was completed by pairwise comparison. AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) model and Expert Choice and SPSS softwares were used to analyze the questionnaires. The findings of this study showed that the role of education of local communities in the management of Sorkhabad protected area is significant. The people of the region do not have enough knowledge about protected areas, the importance of biodiversity, the duties of the Environmental Protection Organization, the role of education in environmental protection, etc. So it is necessary to pay serious attention to environmental education in protected areas. The findings also showed that people's environmental knowledge has a great impact on their environmental attitudes and behavior.

کلیدواژه ها:

environment ، wildlife ، local communities ، habitat ، environmental education ، participation ، biodiversity