An assessment of the impact of watershed programmes on agricultural sustainability in Hamedan province,Iran

This paper assessed the effects of watershed programmes (WPs) on the sustainability of agro-ecosystems in Hamedan province, western Iran. This research was a causal–comparative study, and various techniques were used to collect data, such as survey data, archival data, observations, and face-to-face interviews with key informants. The causal–comparative method requires a comparison of agro-ecosystems with and without WPs. Therefore, a survey was conducted using a stratified random sampling to select 136 households in agro-ecosystems with and without WPs. Nine indicators were selected to evaluate sustainability. Significant differences were found between the two agro-ecosystems in biodiversity, soil quality management, hydrological processes, energy-use efficiency (EUE), access to public services, farm management practices, and social capital. No significant variation was found in the indicator of quality of life, even though that indicator was found to be slightly higher in the agro-ecosystem that had WPs. Results revealed that the agro-ecosystem with WPs, with the exception of the social capital, productivity, biodiversity, soil quality, EUE, farm management, and hydrological processes as well as access to public services had significantly higher values than the agro-ecosystem without WPs. Therefore, it can be concluded that despite WPs' positive impact on biodiversity, soil quality, hydrological processes, EUE, farm management, productivity, and access to public services, it had a negative impact on social capital. The findings suggest that WPs affected the agro-ecosystem by increasing the stability and economic viability of the agro-ecosystem and decreasing social dimensions. A new approach, including demand-driven WPs rather than supply-driven ones to cater to the specific needs of local people, was recommended for the promotion of the social acceptability of WPs.