Improving Rural Regions Environment by Establishing and Maintaining Parks and Role of Extension Education Factors (Case Study: Isfahan province-Iran)

Abstract

Nowadays the growth of deserts is one the most important problems in Iran. This phenomenon has many reasons such as growth of population, global changes in the climates and many undesirable consequences such as the erosion of agricultural soils and immigration of rural people to urban regions mainly to the capital of Iran, Tehran. Isfahan province is one of the semi-arid and desert regions in the center of Iran. It is the first province in Iran that has made rural parks in its arid and semi-arid rural regions. As the successful experiences of developing and developed countries shows, the main instrument to achieve people's successful participation in rural development is efforts for planning and operating extension education projects. The purpose of this paper is to examine and study the role of extension education factors in persuading rural people to participate for establishing and maintaining rural parks in order to decrease desert generation, improve ecosystems and reduce immigration from rural regions in Isfahan province .The type of the research is mixed - qualitative and quantitative- methods. The findings of the research, reveals meaningful relationships between educational and demographic characteristics of extension education employees responsible in rural parks of Isfahan, and achievements in their works. There are also meaningful relationships among age, number of children, quantity of education, quality and distance of rural parks from villages and quantity and quality of using the villagers in establishing and maintaining rural parks. As a whole, the findings of the research prove that to take into account the extension education factors has a major role in establishing and maintaining rural parks and is essential in increasing the efficiency of the similar rural development projects in Iran.

REFERENCES Adamowicz, Wl, Boxall, PC, Luckert, Mk, Phillips, WE, White, WA., 1996. Forestry, economics and the environment. Walingford, UK, CAB INTERNATIONAL, Oxford University Press, New York. 275 p. Blackburn, D, 2001. Foundations and Transfer of Activities in Agricultural Extension. Translated to Persian by S. J. F. Hoseini. Scientific Publications Center of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Herrern R.V. and R. L. Donahue.,1991. The Agricultural Dictionary. Columbia, U.S.A., Delmar Publishers Inc. Karami, E. and Fanaie, A., 1994. Study the Theoretical Frameworks in Extension, Vol. 1 & 2. Ministry of Jihad Sazandegi, Tehran, Iran, (In Persian). Lahsaeizdeh, A., 2000. Rural Development Sociology (In Persian). Zar publications, Shiraz. Iran. Medley, K., Okey Brian W., Barret Gray W., Lucas Michaei. F. and W. H. Renwink., 1996. Landscape Change With agricultural intensification in a rural watershed, Southwestern, Ohio, USA, Journal of Landscape Ecology, 10, 161-167. Melnick, R., 1983. Protecting Rural Cultural Landscapes: Finding Value in the Countryside. Landscape Journal, 2: 85-97. Ministry of Jihad (MOJ)., 1995. Rural Parks Project. Tehran, Iran, (In Persian). Ministry of Jihad Agriculture (MOJA), 2005. Department of Extension and production systems (In Persian). Shahbazi, S., 2002. Rural Development and Extension. (Persian). 3th edition. Tehran University Publications, Tehran, Iran. Stephens, A.,1992. Dictionary of Agriculture. New Delhi, India. Universal Book Still. Webster, M., 1995. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. U.S.A. G & C. Merriam Company.