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<p>Limited water availability poses critical threats to food production and social stability, especially across arid and semi-arid zones. Since agriculture accounts for the largest share of water use, improving efficiency in this sector is essential. Shifting toward drought-tolerant crops and implementing drip irrigation can mitigate pressure and strengthen rural resilience. Yet, these adaptations depend on individuals’ voluntary engagement, shaped by social and psychological determinants. This research employs a value-based behavioral framework to examine the drivers of water-saving practices among 103 cultivators in the Mahabad Plain, Iran - a vital watershed feeding Lake Urmia, severely depleted by excessive extraction. Path analysis reveals that awareness of water limitations exerts the strongest direct effect, explaining 55% of the variance in conservation-oriented actions, while collective values have the highest indirect influence (45%). Overall, the model accounts for 68% of total behavioral variance, emphasizing the importance of moral obligation, environmental concern, and awareness. These outcomes underline the necessity of demand-side management approaches integrating behavioral insights to encourage more sustainable irrigation practices in vulnerable rural systems.</p>

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Exploring Farmers’ Intention and Behavior Towards Water Conservation at Watershed Scale: Utilizing the Value-Belief-Norm Theory

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月30日

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  • Maryam Javansalehi,
  • Mojtaba Shourian

摘要

Limited water availability poses critical threats to food production and social stability, especially across arid and semi-arid zones. Since agriculture accounts for the largest share of water use, improving efficiency in this sector is essential. Shifting toward drought-tolerant crops and implementing drip irrigation can mitigate pressure and strengthen rural resilience. Yet, these adaptations depend on individuals’ voluntary engagement, shaped by social and psychological determinants. This research employs a value-based behavioral framework to examine the drivers of water-saving practices among 103 cultivators in the Mahabad Plain, Iran - a vital watershed feeding Lake Urmia, severely depleted by excessive extraction. Path analysis reveals that awareness of water limitations exerts the strongest direct effect, explaining 55% of the variance in conservation-oriented actions, while collective values have the highest indirect influence (45%). Overall, the model accounts for 68% of total behavioral variance, emphasizing the importance of moral obligation, environmental concern, and awareness. These outcomes underline the necessity of demand-side management approaches integrating behavioral insights to encourage more sustainable irrigation practices in vulnerable rural systems.