Journal of the Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

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Valaei M, Abdollahi A, Mohammadi Ghazijahani H. Investigating the Role of Livestock Producers in Environmental Degradation in Mountainous Areas (Case study: Baruq District, Miandoab County). JGSMA 2020; 1 (1) :59-78
URL: http://gsma.lu.ac.ir/article-1-37-en.html

Today, human beings are exacerbating environmental degradation due to pressure on environmental resources and their unprincipled and unsustainable exploitation, which will not only hinder the realization of sustainable development, but also endanger the future of life on earth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of rural farmers' activities on environmental degradation in urban peripheral mountainous areas. The present study is practical in terms of purpose and in terms of nature and method is descriptive-analytical. Document review and field studies were used to collect data. The statistical population of the study includes rural households with livestock (light livestock) in Baruq district, which is located 15 km far from Baruq city. Among the villages of this district, 20 villages were located within 15 km from Baruq city, which according to the 2016 census had 3428 households and 11575 populations, and according to the revised Cochran's formula, 272 households were selected as statistical samples. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha test of 0.703, which shows its high reliability. Spearman correlation, regression, t-sample and satellite image content analysis were used to analyze the data and information. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between the expansion of livestock activities of farmers and the destruction of the environment in different dimensions at the level of 0.01%. Livestock farmers' activities have had the greatest impact on the destruction of natural resources with a beta of 0.400 and the destruction of irrigated, rainfed lands and gardens with a beta of 0.366. Spatial analysis using Landsat 8 satellite images from 2001 to 2019 also confirms this. Also, among the mountainous villages of Baruq City, In terms of environmental degradation, Ghol Soleimanabad village is in the first place with an average rating of 197.50 and Chalkhamaz village is in the second place with an average rating of 183.94.