The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

An Analysis of the Relationship Between Development-Oriented Governance and Rural Sustainability in Iran: A Case Study of Firuzabad, Lorestan

Author
Agriculture and Rural Development Research Department. Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute (APERDRI), Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
During the last decade, the rural revitalization strategy, the movement of returning to the countryside and relying on rural communities have had significant achievements in the world, especially in countries such as Japan, China and France. In our country, real progress in rural development will be a component of achieving the goals of sustainable territorial development. Achieving sustainable rural development makes urban planning and development an achievable goal, and according to the pioneers of special development, Todaro, institutionalists and Angel Garrier, rural development has priority over industrialization and urban development. An important mechanism for the revitalization and sustainability of rural society lies in the method and rules of governance. Today, governance has been interpreted as good service provision and good service provision in accordance with the distinct demands of stakeholders. In this research, the functional relationships and multiple interactions between appropriate governance and the sustainability of Iranian rural society are discussed based on an alternative paradigm in conceptualizing and analyzing over time the method of governance and the sustainability of multiple causal, functional, and both structural and change relationships. The six components of the good governance perspective and the process and normative changes from empowerment to devolution of power, from functionalism to securing people's rights, from standard modernization to collective satisfaction, and from performance to accountability strengthen and realize the sustainability of the rural community. The context of rural sustainability is rooted in a single and meaningful philosophy that is derived from thematic elements and organizing components, namely the four pillars, namely devolution of power, people's rights, public satisfaction, and service delivery. Sustainability has an independent and effective nature and environmental, demographic, cultural, and livelihood dimensions.
Method
 The rural participatory appraisal modes and qualitative research procedures were used in the exploratory stage, and in the hypothesis testing stage, the survey and structured interview method were used with 174 sample units in 54 villages of Firouzabad district, Lorestan province. The use of data from the Iranian Rural Data Site since 1966 and the data collection of macro-statistical units (villages) with micro-units (rural households) and the formation of a combined file were carried out to analyze multiple relationships. The final data file was redefined after merging the information of each settlement with the household data and the data were entered into multidimensional models for analysis by data preparation and analysis of variance. Multiple correlation coefficients, Cronbach's alpha, and reliability coefficients above 70% were obtained. Also, the sample adequacy criterion) Measure of   Sampling Adequacy(  and data qualification measures indicate that the data is desirable for entering variables and indicators into advanced models of analysis at the 99% level. The observation unit is at the micro-household level, and the data are distributed at the household level. In this research, multiple regression models, factor analysis, and cluster analysis were used. Factor analysis is the criteria for the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The measures confirmed the adequacy of the sample at the 99% level.
Findings
More than 75% of the respondents are in the age group of thirty to fifty years. 64 percent of respondents were heads of households, 29 percent were spouses, and 7 percent were children and other relatives. In terms of literacy, about 90 percent of women and 95 percent of men interviewed have at least the ability to read and write, and some have university degrees This situation is more evident in a participatory appraisal. The abundance and activity of construction, educational, health, and service structures, as well as the level of access, have expanded rapidly compared to the past, although the pace of livelihood improvement and the growth of development opportunities has slowed significantly in the last three decades.
The results of the analysis showed that the factors of rural community sustainability have seven dimensions: environmental, livelihood, physical, population, institutional, communication, and kinship. Among the six dimensions of good governance, efforts to further develop the village, attention to demands and expectations, respect for people, especially women, accountability, participation of people in village affairs, and transparency in service delivery have significant priority, respectively. The two factors of appropriate governance and rural sustainability explained 85% of the specific value. Good governance agricultural intensification   and access have a positive and significant effect on rural sustainability in both stepwise and generalized regression.
The implementation of the factor analysis model using the principal components analysis method showed that, two factors have an eigenvalue above one and in fact have the highest variance. These two basic factors, the sum of the squares of their factor loadings or their eigenvalues ​​are equal to 6.8, explain 85 percent of the total variance. Based on the standardized factor loadings and the correlation coefficients between the indicators and factors, the first factor was named "good governance" and the second factor was named "sustainable development". The final stepwise and generalized regression models, as well as two nonlinear models and multiple coefficients, showed that the measure of rural sustainability is more influenced by cultural and development components than by natural and climatic factors.
Conclusion
Establishing a rural development-oriented governance institution appropriate to the current conditions and situation of the rural community is a functional necessity. It also strengthens the transition from prescriptive and normative governance to people-oriented governance, the historical functions of the rural community and the roles of civilization, entrepreneurship, food security, productivity, activity and creativity. Over the past 35 years, "rural governance" has been passive and administrative in nature, regardless of the application of the modernization and polarization-oriented economic growth model, and one of the consequences is the regression of agricultural development and social instability in more than half of the country's settlements. Returning to rural society and supporting peasant agriculture have expanded to the far reaches of rural areas in the past thirty years, even in advanced and industrialized countries such as Japan and France, through the creation of a comprehensive institution called the "Local Community Development System".
Sustainable, transitional, scattered and seasonal villages are four types and each type has a different model for development. Today, the diversity and variety of the country's rural society is defined beyond natural and climatic conditions and based on security, communication, governance, and local development factors. Governance that is appropriate and appropriate to the mechanism of emergence and expansion of open and plain villages, as well as the different nature of the hilly and foothill villages of the Zagros, is efficient and effective in light of the alternative paradigm and based on the emerging typology of rural society. Based on the research findings, the use of models and experiences of countries such as Brazil, India, France, and the Netherlands is also effective and positive.
Keywords

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