Iranian farmers’ pro-environmental behaviors supporting human wetland coexistence

Abstract

The application of pro-environmental behaviors in wetlands—particularly sensitive and valuable ecosystems such as Zaribar—is critically important, as these areas play a vital role in both biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local communities. When individuals and local communities adopt sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, the gradual degradation of wetlands can be prevented, creating conditions in which human and ecological needs are met simultaneously. This study was conducted with the overarching aim of identifying the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of pro-environmental behaviors in wetlands. The statistical population consisted of all farmers in the Zaribar wetland area of Kurdistan Province in western Iran. The extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) was employed as the theoretical framework, incorporating two additional variables: environmental concern (EC) and environmental knowledge (EK). The results revealed that the extended TPB model improved the explanatory power of the initial model by 20.3% in predicting farmers’ pro-environmental behaviors in wetlands. In other words, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern, and environmental knowledge all had positive and significant effects. Overall, the findings suggest that integrating psychological, social, and perceptual factors provides a valuable framework for policymakers in wetland management and sustainable agriculture.