Analysis of the social capital of local stakeholders' network in the context of rangeland governance (Case Study: Sefidshaban Village, Tafresh County)

Ensuring the sustainable management and protection of rangelands, as the largest biome on the Earth, is essential due to their provision of vital services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, livelihoods and food security. This process requires consensus and collaboration among various stakeholders involved in the Social-Ecological System. Collaborative management is a prerequisite for sustainable rangeland governance, and achieving this necessitates an understanding of the complex interrelationships among environmental, economic, social, and cultural values, as well as the integration of these dimensions. This study aimed at analyzing the social capital of local stakeholder networks in the customary governance of Sefidshaban in Tafresh County involving 13 beneficiaries, two fundamental dimensions of social capital, trust and participation, were examined using a network analysis approach. The complete network method employed indicators such as density, centrality, reciprocity, transferability, and average geodesic distance. The results indicated that the trust and participation network indices among the beneficiaries are at a favorable level, reflecting a high degree of trust, coordination, cooperation, and social capital within the network. This situation facilitates self-organization and conflict resolution. However, despite the high density of the network, the level of centralization is low, suggesting that collective decision-making in this village leads to slower innovation adoption due to the involvement of many individuals in the decision-making process. Given the high level of social capital within this network, it is recommended to focus more on conducting educational-extension courses, implementing development programs with a participatory approach, and providing alternative livelihoods to concentrated livestock farming to strengthen the sustainability of rangeland governance systems.