Analysis of the Outcomes of Participatory Governance in the Forests of Golestan Province Based on an Exploratory Qualitative Approach

Participatory governance in forests, as a novel approach in natural resource management, holds special importance in enhancing the sustainability of forest ecosystems. This approach, by emphasizing the active role of local communities in decision-making and the implementation of conservation programs, can provide the grounds for reducing illegal exploitation and increasing the efficiency of forest management policies. Accordingly, the present research was conducted with the aim of identifying and analyzing the consequences of participatory governance in the forests of Golestan province. The research method was exploratory qualitative, and data were collected through 50 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with informed and active individuals in five forest villages of District 86, using purposive sampling. Data analysis was performed through three-stage coding (open, axial, and macro) within the framework of thematic analysis. The content validity of the interviews was confirmed by the opinion of local experts and specialists, and the reliability of the data was validated with a Kappa coefficient of 0.82. Findings showed that the category of "reducing illegal exploitation of wood resources" with a share of 44% among positive consequences and the category of "superficial and non-real participation" with a share of 84% among negative consequences were the most frequent themes in the participatory governance of the studied forests. Clustering of axial codes showed that all positive categories were placed in the "specific" cluster. In contrast, negative categories were distributed across two levels: "general" and "regional". Furthermore, findings indicated that "transparency" with the highest frequency (177 cases) and a repetition range of 11, had the highest density of dissatisfaction among rural communities and was placed in the general cluster. Based on the results, forming rural participatory councils with the presence of various groups, utilizing local facilitators, launching micro-credit funds, supporting cooperatives and local markets, developing handicrafts and ecotourism, and creating local forest management working groups for monitoring, restoration, and control of exploitation along with governmental financial and educational support are the most important recommendations.