Behavioral analyzing of Alangdareh forest park visitors with emphasis on fire making and large wooden debris consumption | ||
| تحقیقات حمایت و حفاظت جنگلها و مراتع ایران | ||
| Article 5, Volume 22, Issue 2 - Serial Number 44, March 2025, Pages 220-238 PDF (725.47 K) | ||
| Document Type: Research Paper | ||
| DOI: 10.22092/ijfrpr.2024.366519.1635 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Mohammadhadi Moayeri* 1; mohammadreza shahraki2 | ||
| 1Associate Prof. of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran | ||
| 2Researcher of rural development and social issues in the field of agriculture and natural resources, Gorgan, Iran. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background and objectives: Visitor behavior is a critical indicator of forest park management and plays a decisive role in ecotourism sustainability and harmony with nature. Many visitor behaviors have negative environmental consequences. One of the most significant destructive behaviors in forest parks is fire creation. Therefore, investigating visitor fire-making behaviors and their effects is essential for forest park planning and protection policies. This study aimed to identify and analyze the behaviors of Alangdareh Forest Park visitors in Gorgan, with a focus on fire-making and large wooden debris consumption. Methodology: This applied study employed a survey design. The statistical population comprised tourists who made fires using wooden debris in Alangdareh Forest Park. A sample of 305 individuals was randomly selected. A researcher-developed questionnaire assessed tourist behavior across four dimensions: protection, responsibility, management, and aesthetics related to fire-making, and the reasons for fire-making. These were evaluated using 27 and 9 items, respectively, on a five-point Likert scale (1 = very disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = agree, 5 = very agree). Questionnaire items were developed based on forest park documents and 25 expert interviews. Content and face validity were assessed. Convergent validity (AVE) and discriminant validity (DV) were evaluated using the Fornell-Larker criterion. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, homogeneity reliability, and composite reliability (CR). Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS 26, and structural equation modeling was performed using SmartPLS 3. Results: The study revealed that 54.1% of tourists had a medium to high desire to make fires in the forest park. While 55.8% demonstrated appropriate protective behaviors regarding fire-making, responsibility, management, and aesthetic behaviors were weak. The R² value from the structural equation model indicated that behavioral dimensions explained 75.1% of fire-making behaviors. All eight hypothesized paths in the model were significant (t > 1.96), indicating a good model fit. The strongest relationship was between protection behavior and fire-making (ρ = 0.010, β = 0.786, t = 2.585), and the weakest was between aesthetic preference and fire-making (ρ = 0.000, β = 0.162, t = 2.585). Conclusion: Given the destructive impacts of tourist-initiated fires, promoting behavioral change and implementing a management system that aligns with nature can enhance responsible environmental protection behaviors. This study's findings can inform planning and policy-making for forest park managers and stakeholders to prevent, raise awareness, and mitigate the harmful effects of tourists on the natural forest environment. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Ecotourism; tourist; wood consumption; forest destruction; environmental behavior | ||
| References | ||
|
- Alangdareh forest park plan booklet., 2019. Revision plan of Alangdare Forest Park. General Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management of Golestan Province, 182 p (In Persian).
- Almers, E., Askerlund, P. and Kjellström, S., 2018. Why forest gardening for children? Swedish forest garden educators' ideas, purposes, and experiences. The Journal of Environmental Education, 49(3): 242-259.
- Ballantyne, R., Hughes, K., Lee, J., Packer, J. and Sneddon, J., 2021. Facilitating zoo/aquarium visitors' adoption of environmentally sustainable behaviour: Developing a values-based interpretation matrix. Tourism Management, 84: 104243.
- Baloch, Q.B., Shah, S.N., Iqbal, N., Sheeraz, M., Asadullah, M., Mahar, S. and Khan, A.U., 2023. Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: a suggested framework for sustainable ecotourism. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(3): 5917-5930.
- Belsoy, J., Korir, J. and Yego, J., 2012. Environmental impacts of tourism in protected areas. Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 2(10): 64-73.
- Berčák, R., Holuša, J., Trombik, J., Resnerová, K. and Hlásny, T., 2022. Forest fire occurrence shows clear relationships with the numbers of nearby inhabitants and tourists in the Czech Republic.
- Braito, M.T., Böck, K., Flint, C., Muhar, A., Muhar, S. and Penker, M., 2017. Human-nature relationships and linkages to environmental behaviour. Environmental Values, 26(3): 365-389.
- Budak, D.B., Budak, F., Zaimoglu, Z., Kekec, S. and Sucu, M.Y., 2005. Behaviour and attitudes of students towards environmental issues at faculty of agriculture, Turkey. Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(7): 1224-1227.
- Budruk, M., Thomas, H. and Tyrrell, T., 2009. Urban green spaces: A study of place attachment and environmental attitudes in India. Society and Natural Resources, 22(9): 824-839.
- Damghanian, Z., Aminbeidokhti, A. and Jafari, S., 2020. Predicting responsible environmental behavior and participation in environmental protection based on environmental beliefs of the students by mediating environmental attitudes. Journal of Environmental Science Studies, 5(2): 2651-2660 (In Persian).
- Dorbiki, M., Kashiri, R. and Babooi, S., 2021. Evaluation of attitude, knowledge and environmental behavior of visitors in Alangdare Forest Park, Gorgan. Journal of Environmental Studies, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, 5(2): 33-42 (In Persian).
- Daryanto, A. and Song, Z., 2021. A meta-analysis of the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Business Research, 123: 208-219.
- Deng, F.H., Liu, L.M. and Tian, Q.L., 2020. Effects of ecotourism experience on value and environmental attitude. Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology, 21: 135-141.
- Golar, G., Muis, H., Isrun, I., Simorangkir, W.S., Fadhliah, F., Ali, M. N. and Basir-Cyio, M., 2024. Deforestation as a catalyst for natural disaster and community suffering: A cycle in the socioecological system. Folia Forestalia Polonica, 66(2): 72-88.
- Guan, X., Ahmad, N., Sial, M. S., Cherian, J. and Han, H., 2023. CSR and organizational performance: The role of pro‐environmental behavior and personal values. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(2): 677-694.
- Halpenny, E.A., 2010. Pro-environmental behaviours and park visitors: The effect of place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(4): 409-421.
- Hilsendager, K., Harshaw, H. and Kozak, R., 2017. The effects of forest industry impacts upon tourist perceptions and overall satisfaction. Leisure/loisir, 41(2): 205-230.
- Jahanishakib, F. and Bakhshi, D., 2021. Modeling tourists' environmental behaviors by structural equations: Towards tourism wise development in Birjand. Environmental Resources Research, 9(2): 183-198.
- Juvan, E., Omerzel, D.G. and Maravić, M.U., 2017. Tourist behaviour: An overview of models to date. Management International Conference (pp. 24-27). Italy: Monastier di Treviso.
- Kala, C.P., 2023. Environmental and socioeconomic impacts of forest fires: A call for multilateral cooperation and management interventions. Natural Hazards Research, 3(2): 286-294.
- Khoshfar, G., Badeli, S. and Zangiabadi, Z., 2013. The effect of the plan to transfer the management of forest parks to municipalities on the functional improvement of recreational spaces (Case study: Alangdareh Forest Park Gorgan). The First International Conference on Environmental Engineering, Tehran (In Persian).
- Kouchaky, Z., Razzaghi, F., Ghorbani piralidehi, F. and Azizi, T., 2024. Investigating the barriers and deterrents to establish green entrepreneurship in greenhouse production units of Golestan province. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal, 19(2): 55-74 (In Persian).
- Lee, C.F., 2015. Tourist satisfaction with forest recreation experience: a segment-based approach. Anatolia, 26(4): 535-548.
- Li, Q. and Wu, M., 2020. Tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour in travel destinations: Benchmarking the power of social interaction and individual attitude. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(9): 1371-1389.
- Lim, Y.J., Kim, H.K. and Lee, T.J., 2016. Visitor motivational factors and level of satisfaction in wellness tourism: Comparison between first-time visitors and repeat visitors. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 21(2): 137-156.
- Lorenzo-Romero, C., Alarcon-del-Amo, M.D.C. and Crespo-Jareno, J.A., 2019. Cross-cultural analysis of the ecological behavior of Chilean and Spanish ecotourists: a structural model. Ecology and Society, 24(4): 38.
- Masoudi, M., Salajegheh, S. and Jalalkamali, M., 2022. Investigating the relationship between environmental behavior and citizens' social responsibility Case study of Sirjan). Geography, 20(72): 171-186 (In Persian).
- Miao, Z., Baležentis, T., Tian, Z., Shao, S., Geng, Y. and Wu, R., 2019. Environmental performance and regulation effect of China’s atmospheric pollutant emissions: evidence from “three regions and ten urban agglomerations”. Environmental and Resource Economics, 74: 211-242.
- Mohammadi-Mehr, S., Bijani, M., Fallah Haghighi, N. and Faghani, A., 2022. The effect of place attachment and cultural habits on environmental aesthetic behavior as perceived by rural people in Kermanshah province. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal, 17(2): 165-178.
- Moradi, R., Kheshtzar, I. and Mokhtari, M., 2020. Responsible action in the process of environmental socialization. Journal of Social Problems of Iran, 11(1): 285-308 (In Persian).
- Perera, P. and Vlosky, R. P., 2017. Understanding ecotourist behavior the case of forest based ecotourism in Sri Lanka. Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), 14(5/6): 2017.
- Raza, S.A., Khan, K.A. and Qamar, B., 2024. Understanding the influence of environmental triggers on tourists' pro-environmental behaviors in the Pakistan’s tourism industry. Journal of Tourism Futures, 10(1): 1-30.
- Ren, J., Su, K., Chang, Y. and Wen, Y., 2021. Formation of environmentally friendly tourist behaviors in ecotourism destinations in China. Forests, 12(4): 424.
- Ru, X., Qin, H., and Wang, S., 2019. Young people’s behaviour intentions towards reducing PM2. 5 in China: Extending the theory of planned behaviour. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141: 99-108.
- Safa, L., Salahi-Moghaddam, N. and Ganjkhanloo, M., 2018. Pro-environmental behavior modeling of rural people based on value-belief-norm theory (The case of Khodabandeh county). Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal, 13(2): 91-108 (In Persian).
- Shaykh-Baygloo, R. and Soltani, Z., 2021. Place attachment and pro-environmental behaviors: explaining the dimensions and effects (Case study: visitors to Sofeh Mountain Park in Isfahan). Geography and Environmental Planning, 31(4): 25-42 (In Persian).
- Su, L., Hsu, M.K. and Boostrom Jr, R.E., 2020. From recreation to responsibility: Increasing environmentally responsible behavior in tourism. Journal of Business Research, 109: 557-573.
- Tsao, T.M., Hwang, J.S., Lin, S.T., Wu, C., Tsai, M.J. and Su, T.C., 2022. Forest bathing is better than walking in urban park: comparison of cardiac and vascular function between urban and forest parks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6): 3451.
- Vicente-Molina, M.A., Fernández-Sáinz, A. and Izagirre-Olaizola, J., 2013. Environmental knowledge and other variables affecting pro-environmental behaviour: comparison of university students from emerging and advanced countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 61: 130-138.
- Wu, L., Wei, G., Wu, J. and Wei, C., 2020. Some interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy dombi heronian mean operators and their application for evaluating the ecological value of forest ecological tourism demonstration areas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3): 829.
- Wang, C., Zhang, J., Cao, J., Hu, H. and Yu, P., 2019. The influence of environmental background on tourists' environmentally responsible behaviour. Journal of Environmental Management, 231: 804-810.
- Yeboah, F.K. and Kaplowitz, M.D., 2016. Explaining energy conservation and environmental citizenship behaviors using the value-belief-norm framework. Human Ecology Review, 22(2): 137-159.
- Yu, C.P.S. and Hsieh, H., 2020. Beyond restorative benefits: Evaluating the effect of forest therapy on creativity. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 51: 126670.
- Zhou, B., Liu, S., Yu, H., Zhu, D. and Xiong, Q., 2022. Perceived benefits and forest tourists consumption intention: Environmental protection attitude and resource utilization attitude as mediators. Forests, 13(5): 812. | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 414 PDF Download: 364 |
||
Journal management system. designed by sinaweb