Dryland co-management in Kerman province, Iran: a dynamic analysis of social networks

Capacity building and social empowerment of the villagers are preconditions for sustainable development. Accordingly, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the structural characteristics of social capital for co-management and empowerment of rural communities by social network analysis (SNA) as a research method. According to the results, the density index in all of the studied areas was increased after the implementation of the empowerment project. In addition, on average, the reciprocity index increased nearly 30.50% in trust and 18.31% in collaboration networks in the studied villages. Thus, it could be understood that social capital and empowerment in local communities are both required and complementary. As a result, any action aimed at building the capacity of the local community, increasing social capital, and promoting trust and collaboration among local communities will ultimately lead to maintaining and strengthening the social structures of that community. Therefore, this community develops into a region, which serves as the foundation for long-term rural development. These results can be administered to other areas of research and interference such as studies of community development, participatory research, and social intervention. By exploiting these results, planners and policymakers can plan to improve the empowerment of rural communities, self-reliance, and rural development.