Investigating the social and ecological resiliency of subsystems in response to drought-induced environmental behaviors - A Case Study: Residents of Khalaja Neighborhood in Isfahan City.

Introduction:

Ecological threats are the cause of social failures, and in response, the integration of social-ecological subsystems defined in the resilient city brings empowerment in facing environmental risks. The perspective of resilience in conceptual foundations claims that this integration plays an important role in managing and controlling fluctuations, In the meantime, resilience is based on the social dimension. The social capacities of societies define this social core. Social resilience is the main axis of adaptability of the concept of resilience. In the meantime, the recent 30-year drought, especially in Iran, has created various environmental problems, and some of its manifestations are water stress, subsidence, fine dust, air pollution, migrations due to lack of water resources, political conflicts, and other problems. The studies of this article show that so far, no research has been done about the integrated social and ecological dimension of drought with a resilience approach. In this way, the goals mentioned below are determined for this research.

The Purpose of the Research:

The central aim of this article is to investigate environmental behavior within the context of socio-ecological resilience. The study specifically seeks to explore the social subsystem through a behavioral lens. Examination of the local-level definition of the environment is conducted in response to the drought conditions in Isfahan. For this purpose, according to background variables such as age, gender, education, and income, the level of environmental awareness, sensitivity, and participation will be measured and finally the type of environmental behavior will be determined.

Methodology:

This descriptive-analytical research has a practical perspective and its purpose is in the statistical population of the Khalaja neighborhood of Isfahan. The output of the structured questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha was confirmed in a sample size of 160 people by simple random sampling at the suggestion of SPSS Sample power calculation. Primarily the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis statistical test is used to compare the means for contextual variables. The Friedman and Wilcoxon statistical tests are used to rank environmental behaviors.

Findings and Discussion:

Awareness of migration and population stress due to recent drought are reported more than subsidence and dust. People are still more inclined to control and adapt nature to their needs than to adapt to existing conditions. The lower level of participation of women and youth in this society is a warning of individualism and there is a relationship between the variables of willingness to migrate, and job dependence. In a comprehensive conclusion derived from the conducted analyses, it can be affirmed that responsible and conscientious behaviors are not prevalent among the residents. Although the majority acknowledges the dependency of their livelihoods on water, they express dissatisfaction with adapting to the prevailing conditions. The research analyses, conducted across different age groups to assess levels of participation, sensitivity, and environmental awareness, unveil notable disparities like environmental behavior experiences. Notably, the levels of awareness, participation, and environmental sensitivity are higher in the adult age group compared to other cohorts. This observation extends to the evaluation of two additional variables, migration and income levels, signifying that the adult age group is more inclined to incur a higher cost of water rather than resorting to migration due to water scarcity. These findings underscore the significance and value attributed to the adult age group and the nature of their environmental behavior experience, implicitly contributing to the enhancement of their environmental knowledge.

Conclusion: Effective environmental management is not solely a social or ecological issue; rather, the transition to sustainability becomes achievable through shifts in attitudes and behaviors. In the absence of a participatory approach to urban life, Isfahan City is likely to witness heightened social tensions and an escalation in various forms of migration. Recognizing that environmental management transcends the boundaries of mere social or ecological concerns is crucial, and the transformative potential for sustainability hinges on attitudinal and behavioral shifts. This new perspective aligns with contemporary academic discourse and research emphasizing the interconnectedness of social and ecological systems in any scale of urban contexts. Recent research trends indicate that a paradigm shift in attitudes and behaviors is integral to unlocking the path toward sustainable urban development. In this scholarly context, understanding the intricacies of the social system becomes paramount for devising logically sound solutions in critical situations