Extended Abstract
Introduction: The human environment has experienced significant changes due to issues such as industrial development, technological advancement, population growth, and unsustainable extraction of non-renewable resources. Natural resource management includes the coordination of human interactions with the natural environment Desertification is a complex issue, which is caused by both natural processes and human actions. This includes land degradation due to various factors such as wind and water erosion, destruction of vegetation and reduction of water resources. The purpose of this research is to identify the criteria and indicators affecting the non-sustainable participation of rural communities in desertification projects, to prioritize these criteria and indicators based on the opinion of experts and to provide solutions to increase the participation of local stakeholders.
 
Materials and methods: Garmsar, which is located in the west of Semnan province, is one of its eight cities. The communities of this research, the villages of Ghiyath Abad, Shorkazi and Mohsen Abad are part of Garmsar city, which have desertification plans. Several factors are involved in the non-participation of people in desertification projects, which can be classified in the form of relevant criteria and indicators. These factors are identified and classified based on library studies, questions from regional experts. In order to prioritize the criteria and indicators effective in the non-participation of people in desertification projects, respectively, questionnaires related to the process of hierarchical analysis (AHP) and a questionnaire with a Likert scale were used as measurement tools. Also, before prioritizing the criteria of the relevant indicators, the validity of the questionnaire was approved by the experts. In this research, there will be a survey of experts from the departments of forestry, watershed management, pasture and desert, land assessment, etc., of the general natural resources department of the province and Garmsar city, with an experience of more than 15 years. After completing the hierarchical analysis questionnaires by 30 expert experts, the hierarchical analysis process was used to prioritize the effective criteria on people's non-participation in desertification projects. Finally, Friedman's test was used to prioritize the indicators and determine their relative importance on people's non-participation in the combating desertification projects.
 
Results and Discussion: According to the results, the educational criterion is the most important criterion of people's non-participation in desertification projects from the point of view of experts (0.48), and the planning (0.29), economic (0.13) and social (0.07) criteria are in the next stages. are priority. From the point of view of experts, the index of "non-use of local promoter groups", with an average rank of 11.72, has the highest relative priority, and the index of "lack of trust in the results of projects" with an average rank of 6.15, has a lowest relative priority in the non-participation of people in the desertification projects of the region. Regarding the findings related to barriers to participation in Ghiyathabad village, the index of "non-use of local promoter groups" was identified as the first priority with a rank of 10.73. In the case of Mohsen Abad village, the index of "weak role of local media in promoting desertification projects and encouraging community participation" has been assigned the highest priority with a rating of 10.50. Also, the findings of Shur Ghazi village show that the index of "low level of literacy in the local community" with a rank of 9.88 is a major concern.
 
Conclusion: In general, the successful implementation of desertification projects relies heavily on achieving maximum participation of local residents during the implementation and maintenance phases. This research was carried out with the aim of identifying factors affecting the non-participation of villagers in desertification projects. As a result, experts emphasize the importance of education and increasing public awareness to increase participation. Related educational videos, as well as visiting successful projects in other regions, accompanied by elders and members of the village council, and sharing their field experiences and observations with the villagers will increase their knowledge and awareness about the employment capacities in this project. It will be In addition, such initiatives will help reduce the adverse effects of floods, dust storms and droughts, thereby improving the overall well-being of residents.