Human ecological analysis of farmers' pro-environmental behaviour in the face of drought: Application of Norm Activation Theory

This study aims to investigate farmers' pro-environmental behaviour (FPB) under drought conditions. The epistemological perspective of the study was centred on human ecology and Norm Activation Theory (NAT). The study was designed as descriptive-correlational research of causal relationships and was conducted using the survey method. The statistical population includes farmers who live around Lake Hamoun on the Iran-Afghan border in the Sistan region. With NAT serving as the basis, the causal chain model of the impact of awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, subjective norms and personal norms on FPB was presented and tested. The proposed causal model is able to explain 34% of changes in FPB. The results of this study highlight the need for special attention to the fundamental changes that must be made in the environmental views of farmers as the most important stakeholders of water resources under drought conditions.