Factors underpinning Iranian farmers' intention to conserve biodiversity at the farm level

The depletion of biodiversity is a major environmental challenge of the present time, with the agricultural sector being a significant contributor to the loss. Therefore, farmers' decisions and practices are pivotal in safeguarding biodiversity at the farm level. Accordingly, this study aimed to unravel the key factors influencing farmers' intention to conserve biodiversity (ICB), and in doing so, it adopted the protection motivation theory (PMT) as the theoretical framework. The study's statistical population comprised 412 farmers residing in Bavi County in the southwestern region of Iran. The research employed a questionnaire as the data collection instrument, and the research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings indicated that the respondents held a perception of high costs associated with implementing biodiversity conservation behaviors. They believed that such measures would not be easy to implement, and they would incur both monetary and non-monetary costs. Furthermore, the findings of the study revealed that the variables of SE and ICB among the studied farmers were lower than the theoretical median of 3, indicating that farmers may not have a strong desire and self-efficacy to engage in biodiversity conservation practices. Through the application of SEM, the study determined that the PMT accounts for 65.2% of farmers' ICB. Additionally, perceived severity and self-efficacy were found to have the strongest effects on farmers' ICB (as the first and second determinants), highlighting the importance of these variables in predicting farmers' conservation behaviors. Overall, it can be concluded that these results have significant implications for policymakers in the agricultural sector, providing valuable insights into how to promote biodiversity conservation practices among farmers.