THE EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST OF PEOPLE TOWARDS PROTECTED AREAS AND WILDLIFE SPECIES IN ISFAHAN PROVINCE

Introduction:Protected areas are the basis of national and international strategies for survival. These areas act as a refuge for species and help to surviving of ecological processesand ecosystem services. Isfahan province consists of nine protected areas and an area with prohibited hunting. In all, about one percent of the province is protected. These areas includeplant and animal species such as sand cat, Persian leopard, gazelle and cheetah. The purposeof this study is the evaluation of knowledge and interest of people towards protected areas and wildlife species in Isfahan provinceMaterial and Method:A questionnaire consisting of 50 questions was prepared. The sample society was selected from people with over 15 years old in Isfahan city. Then, by usingCochran formula, the sample size was determined 1000. To test the validity and reliability of questions, Ten percent of the sample, was distributed among the different groups. Options for each question were coded and Cronbach's alpha was calculated. Based on the obtained alpha(0.8), the questionnaires with no overall change were distributed among different groups in society. Next, all the options were coded and analyzed using SPSS software. Results and Discussion:Despite the interest of sampled society to environment and naturalresources (60%), unfortunately, there is low knowledge (43%) about protected area and rare wildlife species. To increase social awareness and interest to the protected areas, it is necessary to perform advertising in the city in different ways. Also, the school books shouldbe allocated to protected areas in parts. Advertising in travel and public transport, could be increase the knowledge and interest of society towards protected areas and rare species in Isfahan province.

Keywords:

National park , Wildlife refuge , protected area