Abstract

With spreading environmental problems, natural ecosystems in rural areas are also exposed to destruction. These challenges are mainly due to the behavior of individuals in interaction with nature. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the context of occurrence and formation of environmental problems in rural areas of Guilan province. This research is based on a qualitative approach and based on grounded theory. The geographical area of the research was the villages of the west of Gilan province and its statistical population was composed of villagers of those areas in 1399(2019). In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 villagers and environmental experts using theoretical saturation sampling. The validity and reliability of this study were evaluated based on control on validation by the participants. Data analysis was performed in three stages of coding. 7 concepts were identified as the most important environmental issues. in selective coding, the core, i.e., "environmental degradation and ecosystem instability" was discovered and the final paradigm model was drawn accordingly. Causal conditions included communal use, non-separation of national and personal boundaries, land use change, landfill, misuse, wasteful grazing, profit-seeking and livelihood exploitation. The intervening conditions included nationality of natural resources, weak supervision and unprincipled exploitation. Overall, findings showed that environmental degradation is a multi factorial phenomenon that the continuity of convergence between the set of causal and intervening conditions in the context of structural factors and behaviors of villagers have caused its occurrence. Based on this, it can be suggested that in order to reduce degradation and pollution and preserve the environment, structural reforms in the areas of infrastructure, support and education are necessary to improve environmental protection behaviors.