Introduction:
Achieving sustainable rural development requires effective management grounded in the fundamental principles and guidelines of this type of development. Identifying the key components and factors influencing local management, along with its consequences, is essential for realizing the goals of sustainable rural development. To this end, a qualitative analysis was conducted through library research to examine the factors affecting sustainable local management in small and scattered villages in Iran.
In the first step, research questions such as the positioning of the research in terms of time, geographical distribution, subject, and methodology were analyzed both globally and within Iran. Based on the results obtained, the factors influencing local management in small and scattered villages were identified and categorized. Finally, recommendations for enhancing local management were provided.
Materials and Methods: Based on the foundational nature of the research objective, this study aims to present a portion of the existing findings on local management of rural settlements and to define and develop a comprehensive framework of factors influencing local management in villages, with an emphasis on small and dispersed villages. To achieve this, a systematic review approach, utilizing the PRISMA statement, was employed to gather relevant literature on the components of local management models in rural areas from the period 2000 to 2024. Specific keywords such as local management, rural management, rural management model, and small and dispersed villages were used to collect data from credible internal and external scientific databases. After screening and qualitative assessment, a final analysis was conducted on 80 selected studies.
Results and discussion:
The evaluation of studies from the systematic review indicated that implementing a successful local management model for small villages requires a comprehensive and integrated approach that considers all influencing factors. This approach should focus on the active participation of villagers, government support, strengthening local institutions, and the use of modern technologies. The key findings of this research reveal that small and scattered villages face numerous challenges, including geographic dispersion, lack of infrastructure, misalignment of laws with rural conditions, weak local institutions, financial resource shortages, rural migration, weak public participation, changes in lifestyle, and environmental degradation. These challenges directly affect the quality of life of rural residents, resource productivity, and the sustainable development of rural areas. Suggestions for addressing these challenges have been provided.
Conclusions:
Based on the research questions, the distribution of information regarding the time frame, geographical dispersion, topic, and methodology was examined both in Iran and globally. Through the analysis of requirements, prerequisites, and the factors influencing local management and its consequences, it can be concluded that successful local management requires a comprehensive and integrated approach that takes all relevant factors into account. Furthermore, the active participation of villagers, government support, strengthening local institutions, and the use of knowledge and new technologies are key factors that can improve local management. Overall, the comprehensive analysis presented in the reviewed documents shows that the challenges facing the sustainable management of small rural settlements are categorized from different prospective such as, economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions.