Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology

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Ashrafzadeh M R, Jazayeri S S, Mohammadi A R, Naghipour A A. Assessing the Level of Conflicts Between Local Communities and The Invasive Species Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in Northwest Iran. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology 2025; 14 (2) :57-71
URL: http://ijae.iut.ac.ir/article-1-1283-en.html

This study aimed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards the invasive nutria (Myocastor coypus) across its distribution range in northwestern Iran. For this purpose, 310 local residents from west Azerbaijan, east Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and Gilan provinces were randomly selected for face-to-face interviews. The findings revealed that although only 8.1% of respondents reported direct damage to their agricultural crops, a considerable proportion of participants considered the nutria a major threat to the region and accepted culling as an effective population control strategy. Logistic regression analysis indicated that individuals with higher education levels and greater economic dependence on agriculture were more likely to perceive nutria as a serious threat. Moreover, those with prior experience of damage strongly viewed the species as a risk to both food security and the environment. Approximately 7700 km² of the study area was identified as a conflict hotspot, of which nearly 9% overlaps with protected areas. It is recommended that in managing nutria-related conflicts, beyond technical interventions, efforts should focus on education, community participation, and integrating the socio-economic context of local communities into the design of management strategies. This integrated approach is essential to ensure both ecological effectiveness and social acceptance