Water and Irrigation Management

Water and Irrigation Management

A Review of Behavioral Theories in Evaluating Water Conservation and Protection Approaches in the Agricultural Sector

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Azadeh Ahmadi
Helia Ghofrani
Hamoon Yousefi
Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shadid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jwim.2025.391375.1211
Abstract
Implementing water conservation policies and promoting water-saving behaviors require an understanding of the factors affecting consumer behavior. Given that the agricultural sector accounts for the largest share of water consumption, the conservation and optimal management of water resources in this sector are crucial. In this regard, environmental psychological theories play a significant role in explaining farmers' behaviors and decisions regarding water use. The primary objective of this review is to identify and classify behavioral theories used in the field of water conservation and to evaluate their application in explaining farmers' water-saving behaviors. The literature review in this study was conducted based on the Arksey and O'Malley framework and bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software. A comparative analysis of existing behavioral theories indicates that the Theory of Planned Behavior and its extended versions, with a share of 45.2 percent, have been the most widely used in studies related to water conservation. A temporal analysis of the studies reveals that the application of this theory in water resource management has increased, and recent approaches in this field have placed greater emphasis on social and psychological factors. On the other hand, the Theories of Reasoned Action, Interpersonal Behavior, Technology Acceptance, and Values-Identity-Personal Norms have had the lowest share, collectively accounting for only 4.8 percent of the total studies.
Keywords
Behavioral theories
Sustainable agriculture
Water conservation
Water-saving behaviors
Subjects
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Water and Irrigation Management
Volume 15, Issue 2
Autumn 2025
Pages 315-335