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The present study seeks to identify the potentials of the development of ecotourism in the view of condition of local community. Urmia Lake is one the largest lakes in Iran which plays an important role in the socio-economic and environmental sectors in this region. However, due to the fact that the lake has shrunk substantially, it brought about national and international concerns.

The study with focus on qualitative methods employed semi-structured interviews in persons and groups and some observations. The study population consisted of all stakeholders concerning the revival of the lake and the potentials of the development of ecotourism in the area. Purposive sampling with snowballing method was used to find the informants. The techniques of SWOT, IEA, and QSPM were employed for strategic evaluations. Based on the results of external and internal factors, it was found that the most appropriate strategy for the development of ecotourism in the basin would be adaptive strategy. Among the identified strategies, the strategy of the formation of integrated management with the function of inter-province for the restoration of Urmia Lake was suggested as the most appropriate strategy for sustainable development of the ecotourism in basin.

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Introduction: Drying away has threatened Urmia Lake in recent years. Fading away of this lake can negatively affect the nature, economy, population structure and, all aspects of the region in general. Meanwhile, beside the natural cuases, all inhabitants around the Urmia lake have affection in shrinking of this lake and on the other side, will be affected by collapsing of this lake.So, this research has done to findout the effective sociological factors in relatedness with nature of Urmia lake between citizens of Urmia city.
Methodology: The method of this research is survey. Population consists of all Urmia citizens with the age of 15 and older than that. 384 people were selected through Cochran formula as sample. Random sampling selected as the method for sampling and a standard questionnaire used in gathering data. Spss software used in analyzing data.
Conclusion: The resuls shows that: relatedness with Urmia Lake is related with age, social capital and its subtypes. Also, results of regression analysis showed that independent variables can provide 24 percent of the relatedness with Urmia Lake.
Key words: Nature Relatedness, Urmia Lake, Social Capital, Citizenship Rights, Media.