Wetland conservation efforts rely heavily on stakeholders’ active engagement and support, particularly in cases where wetlands are situated near urban and rural communities. This study aimed to explore the dynamics of stakeholder participation willingness in wetland conservation, focusing on the Zeribar peri-urban wetland in western Iran. A total of 406 individuals were randomly chosen to take part in a face-to-face questionnaire-based survey, achieving a response rate of 94.1 %. A significant majority (80 %) of the respondents believed that the Zeribar wetland faces different threats including severe pollution. However, there is considerable skepticism regarding community involvement in conservation efforts, with only 24 % agreeing that local communities are actively engaged, while 62 % disagreed or strongly disagreed. A key aspect of the study involves the contingent valuation analysis, which explores stakeholders’ willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for wetland conservation efforts. The results showed that offering compensation of about 264.6 × 106 IRR (Iranian rials) per year could effectively encourage households to participate in wetland management and conservation projects. This WTA preference value significantly vary across stakeholder groups, including rural (RC) and urban communities (UC), government agencies (GA), private sector actors (PA), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Based on the WTA compensation format analysis, the UC group predominantly preferred cash payments, accounting for 51 % of WTA values, whereas groups such as RC, GA, NGOs, and PA, who appreciated the wetland for its role in environmental protection and enhancement of ecosystem services, showed lower preferences for cash. Technological training was notably favored by GA (45 %) and PA (28 %) groups, with urban communities and NGOs also indicating interest in this form of compensation. Tobit regression analysis showed that males and older respondents were significantly less willing to accept compensation, as indicated by negative coefficients for gender (β = − 3.52) and age (β = − 2.32). Conversely, each additional educational level (β = +5.32), higher household income (β = +4.32), longer duration of residency (β = +4.58), and larger agricultural land area (β = +5.87) exerted positive influences on WTA, demonstrating their influencing roles in valuing conservation and management programs. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers and conservation practitioners aiming to promote sustainable conservation practices in the Zeribar wetland ecosystem as well as in other urban wetlands across the country.
