Public views on biodiversity - the construction of attitudes - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Public views on biodiversity - the construction of attitudes towards biodiversity management Anke Fischer Socio-Economic Research Group Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Structure 1. Understanding public attitudes – why? 2. Useful concepts: Social representations, values, beliefs and attitudes 3. Three examples: • Social representations of biodiversity • Attitudes towards management of an invasive plant • Social representations of species Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Measuring public attitudes… UK Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (2003) Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Measuring public attitudes… � “low levels of knowledge, little understanding” (Hunter & Brehm 2003) ?? � “strongly held but poorly defended concerns” (Hull et al. 2001) ??? � from measuring to understanding people’s views � moving away from a ‘deficit model’ Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Questions • What does biodiversity actually mean to people – including ourselves? • How do people relate it to other concepts such as ‘nature’? How is this related to their worldviews in general? • What do people value about biological diversity? • How are these values linked to people’s views on biodiversity management? Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

A few useful concepts (Social) representations (Moscovici 2000) • meanings that individuals assign to an object • socially elaborated systems of values, ideas and practices that define an object for a social group • can have both descriptive and normative, i.e., evaluative, aspects • help to “familiarize the unfamiliar” � anchoring Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

A few useful concepts Values: transsituational guiding principles Values Beliefs Values Beliefs in a person’s life (Schwartz & Sagiv 1990) Belief: relation between an object and an attribute or other object (Fishbein & Ajzen 1975) Attitudes Attitudes � both part of (social) representations Intentions Attitude: a cognitive representation that Intentions summarises an individual’s evaluation of particular objects (Smith & Mackie 2000) Behaviour Behaviour Rokeach 1973, Fishbein & Ajzen 1975, Fulton et al. 1996; simplified!! Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Representations of biodiversity Arjen Buijs, Anke Fischer, Juliette Young, Dieter Rink, Petru Lisievici, Jana Sedláková, István Tátrai � ALTER-Net RA5: “Public attitudes to biodiversity and its conservation” � previous studies: scientific concepts as the yardstick to measure public awareness and knowledge � qualitative research: public understandings of and attitudes towards biodiversity issues Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Understanding public attitudes Qualitative research in six European countries � aim: gather information on representations and attitudes � exploratory, usually group-based approaches � wide range of members of the public: tourists, local residents, land managers, conservationists, arts students, … � reference to protected areas � common discussion guide � common coding procedure � n=359 participants Group discussion in Braila, Romania. Photo: Petru Lisievici Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Study sites Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

The Scottish case � Cairngorms: National Park since 2003 � habitats: eg., native pine and birch woodland, heather moorland � method: focus-group discussions combined with drawing exercises � sample size: 8 groups; n= 44 � visitors and residents of NP and adjacent areas Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Results What does ‘biodiversity’ mean to members of the public? many respondents familiar with biodiversity-related � concepts (‘balance’, ‘food webs’), although NOT necessarily with the scientific terminology � analysis distinguishes between (i) representations related to the term ‘biodiversity’ (ii) representations independent from scientific terms Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Representations of biodiversity � respondents underestimate their own knowledge � often vague expressions when directly asked � but: conceptually rich insights are revealed indirectly � biodiversity is part of a complex mental representation “wildlife” “connected” “water at the centre” “contained in the same environment” “only plant I know the name of: club moss” “no hierarchy” “reindeer – metaphor – shouldn’t be there” “landscape feeding into it” Biodiversity drawings Scotland Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Representations of biodiversity What does biodiversity mean to members of the public? biodiversity embedded in complex mental constructs � strong normative components � role of humans in nature views on attitudes images of biodiversity towards nature: management biodiversity wilderness, management functional, measures arcadian attributes and values related functions and to nature benefits of biodiversity Source: Buijs, Fischer, Rink & Young 2008 Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Values and biodiversity What do respondents consider as ideal states of nature? � What do they consider as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ biodiversity? � Which attributes of the natural environment are valued? � � balance “It is the balance that keeps everything healthy. You have got to maintain the balance, the natural balance” [UK] � untouched by humans “Man has become somebody who is constantly intervening in nature. He wants to control nature and shape it (…). I think that is wrong.” [NL] � nativeness “The native woodland, they are the most attractive places to be and there (…) it looks like it should look. It just seems more correct in some indefinable way” [UK] Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Values and biodiversity Focus group discussions in the Scottish highlands Fischer & Young 2007 English tourists German tourists ? like: ferns like: heather, gorse, Highland cows dislike: heather, gorse, bagpipes ☺ dislike: ferns (bracken) Heather Gorse Bracken Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Values and biodiversity heather, gorse, Highland cattle: heather, gorse: • typical features of Scottish highlands • “are everywhere” ? • can’t be found at home • “epidemic” • “gorse smells nice” • though “one of the national things about Scotland” ferns (bracken): • “are taking over” • “doesn’t look neat” • “are introduced by the English” • “suppress other plants” Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Values and biodiversity heather, gorse, Highland cattle: heather, gorse: • typical features of Scottish highlands • “are everywhere” • can’t be found at home • “epidemic” though “one of the • “gorse smells nice” national things about Scotland” ferns (bracken): • “are taking over” • “doesn’t look neat” • “are introduced by the English” • “suppress other plants” • native and typical, unique features � positive • (illegitimate) introduction � negative • dominance of single species � negative → Beliefs might diverge, but values are the same!! → Can we find such value-based arguments also in other cases? → How do they relate to attitudes towards management? Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Conclusions and open questions • representations of biodiversity: – people underestimate their own knowledge – but: conceptually rich insights are revealed indirectly • representations are constructed of a range of elements • important notions: food-webs, links between elements of a system ( � ‘balance’) • strong values associated (uniqueness, nativeness, untouchedness, balance ≠ dominance, …) � Do individuals apply these values across situations? � How do these values relate to individuals’ attitudes? Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk

Example 2: The ‘tree mallow case’ Craigleith island Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica Tree mallow Lavatera arborea More information: Fischer & Van der Wal 2007 Anke Fischer � Macaulay Land Use Research Institute � Aberdeen � a.fischer@macaulay.ac.uk