Social values and biodiversity conservation in a dynamic world.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Sociology
• Conservation Psychology
• Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management

Background:

• Understanding public values is crucial for effective conservation strategies.
• Societal changes, like modernization, may alter human values and subsequent conservation support.
• Wildlife value orientations (WVOs) shape attitudes and behaviors towards wildlife.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of modernization on WVOs within a multilevel framework.
• To examine how WVOs influence conservation support at individual and county levels.
• To explore the role of WVOs in public responses to wolf recovery.

Main Methods:

• Survey data (n=4183) collected from households in Washington State.
• Multilevel modeling used to analyze relationships between modernization and WVOs.
• Case study of wolf (Canis lupis) recovery examined conservation support and social conflict.

Main Results:

• County-level modernization positively associated with mutualism (prioritizing wildlife needs).
• County-level modernization negatively associated with domination (prioritizing human needs).
• Mutualism correlated with reduced social conflict in wolf recovery efforts, though context-dependent.

Conclusions:

• Societal modernization influences wildlife value orientations, with implications for biodiversity conservation.
• Contextual factors (e.g., modernization) have an additive impact on individual values.
• Understanding value systems is key, but additional factors are needed to fully explain pro-conservation behavior.