Given the concern about biodiversity loss, there are a number of arguments used for biodiversity conservation ranging from those emphasising the intrinsic value of biodiversity to those on the direct use value of ecosystems. Yet arguing the case for biodiversity conservation effectively requires an understanding of why people value biodiversity. We used Q methodology to explore and understand how different conservation practitioners (social and natural science researchers, environmental non-Governmental organisations and decision-makers) in nine European countries argue for conservation. We found that there was a plurality of views about biodiversity and its conservation. A moral argument and some arguments around the intrinsic and ecological value of biodiversity were held by all stakeholder groups. They also shared the view that species valuation does not justify the destruction of nature. However, there were also some differences within and between the groups, which primarily reflected the espousal of either ecocentric or anthropocentric viewpoints. Our findings suggest that moral arguments and those around biodiversity's intrinsic and ecological value could potentially serve as a starting point for building consensus among conservation practitioners.
Please cite this article in press as: Kovács, E., et al., Towards understanding and resolving the conflict related to the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) conservation with participatory management planning. Land Use Policy (2016), http://dx
Individual decision-makers at different governance levels operate in social contexts, which means that they sometimes need to compromise their personal values. Yet, this dissonance is rarely the direct target of empirical analyses of environmental decision-making. We undertake a Q-analysis of decision-makers' personal perspectives and the perspectives they perceive to dominate in their decision-making contexts. Our empirical analysis addresses biodiversity conservation, which has traditionally been justified with intrinsic value-and science-based arguments. The arguments have recently been broadened with the concept of ecosystem services, highlighting human benefits and values. This evolving context is interesting because of the new rise of anthropocentric values, which can lead to decision-makers experiencing dissonance. Our analysis of interviews with 43 biodiversity conservation decision-makers from nine European countries reveals four personally held perspectives that highlight different, yet partly overlapping, valuesintrinsic, human benefit, conservation and connectionas well as three perspectives perceived to dominate in decision-makingutilitarian, insurance and knowledge values. The comparison of personally held and perceived dominant perspectives points to one major conflict: those decision-makers who personally associate with intrinsic values and perceive utilitarian values to dominate in decisionmaking experience dissonance. By contrast, personally held human benefit values are accommodated well in decision-making contexts and decision-makers who perceive insurance values to dominate experience the least conflict with personally held values. These findings demonstrate the potential of arguments stressing long-term benefits for easing tension and conflicts in conservation decisionmaking, and the usefulness of empirically testing of the coincidence of individual and social values.
Összefoglaló: Az Európai Unió 2020-ig megvalósítandó Biodiverzitás Stratégiájának egyik fő célkitűzése az ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatások (ÖSz-ek) minél teljesebb megőrzése és helyreállítása.Ennek érdekében a tagországok számára előírják, hogy térképezzék és értékeljék a területükön található ökoszisztémák állapotát (ÖÁ), valamint az általuk nyújtott ÖSz-ek helyzetét és gazdasági értékét. Magyarországon a 2016 őszén indult, Agrárminisztérium által koordinált KEHOP-4.3.0-VEKOP-15-2016-00001 számú kiemelt projekt keretében az "Ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatások" fejlesztési elem egyik fő feladata a hazai viszonyok között kiemelt fontossággal bíró ÖSz-ek országos térképezése és értékelése (Nemzeti Ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatás Térképezés és Értékelés; NÖSZTÉP). Az értékelés az ún. kaszkád-modell mentén végig halad az ÖSz-eket meghatározó ÖÁ jellemzőktől, az ÖSz kapacitásokon és az ebből ténylegesen igénybe vett szolgáltatásokon át az emberi jóllét fenntartásában vagy növelésében játszott szerepükig. A projekt eredményei a tervek szerint segítik majd a természeti tőkénkkel való fenntartható gazdálkodást, a zöldinfrastruktúra-hálózat fejlesztését, az egyes ágazatok közti hatékonyabb kommunikációt és a természetvédelmi és más ágazati döntéshozatalt.One of the main goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 is to maintain and restore ecosystem services. It requires the member states to assess and map the condition of ecosystems, and the state and economic value of the most important ecosystem services (ESs). Led by the Ministry of Agriculture an EU-co-financed KEHOP-4.3.0-VEKOP-15-2016-00001 project started in Hungary in 2016 to fulfill these goals. The evaluation of the ecosystem services follows a so-called cascade model, which has 4 main levels: 1. condition of ecosystems, 2. capacity of ecosystems to provide selected ESs (potential supply), 3. actual use of ESs, 4. contribution of ESs to human wellbeing. The results of the project will hopefully assist the sustainable management of environmental resources, the development of the green infrastructure network, improved communication between different sectors, and proper decision making in nature conservation and other related sectors.
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