What Butterfly Effect? The Contextual Differences in Public Perceptions of the Health Risk Posed by Climate Change

Stoutenborough, James W.; Kirkpatrick, Kellee J.; Field, Matt; Vedlitz, Arnold

doi:10.3390/cli3030668

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(75 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our findings provide evidence that forest users' perceptions, which are based on the (subjective) way the users' experience, think about, and understand the context of community forests [105], have a significant effect on the forest user participation. In the literature, a few case studies which took individual perception into consideration found that indeed the perception of risk, success, or failure of a particular collective action, strongly influences the intention and willingness of individuals to participate in particular efforts [106][107][108][109].…”

Section: Effect Of Forest User Perception and Affiliation Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Community and User Attributes in Collective Action: Case Study of Community-Based Forest Management in Nepal

Negi¹,

Pham

Karky

et al. 2018

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A growing literature on collective action focuses on exploring the conditions that might help or hinder groups to work collectively. In this paper, we focus on community-based forest management in the inner Terai region of Nepal and explore the role of community and user attributes such as group size, social heterogeneities, forest user' perception on forests, and affiliation to the user group, in the collective action of managing community forests. Household surveys were carried out with 180 households across twelve community forest users' groups. We first measured ethnic diversity, income inequality, landholding inequality, and user perception towards the use and management of community forests to understand their effect on the participation of forest users in the management of community forests. Our results show that among the studied variables, group size (number of forest users affiliated to the community forests) and perception of the management of their community forests are strong predictors of forest user participation in community forest management. Income inequality and ethnic diversity were found to have no significant association. Land inequality, however, was found to decrease participation in the management and use of community forests. These community and user attributes play a crucial role in the success of collective action and may vary from community to community. Hence they need to be duly considered by the practitioners prior to any community-based project interventions for stimulating successful collective action.Forests 2018, 9, 136 2 of 20 management (CFM) is considered as one of the successful models of community-based forest governance [4]; the success of which depends on many factors, such as socio-economic heterogeneity, institutional setting, leadership, property rights regimes, degree of decentralization, community characteristics, technology, and market influence etc. [5,6]. The premise of the CFM asserts that communities or groups of forest users collectively engage in the management of the forest. Hence, the involvement and participation of the forest users has been deemed integral for the functioning of CFM as collective action in forest management [7][8][9][10].Over the years, many case studies have emerged in the literature, suggesting that some communities are more successful than others in achieving success in collective action [11][12][13][14][15][16]. This has sparked a notable debate among scholars on the diverse conditions and factors that may facilitate and/or hinder the collective action [17]. While there is consensus on the fact that a certain set of variables such as physical and socio-economic environment, local governance structures, social capital, community's willingness to participate, tenure rights etc. influence the likelihood of collective action [18], there is no consensus about the particular effect that these variables have. The communities managing the forests worldwide may differ in their capacity, interests, and perceptions regarding community forestry [...

show abstract

Section: Effect Of Forest User Perception and Affiliation Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Community and User Attributes in Collective Action: Case Study of Community-Based Forest Management in Nepal

Negi¹,

Pham

Karky

et al. 2018

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…. the contextual differences in public perceptions of the health risk posed by climate change" [39].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the potential butterfly effects of climate change events are not completely perceived by the public. Specifically, familiarity, self-interest, and the optimism bias influence the conception of the phenomenon attributing to health risks a high spatial dependency [39].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, the study assessed that "the more proximate the group evaluated, the less likely the individual is to perceive health risk" [39] and, at the same time, if individuals do not really understand the problem, they generally perceive a greater level of risk [39].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these perspectives and connections between human health and climate need to be explored in order to find ways to overcome and/or adapt to the increasing risk. For example, public authorities should be focusing on explaining local threats to guarantee a necessary comprehension of the health risk involved [39].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Climate and Human Health: Relations, Projections, and Future Implementations

Pezzoli

Davila

d’Elia

2016

Climate

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the world has begun to warm as a result of human influence. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, arising primarily from the combustion of carbon fossil fuels and agricultural activities, generates changes in the climate. Indeed various studies have assessed the potential impacts of climate change on human health (both negative and positive). The increased frequency and intensity of heat waves, the reduction in cold-related deaths, the increased floods and droughts, and the changes in the distribution of vector-borne diseases are among the most frequently studied effects. On the other hand, climate change differs from many other environmental health problems because of its gradual onset, widespread rather than localized effect, and the fact that the most important effects will probably be indirect. Some recent and important publications show that only the collaboration between the meteorological and the public health communities can help us to thoroughly study the link between climate and health, thus improving our ability to adapt to these future changes. The aim of this editorial is to give different perspectives on a widely discussed topic, which is still too complicated to be addressed to a satisfactory extent. Moreover, it is necessary to underline the importance of using new biometeorological indices (i.e. thermal indexes, etc.) for future projections, in order to reduce the impacts of negative outcomes, protecting the population through adaptation measures and public awareness.

show abstract

How does perception at multiple levels influence collective action in the commons? The case of Mikania micrantha in Chitwan, Nepal

Sullivan

York

et al. 2017

Forest Policy and Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How does perception at multiple levels influence collective action in the commons? The case of Mikania micrantha in Chitwan, Nepal Collective action has played a vital role in managing common pool resources in numerous global contexts. This article explores the factors affecting collective action related to the removal of the mile-aminute weed (Mikania micrantha, referred to as Mikania), an invasive plant, in community forests in the buffer zone region around Chitwan National Park in Chitwan, Nepal. Few studies have combined larger sample size quantitative data with greater generalizability and nuanced, case study qualitative data to explore what factors influence collective action or focused on how perception of the issue at multiple levels affects outcomes. This research employs household and community forest management survey data from 21 community forests in and near the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park in Nepal. Our econometric analysis investigates what influences local people's participation in Mikania removal and contextualizes the findings with rich case-study interview data. Our model finds that reliance on community forest resources and perception of the issue are influential factors in their participation in Mikania removal. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of increasing the effectiveness of Mikania removal efforts and influencing collective action in relation to other global human-environment issues.

show abstract

What Butterfly Effect? The Contextual Differences in Public Perceptions of the Health Risk Posed by Climate Change

Cited by 5 publications

References 54 publications

Role of Community and User Attributes in Collective Action: Case Study of Community-Based Forest Management in Nepal

Role of Community and User Attributes in Collective Action: Case Study of Community-Based Forest Management in Nepal

Climate and Human Health: Relations, Projections, and Future Implementations

How does perception at multiple levels influence collective action in the commons? The case of Mikania micrantha in Chitwan, Nepal

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About