Do farmers and conservationists perceive landscape changes differently?

Abstract

Broader understanding of stakeholders' perceptions of landscape changes is needed to cope with global environmental challenges locally. In this study, farmers' and conservationists'-researchers' perceptions of landscape changes were compared by analyzing interviews conducted in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve region of Hungary through a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. Perceptions concerning the trends of changes (increasing or decreasing), as well as evaluations (positive and negative) of 40 different landscape elements were analyzed. The quantitative analysis consisted of landscape elements of different native and alien plant and animal species, natural habitats, and types of land use. For a qualitative analysis, one landscape element, the tussock sedge beds, a type of wetland habitat, was chosen. According to the quantitative analysis, the two groups held similar views on trends. However, their evaluations differed substantially. The most significant differences appeared between the two groups in cases where land use and biodiversity goals were in competition, e.g., abandonment and non-native plantations. Changes causing both decline of biodiversity and the fading of the cultural landscapes were seen similarly negatively by the two groups, e.g., disappearance of lakes, spread of invasive plants, expansion of wild boar. However, quantitative analysis also showed that conservationists-researchers had higher consensus, while farmers were much more diverse in their evaluations. Qualitative analysis explored the reasons for these differences. Although conservationists-researchers shared eco-centric values, farmers evaluated landscape changes heterogeneously based on individual constellations of economic interest, cultural values, and their sense of responsibility for nature. Our study, with the combined application of quantitative and qualitative analyses, provides new understandings of both between-group and within-group differences and similarities of farmers' and conservationists'-researchers' landscape change perceptions.

How Mongolian herders perceive ecological change in a “stable” landscape

“…We focused on the main folk habitat types documented by Gantuya et al (2019), but remained open to discussion of additionally mentioned habitat types. The main questions were (based mostly on Molnár 2014, Ujházy et al 2020) the following: What changes do you remember since your childhood in areas like this in the picture/in this area on the opposite mountain side, etc.? What are the most important characteristics of this particular area?…”

“…No contradicting perception of indicators was found. This was slightly unexpected because in other regions of the world, locals and scientists/conservationists often perceive changes differently (Reed et al 2008, Molnár et al 2016a, Thurstan et al 2016, Ujházy et al 2020). One explanation could be that the traditional and the rangeland scientific understandings of proper pasture and forest management strongly overlap in Mongolia, and state regulations seldom compromise traditional practices (see the work of Sambuu 1987).…”

“…of a Ecology and Society 26(2): 21 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss2/art21/ landscape. Changes are connected to these cornerstones, and members of the local communities perceive these changes (Ujházy et al 2020).…”

Environmental Concerns and Stewardship Behaviors Among Rural Landowners: What Supports Farmers and Non-farmers in Being Good Stewards?

“…However, it has also been observed that many farmers can perceive environmental issues and stewardship actions differently than other rural landowners or urban dwellers (Berenguer et al, 2005;Huddart-Kennedy et al, 2009;Gottlieb et al, 2015). When designing effective planning and policies for conservation in agricultural landscapes, it is therefore important to differentiate between relevant population groups and understand their specific concerns, needs and opportunities (Raymond et al, 2016;Ujházy et al, 2020).…”

Context in Landscape Planning: Improving Conservation Outcomes by Identifying Social Values for a Flagship Species

“…Conservation plans are generally implemented with only limited attention to social values of landscapes [17]. A reorientation of focus that considers causes which are inherently about people and the way they act in an environment necessarily accounts for the importance of involvement from each causally related sector [18]. This approach requires the inclusion of social values in addition to the ecological values traditionally defined by conservation science [17].…”