Photographer: Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras.
By Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras, Carena J. van Riper, Riley Andrade, Christopher M. Raymond, Devin J. Goodson, Rose Keller, and Tobias Plieninger.
Protected areas are unique and critical landscapes for biodiversity conservation. However, managers must meticulously plan and implement protected area management, so it is inclusive of human and non-human species. Research oriented toward respect and care for human-nature relationships, as well as focused on integrating the dynamics of social-ecological systems is more likely to reflect the interests of local communities that interact with, and shape protected area landscapes.
This study explored the inter-relationships among broad values, ecological knowledge acquisition and social-ecological contextual factors in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain) to explain residents’ preferences, visions, and behavioural patterns. Our results showed a strong link between people’s knowledge about the traditional use of ethnobotanical resources and biocultural customs, that is, traditional and local knowledge, and their understanding of ecosystem functioning or endangered species, that is, scientific knowledge. This hybrid form of ecological knowledge seems linked to new residents who seek to relate more intimately and respectfully with the social-ecological environment, away from the disconnection with nature that prevails in highly urbanised areas.
Our results further showed that increases in ecological knowledge, in general, were associated with human values including altruism and empathy towards other human beings or society, as well as sensitivity and respect towards non-human nature. These results demonstrate the importance of understanding the ways that multiple forms of knowledge can give rise to deep-seated values that govern behaviour in both direct and indirect ways. The interrelationships between broad values and knowledge were positively associated with a holistic way of valuing the nature that included relational values (e.g., spiritual values, connection to place, landscape stewardship, mental health and well-being), as well as ecological values of the landscape or the provision of freshwater or ethnobotanical resources that we conceptualized as instrumental values
Our results demonstrate the importance of understanding the particularities of protected area contexts and social-ecological dynamics that give rise to the inner worlds of protected area interest groups. We highlight the importance of understanding how residents learn about and experience nature, as well as socio-economic status. The urban-rural gradient also plays a role in the formation of people’s values, knowledge and behaviour. Thus, the nexus of relationships among context, knowledge, and multiple forms of values can be evaluated to generate empirical evidence of how people process and respond to information, as well as how protected area agencies can form more sustainable and just intervention strategies or how human-nature relationships can be encouraged in protected area contexts. We expect our results to help develop more inclusive and resilient conservation policies that embrace the complexities of human-nature relationships.
Relational Thinking 