Deakin University
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Exploring cultural differences in wildlife value orientations using student samples in seven nations

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journal contribution
posted on 2022-01-01, 00:00 authored by M H Jacobs, S Dubois, T Hosaka, V Ladanović, H F M Muslim, Kelly MillerKelly Miller, S Numata, E Ranaweerage, T M Straka, Mike WestonMike Weston, Z A Z Abidin
AbstractUnderstanding differences in the way people think about wildlife across countries is important as many conservation challenges transcend jurisdictions. We explored differences in wildlife value orientations in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Serbia. Standard scales assessed domination (prioritizing human well-being) and mutualism (striving for egalitarian relationships with wildlife). We used student samples (total n = 2176) for cross-cultural comparisons. Reliabilities of the wildlife value orientations scales were adequate in all countries. Relationships between demographics and wildlife value orientations were different across countries. Men were generally more oriented towards domination and less towards mutualism than women, except in Serbia, where it was the other way around. Estimated at the level of the individual (using ANOVA), wildlife value orientations varied across countries, with nationality explaining a larger portion of the variation in mutualism (21%) than domination (6%). Estimated at the level of countries (using multilevel modelling), effect sizes were comparable. Thought about wildlife has previously only been examined within single countries. This paper makes a new contribution to the conservation literature suggesting that wildlife value orientations vary by country, and are associated with demographic factors. For conservation practices, understanding national differences in the way people think about wildlife is crucial to understanding sources of conflict among practitioners. Such knowledge is also important to gain public support for conservation.

History

Journal

Biodiversity and Conservation

Pagination

1 - 21

Publisher

Springer

Location

Berlin, Germany

ISSN

0960-3115

eISSN

1572-9710

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal