WOLF CONSERVATION CONFLICT

Transcription

1 WOLF CONSERVATION CONFLICT EU PLATFORM ON COEXISTENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LARGE CARNIVORES WORKSHOP ROVANIEMI, MARI POHJA-MYKRÄ UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI RURALIA INSTITUTE

2 WOLF CONSERVATION CONFLICT IS ABOUT ATTITUDE CONFLICT HIERARCHICAL CONFLICT STAKEHOLDER CONFLICT LEADS TO INCREASINGLY NON-COMMUNICATIVE FORMS OF RESISTANCE TOWARD CONSERVATION POLICIES HOW TO MANAGE THE CONFLICT?

3 ATTITUDE CONFLICT Transnational environmental ethos Wolves inside the ethical circle Wolf is a emotional flagship species for the restoration of indigenous wildlife and natural ecosystems in highly developed areas Breitenmoser (1998: 279) Distress of agrarian livelihoods Biosecurity issues are violated. Antagonist positions of biocentric values and traditional agrarian values

4 HIERARCHIAL CONFLICT Favorable conservation status enjoyed by species in the European Union s conservation policy Conservation is dominated by technical-ecological expertise Conservative management methods Barstool biology The illegal killing that threatens the conservation status and undermines conservation efforts have been dealt with using a more punitive regime and increased penalties. Antagonist positions of conservation policies/management practices and traditional agrarian practices

5 STAKEHOLDER CONFLICT Uneven power positions Public dialog filled with power relations Rumors Antagonist positions of conservationists/animal welfarists and local communities/agrarian livelihoods

6 RADICALIZATION PROCESS Environmental ethos Europeanization of rural space Legitimacy crisis of the public sphere -> Feelings of inequality, injustice, frustration and lack of trust -> Rural differentiation -> Radicalization of hunters/reindeer herders, but also of the local community members Increasingly non-communicative forms of resistance toward conservation policies, implicit and explicit resistance

7 DEFIANCE OF AUTHORITIES Alienation from authoritative agents and society at large Rural crime performed by hunters and reindeer herders Perceiving the sanctions as unfair and stigmatizing Good poachers vs. bad poachers Community support, including authorities Externalizing the shame associated with the sanction forced to act illegally denial of injury/victim common sense appealing to relationships

8 WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND Interdependency of ecological, economic and social factors in sustainable wolf management. Inefficiency of the command and control policies in wolf management. In sociopolitical crimes more punitive regime and increased penalties may increase illegal killing instead of acting as a deterrent.

9 WE NEED TO ENHANCE Responsive and deliberative governance of wolf conservation that is based on Empowerment of local communities Salience of stakeholders not only legitimacy, power and influence, but also PROXIMITY matters Identification of the role and influence of different stakeholders according to their positions within the social network Practices that change the community perception of hunting violators as good into bad. If wolves are turned into local common pool resources, illegal killing will turn into a potential threat to the common good.

10 WE NEED TO STUDY Species-specific attitudes in different cultural and structural societies Psychological processes related to species-specific traits How to ensure security, comfort and pleasure for local people and at the same time, develop responsibility towards wolves?

11 PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP Evaluation of the Finnish national policy on large carnivores, in 2014 By giving people control over wolves open-access to wolf information, and possibility to invest one s self in wolf management, the human basic needs of self-identity efficacy in relation to their environment and the objects that belong to it, and having a place in which to dwell, are fulfilled.

12 THANK YOU MARI POHJA-MYKRÄ UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI RURALIA INSTITUTE