Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Perceiving biodiversity changes in daily life - insights from an exploratory survey across Europe
ID_Doc 79452
Authors Mauz, I; Fischer, A; Langers, F; Young, J; Bednar-Friedl, B; Grünberger, S; Musceleanu, O
Title Perceiving biodiversity changes in daily life - insights from an exploratory survey across Europe
Year 2009
Published Eco Mont-Journal On Protected Mountain Areas Research, 1.0, 2
DOI 10.1553/ecomont2s39
Abstract Environmental problems are often constructed globally and through sophisticated instruments and methods. However, the extent to which these globally constructed problems correspond to ordinary citizens' perceptions of the environment is often unclear. We focus here on results from an exploratory survey in eight sites across Europe, targeted at ordinary citizens, to determine whether biodiversity changes are perceived in daily life, and, if so, whether the views derived from these perceptions coincide with the discourse about global loss of biodiversity. Our results indicate that while respondents acknowledged global biodiversity loss - a process which they could not observe - their own experiences of changes in animal and plant numbers in their local environment were much more diverse. Their own observations mainly related to animals and plants which were part of their "life world", which occurred in places familiar to them and were encountered during everyday activities not necessarily targeted at observing nature. These observations drew a complex picture of changes that is difficult to match with the discourse of global biodiversity loss.
Author Keywords biodiversity; change; perception; body; senses; Europe
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000208834400008
WoS Category Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology
Research Area Biodiversity & Conservation; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576_0x0022aa0c.pdf
Similar atricles
Scroll