Cultural dimensions of forest conservation under global change: the case of relict Mediterranean fir forests
Context West Mediterranean relict firs ( Abies pinsapo Boiss. and Abies marocana Trab.) are closely related species threatened by global change. Government authorities in Morocco and Spain have established protected conservation areas around remaining fir groves but concerns linger regarding their e...
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Published in | Landscape ecology Vol. 38; no. 12; pp. 3675 - 3694 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Dordrecht
Springer Netherlands
01.12.2023
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Context
West Mediterranean relict firs (
Abies pinsapo
Boiss. and
Abies marocana
Trab.) are closely related species threatened by global change. Government authorities in Morocco and Spain have established protected conservation areas around remaining fir groves but concerns linger regarding their effectiveness in light of emerging global environmental challenges.
Objectives
We collected data on stakeholder perspectives in 3 protected fir forests in Morocco and Spain. The goal was to reveal preferences regarding emerging conservation threats in these landscapes; land use, climate change, and wildfires as well as describing local and indigenous management practices. We hypothesized that park manager preferences would not align with those of local resource users, suggesting underrepresentation of local and indigenous views on current conservation policies.
Methods
We employed Q methods and analysis to explore this hypothesis. 38 park managers and local resources users were asked to numerically sort their preferences regarding 23 Q statements, 3 of which were photos depicting fir forests with markedly different structural states of conservation. Additionally, we conducted in-depth follow up interviews to allow stakeholders to identify local and indigenous management practices.
Results
Through a principal components analysis of Q scores, we found 4 factors that help explain 63% of the variance amongst stakeholder responses. The factors showed statistically significant similarities between the perspectives of local resource users in Morocco and Spain and differences with park manager and NGO perspectives.
Conclusions
Our analyses reveal divergent cultural frames among government managers and local resource users regarding landscape preferences and sustainable use, suggesting areas in which current conservation and management strategies may be improved. |
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ISSN: | 0921-2973 1572-9761 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10980-023-01750-7 |