Local Perspectives on Environmental Insecurity and Its Influence on Illegal Biodiversity Exploitation

Authors

Meredith L. Gore, Michigan State UniversityFollow
Michelle L. Lute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln
Jonah H. Ratsimbazafy, Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), Antananarivo, Madagascar
Andry Rajaonson, Malagasy Biologist Association, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0150337

Comments

© 2016 Gore et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

Abstract

Environmental insecurity is a source and outcome of biodiversity declines and social conflict. One challenge to scaling insecurity reduction policies is that empirical evidence about local attitudes is overwhelmingly missing. We set three objectives: determine how local people rank risk associated with different sources of environmental insecurity; assess perceptions of environmental insecurity, biodiversity exploitation, myths of nature and risk management preferences; and explore relationships between perceptions and biodiversity exploitation. We conducted interviews (N = 88) with residents of Madagascar’s Torotorofotsy Protected Area, 2014. Risk perceptions had a moderate effect on perceptions of environmental insecurity. We found no effects of environmental insecurity on biodiversity exploitation. Results offer one if not the first exploration of local perceptions of illegal biodiversity exploitation and environmental security. Local people’s perception of risk seriousness associated with illegal biodiversity exploitation such as lemur hunting (low overall) may not reflect perceptions of policy-makers (considered to be high). Discord is a key entry point for attention.