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Too much, too fast, too complex or too strange? Asymmetric sequences in public opinion regarding biodiversity conservation in Island social-ecological setups

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Abstract

Ecological modernization projects are crucial drivers for transforming economies and territorial policies in small scale islands. Social factors and public behavior are determinants for successful implementation of this transition strategy that refers to several domains in parallel, e.g., energy transition, biodiversity conservation, environmentally friendly agri-culture and green-services sector. In this paper, we propose a technique to ordinate and plot combined values-choices of individuals in a 4 phase/2D plane regarding the implementation of ecological modernization policies organized around four traits, i.e., speed and quantity of the process, organizational complexity and governance origin of a project. Results are intriguing. Arrangements of combined individual choices appear with a main sequence corresponding to the fatalist anthropological rationality category according to Douglas’ model of polyrationalities. There are differences between public quantitative and qualitative evaluations of specific projects; these differences are maximized when conservation plans are confronted to specific energy facilities. We propose the idea that this technique could be an instrument for scrutinizing public engagement with- and appreciation of—biodiversity conservation in the emerging field of culturomics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory, Department of the Environment, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilini, Greece

    Andreas Y. Troumbis

  2. Section of Environmental Social Sciences, Department of the Environment, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilini, Greece

    Maria N. Hatziantoniou

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  1. Andreas Y. Troumbis
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Correspondence to Andreas Y. Troumbis.

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Communicated by Dirk Sven Schmeller.

This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Biodiversity appreciation and engagement.

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Troumbis, A.Y., Hatziantoniou, M.N. Too much, too fast, too complex or too strange? Asymmetric sequences in public opinion regarding biodiversity conservation in Island social-ecological setups. Biodivers Conserv 27, 1403–1418 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1499-9

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