Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA

Environmental conservation groups involve people in diverse ways. These include participatory spaces where people can participate in decision-making and action and engagement processes, where groups communicate, educate, and conduct outreach to build environmental understanding and involve audiences...

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Main Authors: Alyssa R. Soucy, Sandra De Urioste-Stone, Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran, Jessica Jansujwicz, Karla Eitel, Matthew Brownlee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-11-01
Series:Conservation & Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/cs.cs_118_23
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author Alyssa R. Soucy
Sandra De Urioste-Stone
Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran
Jessica Jansujwicz
Karla Eitel
Matthew Brownlee
author_facet Alyssa R. Soucy
Sandra De Urioste-Stone
Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran
Jessica Jansujwicz
Karla Eitel
Matthew Brownlee
author_sort Alyssa R. Soucy
collection DOAJ
description Environmental conservation groups involve people in diverse ways. These include participatory spaces where people can participate in decision-making and action and engagement processes, where groups communicate, educate, and conduct outreach to build environmental understanding and involve audiences in conservation activities. We explored the perceptions and experiences of conservation practitioners in Maine, USA, to understand their views of participation and engagement. We interviewed 21 practitioners and analysed the qualitative data using an interpretative phenomenological approach grounded in interviewees’ words and experiences. All interviewees recognised the interconnections between people, places, and the non-human world; however, individuals and the groups they work within thought about the role of people in conservation in diverse ways. Views of public stakeholders and rights holders, individual values, Indigenous knowledge, commitments to place and community, and personal experiences all influence who is involved, how people are involved, why people are involved, and what comes of people’s involvement. We conclude by discussing the implications for equitable conservation that seeks to incorporate diverse voices.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Conservation & Society
spelling doaj-art-c3a70f25080b4903acb904207214abe72024-12-09T08:35:28ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsConservation & Society0972-49230975-31332024-11-0122416817910.4103/cs.cs_118_23Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USAAlyssa R. SoucySandra De Urioste-StoneParinaz Rahimzadeh-BajgiranJessica JansujwiczKarla EitelMatthew BrownleeEnvironmental conservation groups involve people in diverse ways. These include participatory spaces where people can participate in decision-making and action and engagement processes, where groups communicate, educate, and conduct outreach to build environmental understanding and involve audiences in conservation activities. We explored the perceptions and experiences of conservation practitioners in Maine, USA, to understand their views of participation and engagement. We interviewed 21 practitioners and analysed the qualitative data using an interpretative phenomenological approach grounded in interviewees’ words and experiences. All interviewees recognised the interconnections between people, places, and the non-human world; however, individuals and the groups they work within thought about the role of people in conservation in diverse ways. Views of public stakeholders and rights holders, individual values, Indigenous knowledge, commitments to place and community, and personal experiences all influence who is involved, how people are involved, why people are involved, and what comes of people’s involvement. We conclude by discussing the implications for equitable conservation that seeks to incorporate diverse voices.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/cs.cs_118_23participationengagementstakeholderqualitative researchequitable conservation
spellingShingle Alyssa R. Soucy
Sandra De Urioste-Stone
Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran
Jessica Jansujwicz
Karla Eitel
Matthew Brownlee
Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
Conservation & Society
participation
engagement
stakeholder
qualitative research
equitable conservation
title Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
title_full Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
title_fullStr Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
title_full_unstemmed Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
title_short Involving People in Conservation: Perceptions from Maine, USA
title_sort involving people in conservation perceptions from maine usa
topic participation
engagement
stakeholder
qualitative research
equitable conservation
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/cs.cs_118_23
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