Abstract
Improved perceptions towards landscape stewardship, at the local level, could help achieve more sustainable futures. However, little research has been done on the dimensions of landscape stewardship underlying such perceptions. Here we look at the perception of landscape values, place attachment, awareness of the adverse consequences human action might have on landscapes, and ascription of personal responsibility across Europe as well as how these dimensions are connected and influenced by personal capabilities and socio-cultural contexts. We conducted a cross-site comparison study, in six European municipalities, using a survey to capture residents’ levels of awareness, responsibility, and attachment as derived from a set of statements. Respondents were also asked to indicate the values they perceive in the local landscape from a given list. The data was analysed by combining frequency analysis, factor analysis, and contingency tables. In our sample of 726 respondents, stronger awareness was related to stronger ascription of personal responsibility, but a connection to place attachment was not clear. Perception of multiple landscape values was related to stronger awareness, responsibility, and place attachment. Meanwhile, awareness and responsibility were influenced by respondents’ occupation, levels of income and education, and socio-cultural context, whereas place attachment was linked to their relationship to the local area. We conclude that enhancing commitment towards landscape stewardship, at the local level, requires efforts focused on making environmental education more universal, implementing green options accessible to everyone, and people experientially engaging more actively with their local landscapes.
Highlights
We look at the perception of landscape values, place attachment, awareness of the adverse consequences human action might have on landscapes, and ascription of personal responsibility across Europe as well as how these dimensions are connected and influenced by personal capabilities and socio-cultural contexts
Leaving aside deeper psychological components that go beyond the scope of this study, here we focus on four dimensions that might contribute to commitment towards landscape stewardship: perception of landscape values [18], attachment of people to places [19,20], awareness of the adverse consequences human action can have on landscapes [21,22], and ascription of personal responsibility for maintaining perceived landscape values [23,24,25]
We consider that there are four important dimensions connected to commitment towards landscape stewardship: perception of landscape values connected to the functions landscape provides to well-being, place attachment, awareness of the adverse consequences human action might have on landscapes, and ascription of personal responsibility for achieving a more sustainable future
Summary
A Global Challenge That Requires Local Action. The need to face the ongoing decline of biological and cultural diversity and transgression of planetary boundaries [1,2] is at the core of global science-policy processes (e.g., Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [3], the UN Sustainable Development Goals [4], and the UNESCO-SCBD Programme Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity [5]), where there is common agreement that radical changes are needed to keep the planet from reaching irreversible environmental thresholds and tipping points. Global-level policies have proven to be insufficient for avoiding unsustainable futures [6], and some authors propose that it is at the local and regional scales—within which social and natural factors closely interact and “humans meaningfully experience life” [7]
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