Human attitudes in environmental management: Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and policy option simulations analysis for a coal-mine ecosystem in China

Abstract

Ecosystem management is a complex process, and every stakeholder's cognition plays a crucial role in it. In order to manage the ecosystem better, it is significant for the coal-mining environmental managers to choose appropriate measures, in accord with the stakeholders' interests. Hence, the purpose of this study is to assess knowledge of and attitudes towards coal-mine ecosystems among stakeholders and then simulate policy options in a typical coal-mine region in China. The Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) method was used to develop a participatory ecosystem management model in research area. Combining the initial state of variables and the adjacency matrix getting from FCM, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to conduct simulations. The results found that among stakeholder groups' FCM model, ‘air pollution’ and ‘water pollution’ are the most frequently mentioned variables, while ‘health effects’ and ‘expansion of related industries’ are the core variables. However, different stakeholders expressed diverse perceptions on coal-mine ecosystem management. Mine workers paid more attention to occupational safety and their health impacts inducted by air and water pollution during coal-mine process. Local residents were concerned with local economic development and welfare facilities improvement; they also concerned their health impacts raised by coal-mine related problems such as air and water pollution, traffic and noises. Managers emphasized economic interests and environmental projects with immediate environmental effects other than long-term ecosystem improvement. Engineers mentioned more variables than other groups; they believed that air pollution, water pollution, soil erosion and biodiversity loss were important. Scenario analysis for policy simulation based on ANN suggested that the local governments and enterprises should place an emphasis on protecting farmland, increasing vegetation coverage, reducing solid contamination and improving energy efficiency to decrease air pollution. In addition, they should start from decreasing air pollution, protecting water environment, increasing vegetation coverage and paying attention to people's safety to improve health. National policy, public administration and enterprise countermeasures have positive influence to ecosystem management. The findings of this study could provide valuable information to researchers and administrators about stakeholders' knowledge of and attitudes towards coal-mine ecosystem management. These, in turn, could be incorporated into the development of protective measures for a coal-mine ecosystem in China.