Perception-Based Study on the Value of Nature to People and Land Sparing for Nature in Brazil and Poland

Agnieszka E. Latawiec, Rodrigo Penna-Firme, Ingrid A.B. Pena, Bernardo B.N. Strassburg, Adam Drosik, Maciej Kubon, Hubert Latala, Katarzyna Grotkiewicz, Krzysztof Kubon, Pedro Teixeira, Lucas Rodrigues, Alvaro Iribarrem, Stanisław Famielec, Dominika Springer and Isabella Leite Lucas
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Agnieszka E. Latawiec: Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453900, Brazil
Rodrigo Penna-Firme: Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453900, Brazil
Ingrid A.B. Pena: Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453900, Brazil
Bernardo B.N. Strassburg: Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453900, Brazil
Adam Drosik: Institute of Political Science and Administration, Opole University, Opole 45-040, Poland
Maciej Kubon: Department of Production Engineering, Logistics and Applied Computer Science, Faculty of Production and Power Engineering, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Kraków 30-149, Poland
Hubert Latala: Faculty of Production and Power Engineering, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Kraków 30-149, Poland
Katarzyna Grotkiewicz: Department of Production Engineering, Logistics and Applied Computer Science, Faculty of Production and Power Engineering, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Kraków 30-149, Poland
Krzysztof Kubon: Association Project Tarnów, Rynek 9, 33-100 Tarnów, Poland
Pedro Teixeira: Department of Education, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, 22453900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lucas Rodrigues: Department of Earth System Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Alvaro Iribarrem: International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro 22460-320, Brazil
Stanisław Famielec: Faculty of Production and Power Engineering, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Kraków 30-149, Poland
Dominika Springer: Institute of Political Science and Administration, Opole University, Opole 45-040, Poland
Isabella Leite Lucas: International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro 22460-320, Brazil

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Understanding perception about nature is paramount to understanding human behavior and decision making on the environment. We performed a survey-based study in Brazil and Poland to better understand the perception of land sparing for nature and the perceived value of nature. The countries were selected by intentional sampling and given their importance for local and global biodiversity conservation, and complex socio-ecological context of conservation versus agroforestry business. We performed an online questionnaire (N = 1030) in Brazil and face-to-face interviews in Poland (N = 322). We found that Brazilian respondents demonstrated more pro-environmental attitudes than Polish survey participants. Regarding the question: “How much nature that is left should be spared?”, nearly 51% of Brazilians answered “everything”, compared with 13% of Polish respondents. Just under half of the respondents from Poland (45.6%) indicated that half of the nature that is left should be spared. Brazilian respondents also perceived the intrinsic value of nature to a greater extent compared with Polish respondents; in total, 76% of Brazilians respondents entirely agreed that “Nature, its plants and animals have a value on their own, independent of their usefulness for us” versus 25% of Polish respondents. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the leverage points driving pro-environmental attitudes in both countries.

Keywords: land sparing; the value of nature; perception-based study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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