Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community

Abstract Rewilding is an increasingly common conservation approach, aiming to restore ecosystem processes and minimise human intervention. Rewilding has the potential to profoundly change landscapes and people–nature relations. These issues prompt an ongoing debate about how and if rewilding should...

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Main Authors: Katarzyna M. Mikołajczak, Nikoleta Jones, Christopher J. Sandom, Sophie Wynne‐Jones, Antonia Beardsall, Suzanna Burgelman, Lucy Ellam, Helen C. Wheeler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-12-01
Series:People and Nature
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10376
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author Katarzyna M. Mikołajczak
Nikoleta Jones
Christopher J. Sandom
Sophie Wynne‐Jones
Antonia Beardsall
Suzanna Burgelman
Lucy Ellam
Helen C. Wheeler
author_facet Katarzyna M. Mikołajczak
Nikoleta Jones
Christopher J. Sandom
Sophie Wynne‐Jones
Antonia Beardsall
Suzanna Burgelman
Lucy Ellam
Helen C. Wheeler
author_sort Katarzyna M. Mikołajczak
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Rewilding is an increasingly common conservation approach, aiming to restore ecosystem processes and minimise human intervention. Rewilding has the potential to profoundly change landscapes and people–nature relations. These issues prompt an ongoing debate about how and if rewilding should be done. Farmers are key stakeholders in this debate; they stand to be both affected by and influence the trajectory of rewilding initiatives developing in the United Kingdom and globally. Despite this, a comprehensive understanding of farmers' perceptions towards rewilding is lacking. Here, we focus on how members of the farming community in England perceive common rewilding scenarios (beaver release, farm‐level rewilding and landscape‐scale rewilding), and how these perceptions shape farmers' attitudinal support for rewilding practices. Using thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 36 farmers and farming representatives, we show that the diversity of famers' attitudes can be understood through the prism of perceptions on five core issues: (a) the perceived need for restoration action, (b) the ecological effectiveness of rewilding, (c) rewilding's compatibility with ensuring food security, (d) rewilding's compatibility with rural lifestyles, livelihoods and economies and (e) multidimensional justice of rewilding initiatives. These issues are rooted in collective farming values, and farmers' perceptions of these issues are influenced by mental models, perceived social impacts and perceived ecological outcomes of rewilding initiatives. Diverse perceptions result in a range of attitudes, from enthusiastic support to strong opposition to different rewilding practices. We argue that the scope to increase support for rewilding varies depending on the type of underlying negative perceptions. Where the negative perceptions are based on objectively verifiable causal beliefs (mental models), opponents' minds may be changed through the provision of positive experiences, social learning, and adhering to good governance principles. However, where negative perceptions are based on values, for example, a preference for traditional rural landscapes, they are unlikely to change easily. Pursuing rewilding ambitions that clash with the values of local farmers may risk social conflicts, but accommodating these values too much may compromise rewilding's own goals. Rewilding initiatives will need dialogue and social engagement to navigate their path around this tension. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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spelling doaj.art-e4913bbea25a441da1b0b72192f9ee0a2022-12-22T03:47:44ZengWileyPeople and Nature2575-83142022-12-01461435144910.1002/pan3.10376Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming communityKatarzyna M. Mikołajczak0Nikoleta Jones1Christopher J. Sandom2Sophie Wynne‐Jones3Antonia Beardsall4Suzanna Burgelman5Lucy Ellam6Helen C. Wheeler7Grantham Research Institute London School of Economics London UKInstitute for Global Sustainable Development, School for Cross‐Faculty Studies University of Warwick Coventry UKSchool of Life Science University of Sussex Brighton UKSchool of Natural Sciences University of Bangor Bangor UKSchool of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge UKSchool of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge UKSchool of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge UKSchool of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge UKAbstract Rewilding is an increasingly common conservation approach, aiming to restore ecosystem processes and minimise human intervention. Rewilding has the potential to profoundly change landscapes and people–nature relations. These issues prompt an ongoing debate about how and if rewilding should be done. Farmers are key stakeholders in this debate; they stand to be both affected by and influence the trajectory of rewilding initiatives developing in the United Kingdom and globally. Despite this, a comprehensive understanding of farmers' perceptions towards rewilding is lacking. Here, we focus on how members of the farming community in England perceive common rewilding scenarios (beaver release, farm‐level rewilding and landscape‐scale rewilding), and how these perceptions shape farmers' attitudinal support for rewilding practices. Using thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 36 farmers and farming representatives, we show that the diversity of famers' attitudes can be understood through the prism of perceptions on five core issues: (a) the perceived need for restoration action, (b) the ecological effectiveness of rewilding, (c) rewilding's compatibility with ensuring food security, (d) rewilding's compatibility with rural lifestyles, livelihoods and economies and (e) multidimensional justice of rewilding initiatives. These issues are rooted in collective farming values, and farmers' perceptions of these issues are influenced by mental models, perceived social impacts and perceived ecological outcomes of rewilding initiatives. Diverse perceptions result in a range of attitudes, from enthusiastic support to strong opposition to different rewilding practices. We argue that the scope to increase support for rewilding varies depending on the type of underlying negative perceptions. Where the negative perceptions are based on objectively verifiable causal beliefs (mental models), opponents' minds may be changed through the provision of positive experiences, social learning, and adhering to good governance principles. However, where negative perceptions are based on values, for example, a preference for traditional rural landscapes, they are unlikely to change easily. Pursuing rewilding ambitions that clash with the values of local farmers may risk social conflicts, but accommodating these values too much may compromise rewilding's own goals. Rewilding initiatives will need dialogue and social engagement to navigate their path around this tension. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10376attitudinal supportecological effectivenessfarmersmental modelsperceptionsrewilding
spellingShingle Katarzyna M. Mikołajczak
Nikoleta Jones
Christopher J. Sandom
Sophie Wynne‐Jones
Antonia Beardsall
Suzanna Burgelman
Lucy Ellam
Helen C. Wheeler
Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
People and Nature
attitudinal support
ecological effectiveness
farmers
mental models
perceptions
rewilding
title Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
title_full Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
title_fullStr Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
title_full_unstemmed Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
title_short Rewilding—The farmers’ perspective. Perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the English farming community
title_sort rewilding the farmers perspective perceptions and attitudinal support for rewilding among the english farming community
topic attitudinal support
ecological effectiveness
farmers
mental models
perceptions
rewilding
url https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10376
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