Bridging Divides: Understanding Human-Wildlife Conflict Through a Social Lens
Table of Contents
Human-wildlife conflict extends beyond direct animal encounters, delving into complex social issues and differing human perceptions of nature.
It introduces the concept of social constructionism as a critical tool for analyzing the various meanings people create around wildlife and environmental issues, highlighting why disagreements often arise in conservation and management efforts.
This insightful analysis is crucial for students, researchers, and science enthusiasts seeking to understand the socio-cultural dimensions of wildlife management and foster more effective coexistence strategies.
The Dimensions of Human-Wildlife Conflict
Competition over habitat and natural resources, the core conflict between wildlife and people, often gives rise to complex social issues…
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People can experience either positive or negative interactions with wildlife…
However, the fate of the rural or agricultural way of life is in many ways similar to that of wildlife…
Many creatures fare poorly when human-induced changes disrupt their surroundings and lives…
Even species that people value for aesthetic and economic reasons…
The second dimension of human-wildlife conflict is spurred by the first…
Nature, Environment, and Social Problems
Surely, no one who has walked along a beach accompanied by only shorebirds…
The contribution of a constructionist approach to studies of the environment is its analysis…
Our personal experiences are important as we organize our impressions of Nature…
Comprehending human relationships with nature in this manner is helpful…
When attempting to understand cultural relationships with Nature…
The meaning of Nature, then, is embedded within specific sociohistorical contexts…
Of course, definitions of nature can vary between cultures and, further, they can vary in the same place at the same time…
Social Conflicts and Environmental Issues
These coexisting constructions of Nature are often the source of social conflict over environmental and natural resource issues…
Even within the scientific community, the mountain takes on different meanings…
In situations where different groups of people disagree about appropriate human-environmental relationships…
The take-home point of viewing environmental issues as social problems…
To examine environmental quandaries, social constructionists have investigated:
- the production of meanings about nature and environmental events;
- the rhetorical tools used and claims made by actors…
- the arenas or social institutions wherein debate…
- the importance of an actor’s social networks…
- the power relations between opposing groups…
Using a social problems framework, social constructionists have explored a variety of environmental and public health issues…
Criticism and the Defense of Social Constructionist Theory
Despite its potential for helping us better understand cultural relationships…
The thrust of criticism against constructionist studies is waged against strict constructionism…
The studies we described above exemplify a constructionist approach…
Social constructions of environmental problems – about the problem’s causes…
The Role of Social Science in Environmental Conflict
There is an important link between studies examining the social construction of Nature…
For example, if we all believed that Yucca Mountain was sacred…
That not being the case, there is certainly a role for social scientists…
Contributors in the present volume hope to expand the efforts…
Source Citation
- Researchers: Ann Herda-Rapp and Theresa L. Goedeke
- Thesis Title: Mad about Wildlife: Looking at Social Conflict Over Wildlife
- Supervisor: N/A (Edited volume, not a thesis)
- University: N/A (Edited volume, specific university for editors not provided)
- Year of Completion: 2005
- Exit Page Number: 19
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