Why do local inhabitants take action? Motivation and egagement to act voluntarily for nature

Authors and Affiliations: 

Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak and Hanna Kobierska

 

Institute of Environmental Sciences
Jagiellonian University
Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, POLAND
http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/ee/grodzinska_eng.html

 

Abstract: 

Although a biodiversity loss on the European continent is regarded as a conservation priority, it has not been halted as preliminary planned by 2010. However, current monitoring activities seem to be still inadequate to develop strategies for maintaining biodiversity at current levels. Here, based on a Polish case qualitative and quantitative material, we present what is the value of volunteers’ (nature amateurs) work for biodiversity protection and what conditions are to be fulfilled in order to decrease the costs and improve the effectiveness of national monitoring. Special attention is paid to analysis of amateurs’ motivation, engagement and causes which make them acting voluntarily for nature. Issues of volunteerism is complemented by a detailed characteristics of biodiversity monitoring system over the country and the EU (European Union) (e.g. its’ management, cooperation among various institutions etc.) as well as other variables of social-historic origin. Based on these approaches, recommendation are made regarding those features that need to be included in Polish and the EU policies due to maximize efficiency of biodiversity conservation.

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