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Influence of Aesthetic Appreciation of Wildlife Species on Attitudes towards Their Conservation in Kenyan Agropastoralist Communities

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  • Joana Roque de Pinho
  • Clara Grilo
  • Randall B Boone
  • Kathleen A Galvin
  • Jeffrey G Snodgrass

Abstract

The influence of human aesthetic appreciation of animal species on public attitudes towards their conservation and related decision-making has been studied in industrialized countries but remains underexplored in developing countries. Working in three agropastoralist communities around Amboseli National Park, southern Kenya, we investigated the relative strength of human aesthetic appreciation on local attitudes towards the conservation of wildlife species. Using semi-structured interviewing and free listing (n = 191) as part of a mixed methods approach, we first characterized local aesthetic judgments of wildlife species. With a Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) approach, we then determined the influence of perceiving four species as beautiful on local support for their protection (“rescuing them”), and of perceiving four other species as ugly on support for their removal from the area, while controlling for informant personal and household socioeconomic attributes. Perceiving giraffe, gazelles and eland as beautiful is the strongest variable explaining support for rescuing them. Ugliness is the strongest variable influencing support for the removal of buffalo, hyena, and elephant (but not lion). Both our qualitative and quantitative results suggest that perceptions of ugly species could become more positive through direct exposure to those species. We propose that protected areas in developing countries facilitate visitation by local residents to increase their familiarity with species they rarely see or most frequently see in conflict with human interests. Since valuing a species for its beauty requires seeing it, protected areas in developing countries should connect the people who live around them with the animals they protect. Our results also show that aesthetic appreciation of biodiversity is not restricted to the industrialized world.

Suggested Citation

  • Joana Roque de Pinho & Clara Grilo & Randall B Boone & Kathleen A Galvin & Jeffrey G Snodgrass, 2014. "Influence of Aesthetic Appreciation of Wildlife Species on Attitudes towards Their Conservation in Kenyan Agropastoralist Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-10, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0088842
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088842
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew Metrick & Martin L. Weitzman, 1996. "Patterns of Behavior in Endangered Species Preservation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-16.
    2. Barrett, Christopher B. & Arcese, Peter, 1995. "Are Integrated Conservation-Development Projects (ICDPs) Sustainable? On the conservation of large mammals in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 1073-1084, July.
    3. Elizabeth Wangui, 2008. "Development interventions, changing livelihoods, and the making of female Maasai pastoralists," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(3), pages 365-378, September.
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    1. Masashi Soga & Kevin J. Gaston & Yuichi Yamaura & Kiyo Kurisu & Keisuke Hanaki, 2016. "Both Direct and Vicarious Experiences of Nature Affect Children’s Willingness to Conserve Biodiversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, May.
    2. José Valberto Oliveira & Sérgio de Faria Lopes & Raynner Rilke Duarte Barboza & Rômulo Romeu da Nóbrega Alves, 2019. "To preserve, or not to preserve, that is the question: urban and rural student attitudes towards wild vertebrates," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1271-1289, June.
    3. Po-Ching Wang & Chi-Ying Yu, 2018. "Aesthetic Experience as an Essential Factor to Trigger Positive Environmental Consciousness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Jacobsen, Kim S. & Sandorf, Erlend Dancke & Loveridge, Andrew J. & Dickman, Amy J. & Johnson, Paul J. & Mourato, Susana & Contu, Davide & Macdonald, David W., 2022. "What is a lion worth to local people – Quantifying of the costs of living alongside a top predator," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).

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