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Coupling law enforcement and community-based regulations in support of compliance with biodiversity conservation regulations

Part of: Multi-dimensionality of the biodiversity crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2020

Fidelis Akunke Atuo Open the ORCID record for Fidelis Akunke Atuo [Opens in a new window] ,
Jun Fu ,
Timothy John O’Connell Open the ORCID record for Timothy John O’Connell [Opens in a new window] ,
Jonathan Akomaye Agida  and
Jennifer Arubemi Agaldo
Fidelis Akunke Atuo*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, 223 Rhodes Hall, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO63701, USA Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 008C Agricultural Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078, USA
Jun Fu
Affiliation:
School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, 220 Willard Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078, USA
Timothy John O’Connell
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 008C Agricultural Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078, USA
Jonathan Akomaye Agida
Affiliation:
Life Empowerment Foundation, 60/65 Ndidem Usang Iso Road, Calabar, Nigeria
Jennifer Arubemi Agaldo
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch8020, New Zealand
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Fidelis Akunke Atuo, Email: fatuo@semo.edu
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Summary

The scope and scale of wildlife crimes around the world have risen in intensity and complexity, yet current enforcement strategies have often not delivered desired effects on illegal activities, even within protected areas. Tackling the array of illegal activities by emphasizing law enforcement above other options is challenging and potentially unsustainable. We explored the potential for social norms, community regulations and socioeconomic factors to promote compliance with wildlife laws by interviewing 334 respondents in 28 villages that share boundaries with protected areas in Nigeria. Using an anonymous direct questioning approach, we recorded a high prevalence of non-compliance behaviours in all studied communities. Injunctive norms (i.e., perceptions of acceptable behaviour within a social group) significantly predicted compliance, as respondents with no complicit friends or family members were more likely to comply with wildlife regulations. Perceived likelihood of community-level sanctions played a more salient role than the fear of arrest by rangers in influencing compliance. In addition, non-compliance increased with number of dependents, but reduced with average monthly household income. Our study demonstrates that clear knowledge of the social norms that drive local behaviour as well as the authorities that enforce them is integral to understanding the forces that drive community involvement and participation in conservation. Incorporating local communities in planning enforcement interventions may help protect threatened species and landscapes.

Keywords

community-based conservationcomplianceplanned behavioursocial normstraditional authoritieswildlife crime
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 104 - 112
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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