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Youth wildlife preferences and species-based conservation priorities in a low-income biodiversity hotspot region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2021

Michael J Liles Open the ORCID record for Michael J Liles [Opens in a new window] ,
M Nils Peterson ,
Kathryn T Stevenson  and
Markus J Peterson
Michael J Liles*
Affiliation:
Asociación ProCosta, Prados de San Luis, Polígono F #33, San Salvador, El Salvador Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, 3193 B Street, San Diego, CA92012, USA
M Nils Peterson
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Drive #3120, Raleigh, NC27607, USA
Kathryn T Stevenson
Affiliation:
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Box 8004, Biltmore 4008D, Raleigh, NC27695, USA
Markus J Peterson
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX79968, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Michael J Liles, Email: mliles@procosta.org
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Summary

Public preferences for wildlife protection can dictate the success or failure of conservation interventions. However, little research has focused on wildlife preferences among youth or how youth prioritize species-based conservation. We conducted a study of youth between 7 and 20 years old (n = 128) at five local schools situated near critical hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting beaches in El Salvador to determine their wildlife preferences and how they prioritize species for conservation based on five attributes: endemism; use for hunting and fishing; rapid decline in population size; presence around their home; and ecological significance. These Salvadoran youth showed preferences for native over non-native species and tended to rank rapid population decline as the most important attribute for prioritizing wildlife for protection, followed by use for hunting and fishing. Participants in local environmental education activities placed greater importance on species in rapid decline than non-participants, who considered endemism as most important. Overall, these findings reveal how environmental education may successfully promote increased prioritization of imperilled species among youth. Economic payments for conserving hawksbill turtles may link the two top reasons that Salvadoran youth provided for protecting species by compensating for the reduced hunting required to facilitate population stabilization.

Keywords

ecological importanceenvironmental educationhawksbill sea turtlehuman dimensionsLatin Americalivelihoodsmangrove ecosystempopulation declinespecies attributesvalues
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , June 2021 , pp. 110 - 117
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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