Public attitudes towards biodiversity-friendly greenspace management in Europe

Fischer, L. K., Neuenkamp, L., Lampinen, J., Tuomi, M., Alday, J. G., Bucharova, A., Cancellieri, L., Casado-Arzuaga, I., Ceplova, N., Cervero, L., Deak, B., Eriksson, O., Fellowes, M. D. E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5431-8637, Fernández de Manuel, B., Filibeck, G., González-Guzmán, A., Hinojosa, M. B., Kowarnik, I., Lumbierres, B., Miguel, A., Pardo, R., Pons, X., Rodrigez-Garcia, E., Schroder, R., Sperandii, M. G., Unterweger, P., Valko, O., Vazquez, V. and Klaus, V. H. (2020) Public attitudes towards biodiversity-friendly greenspace management in Europe. Conservation Letters, 13 (4). ISSN 1755-263X doi: 10.1111/conl.12718

Abstract/Summary

Increasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people’s acceptance of biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2000 people in 19 European cities about their attitudes towards near-natural urban grassland management in public greenspaces, and related their responses to nine sociocultural parameters. Results reveal that people across Europe can support urban biodiversity, yet within the frames of a generally tidy appearance of public greenery. Younger people and those using greenspaces for a greater variety of activities were more likely to favor biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Additionally, people who were aware of the meaning of biodiversity and those stating responsibility for biodiversity conservation particularly supported biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Our results point at explicit measures like environmental education to increase public acceptance of policies that facilitate nature conservation within cities.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/89328
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/conl.12718
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Publisher	Wiley
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item