Peterson M Nils, Chen Xiaodong, Liu Jianguo
Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, USA.
Conserv Biol. 2008 Aug;22(4):912-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00929.x. Epub 2008 Apr 25.
Successful conservation efforts require understanding human behaviors that directly affect biodiversity. Choice of household location represents an observable behavior that has direct effects on biodiversity conservation, but no one has examined the sociocultural predictors of this choice relative to its environmental impacts. We conducted a case study of the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming (U.S.A.) that (1) explored relationships between sociodemographic variables, environmental attitudes, and the environmental impact of household location choices, (2) assessed the potential for small household sizes in natural areas to multiply the environmental impacts of household location decisions, and (3) evaluated how length of residency predicted the environmental attitudes of people living in natural areas. We collected sociodemographic data, spatial coordinates, and land-cover information in a survey of 416 households drawn from a random sample of Teton Valley residents (95% compliance rate). Immigrants (respondents not born in the study area) with the lowest education levels and least environmentally oriented attitudes lived in previously established residential areas in disproportionately high numbers, and older and more educated immigrants with the most environmentally oriented attitudes lived in natural areas in disproportionately high numbers. Income was not a significant predictor of household location decisions. Those living in natural areas had more environmental impact per person because of the location and because small households (<3 people/household) were 4 times as likely in natural areas as large households. Longer residency in natural areas predicted less environmentally oriented attitudes, suggesting that living in natural areas does not foster more concern for nature. Because populaces are rapidly aging, growing more educated, and potentially growing more environmentally oriented, these patterns are troubling for biodiversity conservation. Our results demonstrate a need for environmentalists to make household location decisions that reflect their environmental attitudes and future research to address how interactions between education level, environmental attitudes, population aging, and household location choices influence biodiversity conservation.
成功的保护工作需要了解直接影响生物多样性的人类行为。家庭住址的选择是一种可观察到的行为，对生物多样性保护有直接影响，但没有人研究过这种选择相对于其环境影响的社会文化预测因素。我们对美国爱达荷州和怀俄明州的提顿山谷进行了一项案例研究，该研究：（1）探讨了社会人口统计学变量、环境态度与家庭住址选择的环境影响之间的关系；（2）评估了自然区域内小家庭规模可能会使家庭住址决策的环境影响成倍增加的可能性；（3）评估了居住时间长短如何预测居住在自然区域的人们的环境态度。我们在对从提顿山谷居民随机样本中抽取的416户家庭进行的调查中收集了社会人口统计学数据、空间坐标和土地覆盖信息（回复率为95%）。教育水平最低且环境导向态度最少的移民（非在研究区域出生的受访者）大量居住在先前已有的居民区，而教育程度较高且环境导向态度最强的老年移民大量居住在自然区域。收入并非家庭住址决策的重要预测因素。由于居住地点以及自然区域内小家庭（每户<3人）出现的可能性是大家庭的4倍，居住在自然区域的人每人产生的环境影响更大。在自然区域居住时间越长，环境导向态度越少，这表明居住在自然区域并不会增强对自然的关注。由于人口正在迅速老龄化、受教育程度提高且可能环境导向性增强，这些模式对生物多样性保护来说令人担忧。我们的研究结果表明，环保主义者需要做出反映其环境态度的家庭住址决策，并且未来的研究需要解决教育水平、环境态度、人口老龄化和家庭住址选择之间的相互作用如何影响生物多样性保护的问题。
