Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Conserv Biol. 2010 Dec;24(6):1499-509. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01512.x.
One of the primary approaches to environmental conservation emphasizes economic development. This conservation-and-development approach often ignores how development affects sociocultural characteristics that may motivate environmental behaviors (actions that actively benefit or limit one's negative impacts on the environment). Evolutionary anthropologists espouse a theoretical perspective that supports the conservation-and-development approach. Others believe sociocultural factors are the foundation of environmental behavior and worry that development will erode the values and norms that may shape such behavior. My research assistants and I surveyed 170 individuals from eight villages in two communities in Bhutan to explore whether economic (wealth, market integration) or social (religious behaviors, environmental values, social capital) factors are better indicators of environmental behavior. I used multilevel modeling to analyze use of fuelwood, use of agricultural chemicals, and tree planting, and to determine whether social norms were associated with these behaviors. Although economic factors were more often associated with these behaviors than social factors, local conditions and control variables were the best indicators of behaviors. Furthermore, economic factors were not always associated with positive environmental outcomes. Instead, farmers attempted to make the best economic decisions given their circumstances rather than seeking to conserve resources. Although religion was not a strong predictor of any of the behaviors I examined, I found evidence that the understanding of Buddhist philosophy is growing, which suggests that social factors may play a more prominent role as Bhutan's development progresses. My results highlight the need for conservation planners to be aware of local conditions when planning and implementing policies aimed at motivating environmental behaviors and that economic and social motivations for conservation may not be mutually exclusive.
一种主要的环境保护方法强调经济发展。这种保护与发展的方法往往忽略了发展如何影响可能激励环境行为的社会文化特征（积极有益于或限制个人对环境负面影响的行为）。进化人类学家拥护支持保护与发展方法的理论观点。另一些人则认为社会文化因素是环境行为的基础，并担心发展会侵蚀可能塑造这种行为的价值观和规范。我和我的研究助理调查了来自不丹两个社区的 8 个村庄的 170 个人，以探讨经济（财富、市场一体化）或社会（宗教行为、环境价值观、社会资本）因素是否是环境行为的更好指标。我使用多层次模型分析了薪柴使用、农药使用和植树造林，并确定社会规范是否与这些行为有关。虽然经济因素与这些行为的关联比社会因素更频繁，但当地条件和控制变量是行为的最佳指标。此外，经济因素并不总是与积极的环境结果相关。相反，农民试图根据自己的情况做出最佳的经济决策，而不是寻求保护资源。尽管宗教不是我所研究的任何行为的有力预测因素，但我发现有证据表明，对佛教哲学的理解正在增强，这表明随着不丹的发展，社会因素可能会发挥更突出的作用。我的结果强调了保护规划者在规划和实施旨在激励环境行为的政策时需要意识到当地条件的重要性，并且保护的经济和社会动机不一定相互排斥。
