Muñoz-Pacheco Catalina B, Cerda Claudia, Villaseñor Nélida R
Grupo de Ecología, Naturaleza y Sociedad (GENS), Departamento de Gestión Forestal y su Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 8820808, Chile.
Environ Manage. 2025 Mar;75(3):623-637. doi: 10.1007/s00267-024-02077-y. Epub 2024 Oct 27.
Urbanization and biodiversity loss disconnect humans from nature and may limit pro-environmental actions. Although, a growing body of knowledge exists on people's attitudes towards nature, the majority focuses on the influence of socio-environmental factors. Significant variations in socioeconomic and educational levels in urban areas affect access to biodiversity. In this study, we aim to identify the socio-environmental variables that are associated with people's attitudes towards nature (student's knowledge about urban birds and their participation in conservation actions). We collected data on local biodiversity, socioeconomical status, and high school students' attitudes towards nature (15 schools, n = 175 students) in a large Latin American capital city. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to identify relationships among all variables. Socioeconomic characterization was assessed using levels of socio-materiality and school performance scores. Definitions of ecological complexity were based on bird species richness and vegetation density. Knowledge of urban birds was evaluated using two indicators: urban bird identification (recognition of names) and identification of the biogeographic origin of urban birds (native or exotic). Participation in conservation actions by students was assessed based on implementation scale and implementation frequency. According to our results, respondents' knowledge of birds was poor: 42% of students identified only two species (the domestic pigeon and the monk parakeet, both exotic). Only 26% of total students participated in conservation actions. SEM analysis revealed that socioeconomic status was positively associated with the ecological complexity of surrounding areas. In turn, ecological complexity showed a positive relationship with students' knowledge on urban birds. Finally, students' knowledge of urban birds showed a positive influence on conservation actions. Our findings suggest that, the improvement of students' knowledge about local biodiversity and ensuring equitable access to biodiversity could be an effective way to foster students' involvement in conservation actions, especially in neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic levels.
城市化和生物多样性丧失使人类与自然相脱节，并可能限制有利于环境保护的行动。尽管关于人们对自然的态度已有越来越多的知识，但大多数研究都集中在社会环境因素的影响上。城市地区社会经济和教育水平的显著差异会影响人们接触生物多样性的机会。在本研究中，我们旨在确定与人们对自然的态度（学生对城市鸟类的了解及其参与保护行动的情况）相关的社会环境变量。我们收集了拉丁美洲一个大型首都城市的当地生物多样性、社会经济状况以及高中生对自然的态度的数据（15所学校，n = 175名学生）。利用结构方程模型（SEM）来确定所有变量之间的关系。社会经济特征通过社会物质水平和学校成绩得分来评估。生态复杂性的定义基于鸟类物种丰富度和植被密度。城市鸟类知识通过两个指标进行评估：城市鸟类识别（名称识别）和城市鸟类生物地理起源（本地或外来）的识别。学生参与保护行动的情况根据实施规模和实施频率进行评估。根据我们的结果，受访者对鸟类的了解较差：42%的学生仅识别出两种鸟类（家鸽和和尚鹦鹉，均为外来物种）。仅有26%的学生参与了保护行动。SEM分析表明，社会经济地位与周边地区的生态复杂性呈正相关。反过来，生态复杂性与学生对城市鸟类的知识呈正相关。最后，学生对城市鸟类的知识对保护行动有积极影响。我们的研究结果表明，提高学生对当地生物多样性的了解并确保公平接触生物多样性可能是促进学生参与保护行动的有效途径，尤其是在社会经济水平较低的社区。
