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The wolves are coming: understanding human controversies on the return of the wolf through the use of socio-cultural values

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Abstract

Wildlife comebacks are often subject to public debate. Recurring controversies dominate the discussion, while the frequent use of stereotypes to describe concerned actors reinforces polarizations. This is not any different for the return of the wolf. In order to assist in the interpretation of the human dimensions of the wolf debate, we propose the use of the socio-cultural (SC) value concept. This concept distinguishes between the performance and importance of ecosystem services and allows to give meaning to indicators without blindfolding on caricaturized profiles. The methodology is applied to the case study of the Ardennes (southern Belgium), where the wolf has recently made its comeback. An online survey, based on main points of controversy in human–wildlife debates, was presented to a large sample (N = 1461) of local residents and (potential) visitors, representative for age classes and gender. The answer options were modeled as a function of socio-demographic and profile variables, as well as SC value variables. Overall, a positive positioning was observed. The example of the hunter profile is used to demonstrate how SC values address heterogeneity within and overlap of profiles between groups. Our results show that the use of SC values, complementary to the sole use of standard profile variables, is an interesting tool to overcome preconceptions and to understand underlying reasons behind peoples stated position on points of controversy. These insights can, among others, lead to question the legitimacy of existing discourses and to transparency in terms of which values are accounted for by an actual or proposed management.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated for this study are available upon request to the corresponding author.

Code availability

The code used for this paper is available upon request to the corresponding author.

Notes

  1. A conceptual development is detailed in the paper “How the integration of ‘socio-cultural values’ can improve ecosystem service evaluations. Giving meaning to value indicators.” On the time of writing, this paper has been accepted for publication by the journal Ecosystem Services. We will refer to this work by Breyne et al. (2021) hereafter.

  2. In Belgium, due to the decentralization of official authorities concerned with nature protection and conservation, the regions of Wallonia and Flanders each have their own “wolf-regulation plan.”.

  3. In double-opt-in panels, the panelists, after having voluntary opted to be part of the panel, confirm their contact email, authorize receiving invitations to surveys, and provide background data.

  4. Respondents replying faster than 40% of the median interview time.

  5. The Belgian regions, Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia, were based on the ZIP codes of respondents’ residencies. Flanders and Brussels were combined for the analysis since neither is concerned by the Walloon regulations on wolf management.

  6. Due to confidentiality issues, it was not possible to include respondents from Luxembourg, who are also frequent visitors to the Ardennes.

  7. The Walloon region is taken as a reference since this region is the administrative unit responsible for wolf management in the Belgian Ardennes.

  8. Note that professions/activities were only considered if they were carried out within the Ardennes territory.

  9. The p value for the independent sample t tests used was 0.04.

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Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to Ann Van Herzele for her helpful comments on the manuscript.

We would also like to thank Soraya Chaer for her help with the descriptive graphics.

Funding

This work was supported by the Interregional (Interreg) European program through the Ardenne Grande Région, Eco-Tourisme et Attractivité project (AGRETA) (2.336.460, 77€, 2017–2020). The UMR BETA is supported by a grant overseen by the French National Research Agency (ANR) as part of the “Investissements d’Avenir” program (ANR-11-LABX-0002–01, Lab of Excellence ARBRE).

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Correspondence to Johanna Breyne.

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Breyne, J., Abildtrup, J. & Maréchal, K. The wolves are coming: understanding human controversies on the return of the wolf through the use of socio-cultural values. Eur J Wildl Res 67, 90 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01527-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01527-w

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