Miguel Delibes-Mateos
Institute for Advanced Social Studies (IESA_CSIC)
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
In general terms, my research can be placed in the discipline of Conservation Biology. It is universally recognized that there is a global biodiversity crisis, as contemporary rates of extinction are estimated to be several orders of magnitude above the background extinction rate. These negative processes are also highly visible within species, affecting population numbers and size, and reducing species distributions. Biodiversity loss is a complex response to several human-induced changes in the global environment. Thus, humans exploit an increasingly higher proportion of the world’s resources to support our own kind, and this implies that human activities often negatively affect species’ population abundance and distribution. Globally, my research covers the study of population dynamics and how human activities influence such dynamics. To do this, I add to the traditional ecological approach the evaluation of the economy of natural resources exploited by humans, and the social analysis of stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes, as well as the assessment of the factors that lead their decision-making. Overall, I intend to integrate approaches developed by different disciplines, including natural sciences, social sciences and economic sciences, in order to fully understand the complex and conflictive relationships between biodiversity conservation and other human activities making use of natural resources (Fig. 1). I understand conservation conflicts as situations that emerge when the positions of parties representing conservation interests are threatened by the positions of those holding other views and interests. In summary, my research aims to increase the understanding of conservation conflicts through a multidisciplinary framework, with the ultimate goal of searching for solutions that help to mitigate these conflicts, leading to sustainable use of natural resources.
Figure.1 Conceptual diagram to understand conservation conflicts (see White et al. 2009 Land Use Policy 26: 242-253). The diagram shows examples of ecological, economic and social factors relevant to conservation conflicts. These factors constitute an environment that informs actors’ decision making, their behaviour and ultimately consequences of their actions. Consequences feed back and might alter the ecological, economic and social factors, leading to different decisions made by the actors. Relationships between factors, as well as between decision making, actions and outcomes of different actors, are implied, although not explicitly shown.
STUDY SYSTEMS AND SPECIFIC INTERESTS
To achieve the main goals of my research line, I focus my investigations on the conflicts between conservationists, farmers and hunters over species of conservation concern that have (or are perceived to have) direct or indirect negative impacts on the interests of farmers and/or hunters (Fig. 1). For example, many of my studies are related to the conflict involving conservationists, hunters and farmers in the management of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in the Iberian Peninsula, where this species is simultaneously a multifunctional keystone species in the Mediterranean ecosystem, one of the main small-game species, and a pest species that create crop damage in some instances. My research addresses these multiple roles of rabbits, with an especial emphasis on the major ecological roles played by the species. My investigations cover other similar study systems, including conflicts associated with the management of different game species (e.g. red-legged partridges, Alectoris rufa), that of some small mammal species that are regarded as harmful agricultural pests, such as common voles in the Iberian Peninsula (Microtus arvalis), and plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in high altitude grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau, and prairie grassland ecosystems in North America, respectively.
In the context of conservation conflicts, ecological factors typically include, among other factors, the abundance of a species and its change over time (Fig. 1). In this sense, one of my main research lines assesses the abundance of game species, the evolution of their numbers over time, and the factors associated with such variables. My investigations in this regard focus principally on rabbits, but also on partridges and big game. Given that it is essential to use accurate methodologies to monitor species abundance and population trends, I am also involved in studies that intend to test the reliability of such methods. For example, determining which method or methods are more appropriate to monitor rabbits is among my research objectives. Similar studies on other species that may be subject of conflictive management receive also my attention. In addition, I am engaged in studies about the relationship between species abundance and/or population trends and different factors, including habitat suitability, diseases, predation, etc (Fig. 1). In this line, I actively investigate how landscape variables, and/or how landscape changes, have affected the abundance and evolution of small game species over past decades; I mostly focus my efforts regarding this topic on small game species, including rabbits and partridges, although the case of big game species is also interesting for me. In the Iberian Peninsula, most landscape changes have been caused by changes in agricultural practices. This makes this topic especially relevant, since farmers are frequently involved in conservation conflicts in this region. In addition, my studies also include the assessment of factors that determine the mortality/survival of species whose management is conflictive. In this regard, I analyse the effects of predation and/or diseases on small game species. These studies are essential to increase the understanding of the reasons that have caused a sharp decline in the abundance of species of conservation concern and economic interest, such as rabbits and partridges. Complementarily, I investigate the effects of game management strategies, which are directed to minimise mortality and/or increase survival of target species, on game species, and on non-target species of conservation concern.
Social factors influencing conservation conflicts include the prevalence of stereotypes and inter-group or interpersonal attributions (Fig. 1). In some European countries, for example, conservationists and hunters have traditionally viewed some of their interests as opposite or conflicting. In this sense, I am particularly motivated to explore how each stakeholder group perceives the activities of other groups, as well as their own actions. Similarly, my research focuses on how scientists and their outputs (i.e., scientific results) are perceived by other stakeholders, such as hunters or farmers. Thus, I will shortly lead a project that aims to evaluate how hunters value different information sources, including scientific studies, to design game management in their estates. Social factors also include traditional prejudice towards certain species; i.e. some species are traditionally perceived as innately evil or harmful, and even if the damage they cause is entirely mitigated, residual fear and antagonism can lead to continued persecution. In this regard, I am interested in the views, beliefs, and attitudes of conservationists, hunters and farmers towards predators (5,29) and species that can cause damage to crops, such as rabbits. In addition, I intend to evaluate how social and cultural perceptions, values, history and ideology influence people’s concept and understanding of risk (Fig. 1). For example, I am currently studying how different generations of hunters and farmers perceive differently the use of some controversial management practices, such as the release of farm-reared birds for shooting the control of rabbits as agricultural pests.
Economic factors relevant to conservation conflicts include, for example, the income generated by certain activities as well as the investment in species management (Fig. 1). In relation to the first factor, I am interested in studying the income and revenues generated by hunting in the Iberian Peninsula; i.e. the important role played by hunting as an economic activity. In this line, I investigate the shift of traditional hunting towards a commercial activity based on a more intensive management, and the views of different stakeholders on such intensification of hunting. On the other hand, one of my main motivations is to explore the investment in game management that is made in different types of hunting estates, including commercial and non-commercial estates. In the same line, my research addresses the investment made by farmers to reduce damage that rabbits cause to crops. In addition, I intend to explore if the views of the stakeholders involved in both study-systems vary in function of their investment in management. Ultimately, my research aims to assess which management tools are more cost-effective; e.g. whether the most costly game management is the most effective to boost the numbers of game species. My research is increasingly dealing with the assessment, through choice experiment analyses, of the value attributed to non-monetary aspects of the environment. For example, a recent study analyses whether hunters’ willingness to pay matches game management options that are more compatible with ecological sustainability. In other words, I aim to analyse how hunters economically value different aspects of hunting that may be conflictive from a conservation point of view (e.g. the release of farm-reared partridges).
In conclusion, I am confident that my multidisciplinary approach can be useful for ecologists, conservationists and managers of natural resources, helping to reach a more sustainable way of human life.