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PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP AS A TOOL IN SUSTAINABLE WOLF MANAGEMENT

Pohja-Mykrä Mari1 & Kurki Sami1 & Mykrä Sakari2

1Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki2University of Turku

Pathways 2014 Conference: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management, 5-9 October 2014

7.10.2014


LACK OF ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

50

100

150

200

250

300

n of wolves

Prepara-tory

phase

Implementation of national wolf management plan

Evaluation of Finnish national large carnivore policy

Preparation of new national wolf management plan


Ecological, economic and social factors of large carnivore management are interdependent.

Exceeding the limits of social tolerance will lead to the failure of systematic population management based on an ecological objective.

MAIN HYPOTHESIS


DEFINING THE CONFLICT

Articles:Pohja-Mykrä M (2014) Felony or act of justice? - Illegal killing of large carnivores as defiance of authorities [manuscript].Pohja-Mykrä M & Kurki S (2014) Strong community support for illegal killing challenges wolf management, EJWR, 60(5), 759-770.

Reports: Pohja-Mykrä & Kurki (2013) Suurpetopolitiikka kriisissä – salakaadot ja yhteisön tuki, Report 98, University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute. Pohja-Mykrä M & Kurki S (2014) Kansallisen suurpetopolitiikan kehittämisarviointi (Evaluation of national large carnivore management), Report 114, University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute.

MOTIVES FOR ILLEGAL KILLING OF LARGE CARNIVORES

MOTIVES FOR SUPPORTING ILLEGAL KILLING OF LARGE CARNIVORES

MATERIAL Non-active role-playing with empathy based fictitious stories (n=148)• Women (Rural Women's Advisory Organization (n=48)

• Hunters (n=100)

Official Statistics (2005-2010):• District Courts’ Sentences (n=30)• Police records (n=141)

Semi-structured interviews:

• Hunting violators (n=2)• Supervision officials (n=2)

METHOD

Discourse analysis (Defiance theory, Shermann 1993; Neutralization techniques, Sykes & Matza 1957)

Argumentation analysis (Rhetoric attitude theory, Billig 1996)Descriptive statistics


FELONY OR ACT OF JUSTICE?Local people challenge the authorities via active and passive resistance which manifests in illegal killings of large carnivores and in support and silent acceptance by community members.

Anger and fear as well as deep-seated frustration toward authorities act as a driving force for a hunting violator to carry out the illegal killing and same argument is found in the community support for illegal killings and hunting violators.

The wolf is especially the focus of illegal killing.

Legitimacy crisis is viewed in terms of local, rural defiance of management regimes imposed by the authorities and perceived locally as illegitimate.

Hunting violators have become righteous outlaws.

By means of neutralization techniques, both violators and community members negate the shame from the stigma and sanctions associated with violating the law.

A sociopolitical crime is thus committed not solely by the individual hunting violators, but by the whole local community.


In managing value-based conflicts disputes are unavoidable. Management procedures and new forms of communication among

management actors must be further examined in the context of sociopolitical lawlessness.

Find means to develop the predator’s role as a community resource. Support the role of local stakeholders as essential actors in their

community (with special reference to stakeholder salience theories). Recognize the indispensability of historical knowledge for a

transformation of the current culture of large carnivore management. Present psychological ownership (PO) as a tool for managing human-

large carnivore conflicts.

NEXT STEPS


PO has been studied in a variety of contexts, such as consumer behavior, customs and practices of different societies, with employees in the workplace and with urban forest owners.

PO consists of three key experiences: 1) controlling the ownership target, 2) coming to intimately know the target, and 3) investing one’s self in the target.

Feelings of ownership allow individuals to fulfill three basic human motives: 1) efficacy, 2) self-identity, and 3) having a place.

PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP – PO (Pierce et al. 2003)


The sense of ownership is created through practical management measures involving

1) trust building,

2) giving rights, and

3) demanded responsibilities,

thus affecting attitudes.

PO may be simplified as a feeling of responsibility toward the ownership target.

IN PRACTICE


Species-spesific attitudes Did hunting bounties affect the persecution intensity? - The

statistics on killed large carnivores and paid bounties (Official Statistics of Finland during the period of 1899 -1942)

Prevalent attitudes in legislative documents, articles from selected newspapers, magazines and zoological journals, and the publications of various interest groups from 1897 to 1928 (N=451)

Key actors Who hold PO toward large carnivores?

ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY APPROACH

Unlike other large carnivores (brown bear (N=33, p<.05); lynx (N=25, p<.005); wolverine (N=44, p<.001)) persecution of wolves (N=44, p=.028) was run by other motives than bounties paid.

Affect on emotions such as fear.

Wolf is considered as extremely harmful species. No local benefits are gained from wolves.

Support wolf as a community resource.

Salient stakeholders have been disregarded in the current wolf management.

Give an essential role to hunters as key actors in the community.

Give an active role to the local communities in wolf management.


Building trust between locals/hunters and authorities Involving stakeholders in decision-making/research

Sharing up-to-date research data

Popularisation of research data

Giving rights Involving stakeholders in decision-making

Valuable game animal

Territorial compensation model with ’sanctions clause’

Demanding responsibilities Involving stakeholders in decision-making

Bag limit adjustments and allocation

Preventing damages

Human safety

Local expertise and cooperation

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

CONTROLLING THE OWNERSHIP TARGETCOMING TO INTIMATELY KNOW THE TARGETINVESTING ONE’S SELF IN THE TARGET

Building trust between locals/hunters and authorities

Involving stakeholders in decision-making/research Sharing up-to-date research data Popularisation of research data

Giving rights Involving stakeholders in decision-making Valuable game animal Territorial compensation model with ’sanctions clause’

Demanding responsibilities Involving stakeholders in decision-making Bag limit adjustments and allocation Preventing damages Human safety Local expertise and cooperation


EXPECTED RESULTS OF PO

Possibility to influence on wolves, open-access wolf information and trust between actors

Fear of wolves will reduce.

Wolves are a resource for the community & Community holds shared responsibilities and rights

Common local interest to keep up the wolf occurrence. Rural defiancy of authorities will decrease.

”Good poacher” becomes ”Bad poacher” Illegal hunting will diminish to the level that will not risk

ecological sustainability of wolf management.

THANK YOU.

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