Back to Search
Start Over
Our Neighbor the Beaver: Anthropomorphism to Facilitate Environmental Mediation in Rural France.
Our Neighbor the Beaver: Anthropomorphism to Facilitate Environmental Mediation in Rural France.
- Source :
- Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal; Jun2023, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p513-528, 16p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- The European Beaver came close to extinction in France at the beginning of the twentieth century. It has since been reintroduced across the country but its gradual expansion has caused conflicts linked to its behavior, exacerbated by strict enforcement of laws against poaching or the destruction of beaver dams. We conducted field research in 2021 in three municipalities, two in the Loire basin and one in the Seine basin. Using a reconciliation ecology perspective and participatory science methodology, we investigated the dynamics of beaver rejection and approaches to defuse them by emphasizing the anthropomorphic characters of the beaver. During successive meetings with study participants, we attempted to mitigate attitudes of human/nature opposition by presenting humans as part of ecosystems, engaged in social relations with other living beings using the concept of "neighborhood," which specifically places these relationships and has proven to be more readily adopted than the more abstract concepts of ecosystem, habitat, or biotope. We used a three-stage process of reconciliation/reconnection/protection to raise environmental awareness and concerns. Our results can provide guidelines for environmental agents and officers to engage local populations in conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03007839
- Volume :
- 51
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 169703303
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00406-z