Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3
users' incentives
In this chapter, we will discuss some of the general issues involved in collecting data
about people's motivations for natural resource use. We cover the main techniques
for data collection and analysis, and then look at some case studies which illustrate
the points made in the chapter.
The relationship between humans and their natural environment is studied
in a huge range of disciplines, spanning the arts, natural and social sciences.
These include history, politics, theology, cultural studies, development studies,
ethics, economics, archaeology, ecology and anthropology. For example, the
pattern of trade in wild pigs in North Sulawesi is determined by the distribution
of pork taboos—only the Christian populations at the tip of the island are
interested in eating wild pig meat (Clayton
et al
. 1997). In many parts of the world,
including China and Russia, areas of natural forest are preserved not for resource
use but as sacred groves (Laird 1999). Interpretations of the way in which humans
interact with their environment range from the extremes of the romanticised
'noble savage' (Redford 1990) to the rational exploiter who destroys for short-term
gain in the 'tragedy of the commons' (Hardin 1968).
In this topic we approach the issue of assessing sustainability primarily from
a natural science perspective, with an emphasis on hypothesis-testing using
quantitative data. However, when researching people's behaviour towards natural
resources, we need to step into other disciplines. The scientific way of thinking is
also used in some areas of social science, particularly economics. But other research
philosophies emphasise the importance of starting off by defining the theoretical
construct within which you are working, or focus on understanding and interpret-
ation rather than explicit hypothesis-testing (Strauss and Corbin 1998; Mehta
et al
. 1999). These differences can lead to misunderstandings and disagreements,
but also allow interdisciplinary researchers a much richer understanding of the
problems that they are studying. So it is worth remaining open to information and
ideas from as wide a range of disciplines as possible.
