Informing Community Engagement in Sea Turtle Conservation by Examining Non-Conservation-Related Participation in Northeast Brazil

ABSTRACT

Participation in conservation programs is often viewed as a necessity, but understanding of this participation is limited. This research takes a different approach by also examining participation in non-conservation-related activities. Questionnaires (N = 339) were administered in four Brazilian coastal communities where the national sea turtle conservation project conducts monitoring and outreach. Employing social capital as a conceptual framework, measurements included participation in civic, community, and social activities along with group participation and collective action. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for validating measures of social capital and conservation perceptions. Structural equation modeling indicated that social capital has a positive relationship with participation in sea turtle conservation, suggesting that general levels of participation and community norms of participation could be just as influential as conservation perceptions to engage communities in conservation. Information gained by deconstructing participation may be used to design and target conservation programs, improving overall participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Collective action
• conservation and development
• participation
• perceptions; social capital

Acknowledgments

We thank Projeto TAMAR and staff in Sítio do Conde, Bahia, Brazil, Dr. Sônia Seixas, Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), research assistants Kercia Ribeiro, Emanuel Soares, and Jordana Nascimento, and research participants in the communities of Sítio do Conde, Poças, Siribinha, and Barra de Itariri for their contributions to and support of this research. We also acknowledge Dr. Steve Pierce, Assistant Director, Center for Statistical Consulting (CSTAT) at Michigan State University for his statistical assistance and the editors and anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the U.S. Student Fulbright Program in Brazil.