Religious beliefs and wildlife value orientations influence tolerance of wildlife impacts in Bhutan

Figures & data

Table 1. A typology of Biophilia values, used as a framework of basic wildlife orientations.

Wildlife value orientations	Definitions
Moralistic	Spiritual reverence and ethical concern for nature
Humanistic	Strong affection, emotional attachment and “love” for nature
Symbolic	Use of nature for language and thought
Utilitirain	Practical and material exploitation of nature
Naturalistic	Direct experience and exploration of nature
Ecologistic-Scientific	Systematic study of structure, function, and relationship in nature
Aesthetic	Physical appeal and beauty of nature
Dominionistic	Mastery, physical control, dominance of nature
Negativistic	Fear, aversion, alienation from nature

Source: Kellert 1993 p. 59

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of HWC illustrating how religious beliefs may have shaped people’s WVOS, and WVOs in turn influence attitudes and then attitudes shape human behaviors toward wildlife and the response actions taken. The arrows represent the relationships, how one component is affecting or influencing the other in the framework. These components in turn can be influenced by other factors such as conservation laws and policies, wildlife population and socio-economy.

Figure 2. Map of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan showing the four districts and the eight sub-districts selected for this case study.

Table 2. Frequency of coded passages for WVOs by livelihood types in Bhutan (n = 48).

Wildlife value orientations	Crop farming	Livestock husbandry	Overall	Respondents’ quotations in support of their orientations
Moralistic	62	39	101	“Killing of any living being is sinful and cruelty against animals.”
Sacred	10	0	10	“Seeing elephants give me spiritual satisfaction and I feel blessed”
Utilitarian	18	8	26	“These cranes can dance so elegantly, and you can keep watching them for hours, they are very beautiful.”
Ecologistic	6	8	14	“They eat wild fruits and through their droppings, they spread seeds and I see it as good because when old wild fruit tree dies, young one grow elsewhere.”
Naturalistic	5	3	8	“Wild animals are ornament of the forest, without them, forest will be a dead place.”
Aesthetic	14	2	16	“These cranes are very beautiful birds, and we share this valley with them, and I feel happy.”
Negativistic	7	33	40	“They are dangerous, the come in group and can kill adult yak within no time, they attack us if we chase them.”

Figure 3. Wvos by districts presented in descending order (Dominant to less dominant and weak to weakest).

Figure 4. Illustration of how multiple values underpin particular human behavior with examples of value-behavioral relationships identified in the study.

Kellert, S. R. (1993). The biological basis for human values of nature. In S. R. Kellert & E. O. Wilson (Eds.), The biophilia hypothesis (pp. 42–69). Island Press.

 Google Scholar