Special Issue "Natural Resources: Human Dimension and Social Aspects of Nature Protection"

Guest Editor
Dr. Malgorzata Grodzinska-Jurczak
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
Website: http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/ee/grodzinska_eng.html
E-Mail: m.grodzinska-jurczak@uj.edu.pl
Phone: +48 12 664 5202
Interests: human dimension of natural resources; human-nature conflicts’ resolving in protected areas; natura 2000 implementation (communication, awareness raising); environmental awareness of public; public participation in waste management; environmental education in formal and non-formal system

Dear Colleagues,

To meet the requirements of the current nature protection system, authorities of many countries have to reconstruct the system and methodology of managing natural resources. This pertains to both: changes in the attitude to natural resource management from a strictly traditional one (considering the biophysical perspective to be the most important perspective in the resource management decision-making process) to a more modern one (characterized by a social sciences approach to natural resource issues, and creating a system allowing for their practical application). It seems impossible to create such a system without the collaboration of human dimension (HD) approach. A rising number of conflicts emerging as a result of implementing various forms of environmental protection programs requires a better understanding of the social consequences of decisions concerning natural resources, and methods’ improvement of employing HD information in the decision-making process.

All studies on human dimension approach worldwide are warmly welcomed in the following Special Issue of Diversity. We are particularly interested in case studies showing how the incorporation of HD approach has affected the natural resources management both in the global scale and in individual countries.

Malgorzata Grodzinska-Jurczak, Ph. D.
Guest Editor

Submission Information

All manuscripts should be submitted to diversity@mdpi.com with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

For the first two issues, to be published in 2009 and 2010, the Article Processing Charges (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• human dimension
• natural resource management
• protection of natural resources’ conflicts
• human-wildlife conflicts
• conflict management
• public communication
• public consultation
• participatory approach

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Participatory Monitoring Networks: A Literature Review
Authors: Sandra Bell and Hugo Reinert
Affiliation: Durham University, Old Elvet, Durham, County Durham, DH1 3HP, UK; E-Mail: sandra.bell@durham.ac.uk
Abstract: Continuous and widespread monitoring of biodiversity is essential to the practice of conservation biology and the successful implementation of conservation programmes. The incremental demand for biological records far outstrips the capacity of professional natural scientists leaving a gap to be filled with data supplied by volunteer naturalists. As a result processes entailed in locally based monitoring activities involving volunteer amateur naturalists, has become a focus of research in its own right. The review surveys literature from this relatively recent area of enquiry.
Keywords: biodiversity monitoring; participatory monitoring networks; volunteers; citizen science

Type of Paper: Article
Title: The Transition from "Top-Down" to "Bottom-Up" Approach to the Public Involvement in Biodiversity Monitoring - Cases of Lithuania, Poland and Denmark
Author: Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak; E-Mail: m.grodzinska-jurczak@uj.edu.pl
Abstract: Public involvement is a key element for nature conservation in Europe and a necessity to collect broad scale data on biodiversity and its dynamics. However, vast societal differences exist between eastern and western European countries, resulting in problems for public involvement in post-communistic as compared to western countries. Here, we compare differences in practices and public involvement in countries with different political histories. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic studies conducted in Lithuania and Poland, as well as a rapid assessment in Denmark, we focus on historical, cultural and social determinants of the volunteers' involvement in biodiversity monitoring. Our results indicate reasons why volunteer involvement - as an expression of a participatory culture - has a lower incidence in the postcommunistic countries as compared to voluntarism in occidental democracies. We discuss our results in the context of the main social factors considered as a legacy of the Soviet regime: concentration on material needs rather then the public good, skepticism towards volunteering; as well as the positive changes in the attitudes of post-communistic public during the period of transition. The current situation in post-communistic countries should be advanced by increasing the public awareness. That can be done by providing people with relevant information on biodiversity monitoring, organizing a broader range of activities for volunteer involvement, and developing an individual approach towards members.
Keywords: amateurs; biodiversity monitoring; communist legacy; Denmark; human dimension; Lithuania; Poland; professionals; public involvement; volunteers