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Natural resource rules exist to control resources and the people that interact with them. These rules often fail because people do not comply with them. Decisions to comply with natural resource rules often are based on attitudes about legitimacy of rules and the perceived risks of breaking rules. Trust in agencies promulgating rules in part may determine perceptions of legitimacy of the rule, and in turn depends on individuals' trust in different agency actors. The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between fishing rule noncompliance and trust in scientists, a key group within management agencies. We interviewed 41 individuals in one rural fishing community in the Brazilian Pantanal from April to August, 2016, to assess (1) noncompliance rates, (2) noncompliance-related attitudes, and (3) the relationship between trust in scientists and noncompliance decisions in the region. We found that among study participants, noncompliance was common and overt. Trust in scientists performing research in the region was the best predictor of noncompliance rate with a fishing rule (nonparametric rank correlation ρ = -0.717; Probit model pseudo-R2 = 0.241). Baseline data from this research may help inform future interventions to minimize IUU fishing and protect the Pantanal fishery. Although our results are specific to one community in the Pantanal, trust in scientists is potentially an important factor for compliance decisions in similar situations around the world. These results build not only on compliance theory but also speak to the important role that many scientists play in rural areas where they conduct their research.

Whereas past wolf management in the United States was restricted to recovery, managers must now contend with publicly contentious post-recovery issues including regulated hunting seasons. Understanding stakeholder concerns associated with hunting can inform stakeholder engagement, communication, and policy development and evaluation. Social identity theory (SIT) has been used to understand how groups interact, why they conflict, and how collaboration may be achieved. Applying SIT to stakeholder conflicts about wolf hunting may help delineate groups according to their concern about, support for or opposition to the policy choice of hunting wolves. Our objective was to assess concerns about hunting as a tool to resolve conflict in Michigan, using SIT as a framework. We used a mixed-modal sampling approach (e.g., paper, Internet) with wolf hunting-related public meeting participants in March 2013. Survey questions focused on 12 concerns previously identified as associated with hunting as a management tool to resolve conflict. Respondents (n  =  666) cared greatly about wolves but were divided over hunting wolves. Wolf conflicts, use of science in policy decisions, and maintaining a wolf population were the highest ranked concerns. Principle components analysis reduced concerns into three factors that explained 50.7% of total variance; concerns crystallized over justifications for hunting. General linear models revealed a lack of geographic influence on care, fear and support for hunting related to wolves. These findings challenge assumptions about regional differences and suggest a strong role for social identity in driving dichotomized public perceptions in wildlife management.

This research aims to foster discourse about the extent to which gender is important to consider within the context of participatory approaches for biological conservation. Our objectives are to: (1) gender-disaggregate data about stakeholders' risk perceptions associated with human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in a participatory conservation context, and (2) highlight insights from characterizing gendered similarities and differences in the way people think about HWC-related risks. Two communal conservancies in Caprivi, Namibia served as case study sites. We analyzed data from focus groups (n = 2) to create gendered concept maps about risks to wildlife and livelihoods and any associations of those risks with HWC, and semi-structured interviews (n = 76; men = 38, women = 38) to measure explicit risk attitudes associated with HWC. Concept maps indicated some divergent perceptions in how groups characterized risks to wildlife and livelihoods; however, not only were identified risks to wildlife (e.g., pollution, hunting) dissimilar in some instances, descriptions of risks varied as well. Study groups reported similar risk perceptions associated with HWC with the exception of worry associated with HWC effects on local livelihoods. Gendered differences in risk perceptions may signal different priorities or incentives to participate in efforts to resolve HWC-related risks. Thus, although shared goals and interests may seem to be an obvious reason for cooperative wildlife management, it is not always obvious that management goals are shared. Opportunity exists to move beyond thinking about gender as an explanatory variable for understanding how different groups think about participating in conservation activities.

Environmental crimes pose harms and risks to socioecological systems, driving biodiversity loss. A 2024 resolution at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime prompted stakeholders to discuss a new international framework for addressing crimes that affect the environment. Advocates say existing multilateral efforts are insufficient for addressing environmental crime; opponents say creating a new framework could dilute efforts to reduce environmental harms, and other approaches are more suitable for the nuances of environmental crime. These debates encouraged us to probe the concept of positive criminology for environmental crime. We review the concept and present key theories informing the harm‐reduction processes central to positive criminology's theory of change. Five positive criminology inputs have touchpoints with conservation that could result in desired outcomes and impacts for harm reduction, halting and reversing loss of biodiversity: community policing, crime desistance, problem‐solving courts, restorative justice, and strength‐based programs. Regardless of whether the framework is updated or includes environmental crime, positive criminology is an intriguing theory of change with broad potential applicability to conservation policy and practice focused on halting and reversing loss of biodiversity.

Poaching can disrupt wildlife-management efforts in community-based natural resource management systems. Monitoring, estimating, and acquiring data on poaching is difficult. We used local-stakeholder knowledge and poaching records to rank and map the risk of poaching incidents in 2 areas where natural resources are managed by community members in Caprivi, Namibia. We mapped local stakeholder perceptions of the risk of poaching, risk of wildlife damage to livelihoods, and wildlife distribution and compared these maps with spatially explicit records of poaching events. Recorded poaching events and stakeholder perceptions of where poaching occurred were not spatially correlated. However, the locations of documented poaching events were spatially correlated with areas that stakeholders perceived wildlife as a threat to their livelihoods. This result suggests poaching occurred in response to wildlife damage occurred. Local stakeholders thought that wildlife populations were at high risk of being poached and that poaching occurred where there was abundant wildlife. These findings suggest stakeholders were concerned about wildlife resources in their community and indicate a need for integrated and continued monitoring of poaching activities and further interventions at the wildlife-agricultural interface. Involving stakeholders in the assessment of poaching risks promotes their participation in local conservation efforts, a central tenet of community-based management. We considered stakeholders poaching informants, rather than suspects, and our technique was spatially explicit. Different strategies to reduce poaching are likely needed in different areas. For example, interventions that reduce human-wildlife conflict may be required in residential areas, and increased and targeted patrolling may be required in more remote areas. Stakeholder-generated maps of human-wildlife interactions may be a valuable enforcement and intervention support tool. La cacería furtiva puede afectar los esfuerzos de manejo de vida silvestre en sistemas de manejo de recursos naturales basados en comunidades. El monitoreo, la estimación y obtención de datos sobre cacería furtiva son difíciles. Utilizamos conocimiento y registros de caza furtiva de actores locales, así como registros de caza furtiva para clasificar y mapear el riesgo de incidentes de cacería furtiva en dos áreas donde los recursos naturales son manejados por miembros de la comunidad en Caprivi, Namibia. Mapeamos las percepciones de los actores locales sobre el riesgo de caza furtiva, el riesgo de daños causados por vida silvestre a humanos y la distribución de vida silvestre y comparamos estos mapas con registros espacialmente explícitos de eventos de cacería furtiva. Los eventos de caza furtiva registrados y las percepciones de los actores sobre los sitios donde ocurre la caza furtiva no estuvieron correlacionados espacialmente. Sin embargo, las localidades con eventos de caza furtiva documentada se correlacionaron espacialmente con áreas en las que los actores percibieron a la vida silvestre como una amenaza para sus formas de vida. Este resultado sugiere que la caza furtiva ocurrió como respuesta a daños causados la vida silvestre. Los actores locales pensaron que las poblaciones de vida silvestre tenían un alto riesgo de ser cazadas furtivamente y que la caza furtiva ocurría donde hubiera abundante vida silvestre. Estos resultados sugieren que los actores locales estaban preocupados por los recursos de vida silvestre en su comunidad e indican la necesidad de monitoreo continuo de las actividades de caza furtiva y otras intervenciones en la interfaz vida silvestre - agricultura. El involucramiento de los actores en la evaluación de los riesgos de la caza furtiva promueve su participación en esfuerzos locales de conservación, un aspecto central de lo esfuerzos de los esfuerzos de manejo basado en comunidades. Consideramos a los actores como informantes de cacería furtiva, y no como sospechosos, y nuestra técnica fue espacialmente explícita. Es probable que se requieran diferentes estrategias para disminuir la caza furtiva en áreas diferentes. Por ejemplo, se pueden requerir intervenciones que reducen los conflictos humano - vida silvestre en áreas residenciales, mientras que en áreas más remotas se puede requerir mayor vigilancia. Los mapas de interacciones humanos - vida silvestre generados por actores locales pueden ser una valiosa herramienta de soporte para la aplicación de la ley.

Environmental insecurity is a source and outcome of biodiversity declines and social conflict. One challenge to scaling insecurity reduction policies is that empirical evidence about local attitudes is overwhelmingly missing. We set three objectives: determine how local people rank risk associated with different sources of environmental insecurity; assess perceptions of environmental insecurity, biodiversity exploitation, myths of nature and risk management preferences; and explore relationships between perceptions and biodiversity exploitation. We conducted interviews (N = 88) with residents of Madagascar's Torotorofotsy Protected Area, 2014. Risk perceptions had a moderate effect on perceptions of environmental insecurity. We found no effects of environmental insecurity on biodiversity exploitation. Results offer one if not the first exploration of local perceptions of illegal biodiversity exploitation and environmental security. Local people's perception of risk seriousness associated with illegal biodiversity exploitation such as lemur hunting (low overall) may not reflect perceptions of policy-makers (considered to be high). Discord is a key entry point for attention.

Background/Objectives: Extreme temperatures linked to climate change threaten child health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where malnutrition remains widespread. This study examines how exposure to hot and cold temperature anomalies influences child stunting in Burkina Faso and Kenya and evaluates how household infrastructure and socio-demographic factors interact with climate stressors to shape outcomes. Methods: We combined nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (Burkina Faso 2021; Kenya 2022) with daily maximum and minimum temperature data from the Climate Hazards InfraRed Temperature with Stations (CHIRTS). The analytic sample included children aged 24–59 months. Temperature anomalies were calculated as standardized deviations from local historical averages. Multilevel logistic regression models assessed associations between stunting, climate anomalies, and household-level factors, including electricity, water, sanitation, wealth, and rural/urban residence. Results: Heat anomalies were linked to increased stunting risk in Kenya (β = 2.34, p < 0.001), while in Burkina Faso, higher maximum temperatures unexpectedly reduced stunting odds (β = 0.08, p < 0.05). Cold anomalies showed marginal positive associations with stunting in both countries. Infrastructure and socioeconomic factors varied by context: electricity access and urban residence were protective in Burkina Faso, while improved sanitation, household wealth, and child sex differences were significant in Kenya. Conclusions: Climate anomalies and household conditions jointly influence stunting among children aged 24–59 months, with effects varying by country. Cold anomalies were associated with higher odds of stunting in Burkina Faso (BF OR = 2.14) and Kenya (KE OR = 1.20), while heat anomalies reduced stunting in BF (OR = 0.08) but increased it in KE (OR = 2.34). Electricity access was protective in both countries (BF OR = 0.61; KE OR = 0.71), while improved water, sanitation, and wealth were significant only in KE. Older child age consistently reduced stunting risk, and urban residence was protective only in BF. These findings underscore that climate impacts on stunting are context-specific and highlight the need for policies integrating climate adaptation with investments.

To what extent and how do men and women differ in their attitudes about poaching? Although research suggests that women can be more concerned about environmental degradation than men, inquiries about communities in protected areas are ambiguous: women are disproportionately affected by anti‐poaching laws and can have greater motivations to violate rules. We conducted a large‐scale survey in communities within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe and explored attitudes regarding; concern about resources, rule compliance, poaching, and anti‐poaching activities. Although women's attitudes generally are not divergent from men's, we find some differences among nonelectrified households and those with a dependence on resources; these women are less likely to condemn commercial poaching and less willing to engage in anti‐poaching activities. Men in poorer households are more likely to know a poacher. We identify a need of further understanding the causes behind gender differences in conservation attitudes.

The Russian-Ukrainian War, ongoing since 2014, impacts an area containing Emerald Network environmental-protection sites created through the implementation of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. Here we explore the impact of this conflict on institutional links supporting environmental sustainability and conservation efforts. Using satellite data, we analyzed tree cover changes in the Luhansk region’s Emerald Network protected areas from 1996 to 2020. The results reveal that the implementation of Bern Convention conservation policies led to a shift from deforestation (−4% each) to reforestation (+8% and +10%) on both sides of the Emerald Network divided by the demarcation line in 2014. It also shows that despite the war, territories under Ukraine control after 2014 continued reforestation (+9%), while sites under Russian control experienced dramatic forest loss (−25%). These findings emphasize the significant consequences of warfare-induced separation of local institutions on conservation areas and underscore the positive impact of the Emerald Network establishment, both before and after the conflict’s onset.

At unsustainable rates and in illegal contexts, the wild meat trade is a driver of species extinction; it can also threaten ecosystem services, local food security and contribute to the risk of zoonotic disease spread. The restaurant and catering sectors are understudied groups in conservation, both with regards to the legal and illegal wild meat trade and particularly in urban areas. Restaurateurs are key actors between wild meat consumers and suppliers and thus play a central role in the supply chain. This study applied a crime science hot product approach to characterize: (a) restaurateur perceptions of urban wild meat consumption; (b) wildlife species most at risk in the urban wild meat trade; and (c) the differences between restaurants in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo). Through focus groups in both cities, participants affirmed that in urban centers wild meat is considered a luxury item and sign of wealth. Monkeys were seen as a hot product in both cities, but we found a greater variety of hot wild meat products in Brazzaville. When looking at the differences between the restaurant tier levels, middle‐tiered restaurants identified pangolin and antelopes as being hot products, rather than monkeys as with upper and lower‐tiered restaurants. By applying a hot product analysis, we identified the wild meat groups most likely to be targeted by the urban wild meat trade. Findings herein offer novel opportunities to better tailor and prioritize conservation interventions against illegal trade using design against crime or other crime prevention strategies.