Protecting plants and animals from extinction: What do Canadians really think?
Hundreds of species of plants and animals in Canada are in danger of going extinct from the country. The main reason this is happening is that people have taken over land and water for industry, housing, transportation, and recreation. Therefore, to protect species, we have to reduce or eliminate these human activities in certain areas. And in order for politicians to make policy that supports this, we need the support of citizens.
The goal of our research was to find out if Canadians think that saving plants and animals from extinction in Canada is important. First, we wanted to know if most Canadians would say this is important. Then, we wanted to know if they would still say this is important even though we have to restrict industry or make laws about private land use in order to save species. We designed an internet survey that was completed by one thousand Canadians. The survey included general questions about whether preventing extinction is important, and whether limiting human activities is necessary to do so. Other questions asked about a specific situation involving a particular species and a particular activity. For example, one question asked whether it would be fair to prevent a landowner from cutting down an endangered red mulberry tree on their property. We asked these specific questions in two ways: one in a way that suggested how important it is to save the species, and one in a way that suggested how important it is for humans to be able to use the land for themselves.
The results show that most of the people who answered the survey (89%) do think that saving species from extinction is important. Most of them (80%) also agreed with the idea that we need to limit industry in some areas in order to protect species. Most also agreed that we need to limit private property rights too, but not as many (63%). When a question mentioned potential loss of industry-related jobs or private property rights, there were lower levels of support than if these things were not specifically mentioned. Canadians are clearly committed to the idea of saving species, but they are worried about losing jobs and having their property regulated. Governments in Canada need to develop policy for protecting species that takes these worries into account, by making it clear how much the limitation of industry will affect jobs, and by supporting programs that encourage voluntary conservation on private land.
Read the full paper — Assessing public commitment to endangered species protection: A Canadian case study by J.L. McCune, Anja M. Carlsson, Sheila Colla, Christina Davy, Brett Favaro, Adam T. Ford, Kevin C. Fraser and Eduardo G. Martins on the FACETS website.
