Open AccessPublic versus expert opinions regarding public involvement processes used in resource and wildlife management
Author(s) -
Decker Stephen E.,
Bath Alistair J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-263x.2010.00129.x
Subject(s) - representativeness heuristic , public involvement , wildlife , resource (disambiguation) , public opinion , public relations , business , public land , wildlife management , task (project management) , environmental resource management , psychology , political science , ecology , social psychology , economics , computer science , management , law , biology , computer network , politics
Abstract Successful public involvement efforts can reduce conflict and build trust between resource managers and the public. Differences of opinion between the public and wildlife managers regarding the importance of various characteristics and methods of public involvement have implications for managers wishing to design effective public involvement processes. We compared and contrasted the preferences of German public and European experts in large mammal management regarding characteristics and methods of public involvement. Expert participants attributed high levels of importance to including scientific information in decision making while general public respondents attributed high levels of importance to the cost effectiveness and representativeness of the public involvement effort. Differences were also observed regarding public involvement methods. Experts preferred task forces and advisory groups while the general public preferred information materials and public meetings. We discuss the likely causes of similarities and differences between these two groups and examine the consequent implications for managers.