Contributing to Drought Management Through Understanding Factors Influencing Human Conservation Behavior
2004 Research Initiation Award Report
Investigators
Joanna Endter-Wada—Department of Environment and Society, Natural
Resource and Environmental Policy Program, College of Natural Resources, Utah
State University
Arthur Caplan—Department of Economics, Colleges of Business and
Agriculture, Utah State University
Peggy Petrzelka—Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology,
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Utah State University
Theresa Selfa—Western Rural Development Center, Utah State University
Extension
Summary
Drought management and the long-term sustainability of expanding populations
living in arid regions of the Western United States require that we have a
better understanding of the factors influencing human behaviors toward the
environment, more generally, and toward water as a critical and limited
resource. Scientists focused on understanding human populations (“human
scientists,” meaning policy, economic, social, and cultural scientists of
various stripes) have attempted to explain “conservation behavior” (or
“environmentally-friendly behavior”) in relation to recycling, resource
conservation (e.g., conserving water, electricity, and fossil fuels),
purchasing “green products,” and interactions with specific aspects of the
natural world (e.g., animals, unique landforms, and rare species).
There is a need for human scientists to synthesize the findings on conservation
behavior from their various disciplines. In this regard, two areas of inquiry
deserve more attention: Investigating the formation of habits whereby
conservation becomes instilled and results in longer-term lifestyle changes;
and, recognizing and addressing the scale question in human decision-making
that greatly influences people’s ability to engage in behaviors consistent with
their values, knowledge, motivations, etc. (humans participate in
decision-making as individuals, members of households, members of groups,
employees in workplaces and institutions, and citizens of communities and
larger polities). In response to this, we prepared a manuscript which pulls
together an interdisciplinary synthesis of thought on water conservation
behavior. This includes a large body of literature on water conservation and
conservation behavior organized into an outline. The outline then allowed us to
identify the holes in the literature and suggest an interdisciplinary framework
for addressing those issues. Not surprisingly, the holes and some of the most
interesting questions to answer in order to better understand water
conservation behavior lie in the “space” between the disciplines.
Secondly, there is a need for human scientists to work more closely with
scientists from the physical, ecological, and engineering sciences to
understand conservation behavior. Several interesting and potentially fruitful
areas of inquiry into conservation behavior relate specifically to the way in
which people’s interaction with and knowledge of the natural environment is
meditated by the technology that they use (in one recent article, this is
referred to as the “social-technical landscape”) and the role that designers
and devices play in the use of everyday items and, therefore, behaviors. The
research initiation grant allowed us to work closely with David Chandler and
Roger Kjelgren to add a social science/policy component to the Drought
Management initiative for which they are PIs. Also, the grant has aided in some
interdisciplinary collaborations with Kelly Kopp to expand the interview/survey
work we did in Logan City and the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District.
Contact Information
Joanna Endter-Wada
Joanna.Endter-Wada‹at›usu.edu