Factors influencing protected area professionals’ decisions and behaviors towards outdoor recreation in protected areas

Authors' Names

Kika Bradford, The University Of MontanaFollow

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Category

Social Sciences/Humanities

Abstract/Artist Statement

Protected areas play a crucial role in providing outdoor recreation opportunities for current and future generations. These opportunities provide benefits to society, conservation, and individuals, while presenting challenges to the natural environment. Protected area professionals (PAPs) are responsible for planning and managing for this complexity, and are in a powerful place to shape outdoor recreation in protected areas. But how do they make decisions and implement actions towards outdoor recreation? Previous studies have addressed the factors influencing PAPs’ decisions and behaviors around climate change and fire management, but not around outdoor recreation in protected areas, in particular in developing countries. This exploratory study analyzes organizational and psychological factors shaping the outdoor recreation decisions and behaviors of PAPs working at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the Brazilian federal protected area agency. Based on an interpretivist perspective and reflexive thematic analysis, I interpreted data from 41 semi-structured interviews with PAPs working at various scales, capacities, and geographies in Brazil’s protected area system. Through open-ended questions, we discussed their perspectives and ICMBio’s organizational culture for outdoor recreation. Results indicate a cultural shift on the belief systems, moving from a perspective that sees outdoor recreation as a menace to one that embraces it as a tool for conservation. Facilitators of this change process include the creation of a pro-outdoor recreation culture through leadership influence, institutional support, and capacity-building. Barriers to this process include a lack of capacity, fear of losing control, and resistance to change. A better understanding of the factors influencing PAPs’ decisions and behaviors is critical for bridging policies and implementation, improving management capacity, and propelling the cultural change taking place at the ICMBio, while providing insights that can be applied elsewhere. Ultimately, this research contributes to better prepare protected areas for a growing demand for outdoor recreation.

Mentor Name

Jennifer Thomsen and Keith Bosak

Personal Statement

Inspired by my own transformative experiences while climbing mountains, I have dedicated my life to making outdoor recreation in protected areas more accessible to society, especially in my home country, Brazil. Whether working as an advocate or as a Ph.D. candidate in Forest and Conservation Sciences, I have collaborated with protected areas professionals (PAPs) to improve the quality of outdoor recreation and the environment. Outdoor recreation can promote health, economic, and personal benefits; however, it also brings challenges to biodiversity, local communities, and the environment. Offering recreational opportunities in protected areas is not simple. PAPs, as the ones responsible for planning and managing outdoor recreation in protected areas, navigate this complexity by creating norms, deciding strategies, and implementing actions. They are, therefore, in a powerful position to shape outdoor recreation and conservation. However, we have little knowledge about how PAPs make these decisions and act upon them, especially in developing countries, limiting the ability to promote meaningful human-nature connections through outdoor recreation in protected areas. So, what factors influence PAPs’ decisions and behaviors towards outdoor recreation? My research addresses this gap and contributes to protected area management and outdoor recreation in distinct ways. First, it reveals ways to bridge policies and implementation and increase organizational capacity for outdoor recreation by identifying barriers and facilitators to PAPs’ decisions and behaviors around outdoor recreation. Second, this study approaches these issues in a developing country, Brazil, enriching the cross-cultural exchange of information about how to balance conservation and outdoor recreation. And, third, this research ultimately helps to better prepare protected areas for a growing demand for outdoor recreation, securing access, protecting the natural environment, and increasing the benefits of outdoor recreation to society and to conservation.