Born, R.J.G. van den, R.H.J. Lenders, W.T. de Groot & E. Huijsman, 2001, The new biophilia: an exploration of visions of nature in Western countries, in: Enviromental Conservation, 28,
- Author : Born, R.J.G. van den, R.H.J. Lenders, W.T. de Groot & E. Huijsman
- Year : 2001
- Title English : The new biophilia: an exploration of visions of nature in Western countries
- Journal/Series : Enviromental Conservation
- Volume Number (CONSECUTIVE: Counting all Volumes of this Journal ever published) : 28
- Pages : 65-75
- Contents in English : Visions of nature are the subject of much philosophical and policy debate. The this article focuses, however, on the visions of nature held by people not professionally involved in the issue, namely those of the general public. These visions constitute the democratic basis of environmental conservation and the frame for effective two-way communication between professionals and communities on nature protection and management. It appears that the general public in Europe and the USA has developed a strong general ‘biophilia’ (nature-friendliness). One indicator of this is that in quantitative research, 70–90% of the population recognize the right of nature to exist even if not useful to humans in any way. In the qualitative interviews, indications were found that more intense childhood experiences with nature could be associated with later ascription of a high degree of naturalness to wild nature, and less intense experiences with later ascription of a high degree of naturalness to arcadian nature.
- Comments/Notes : Keywords: values; nature; biophilia; childhood; attitudes.