Public attitudes toward biodiversity-friendly greenspace management in Europe

Fischer, Leonie K. and Neuenkamp, Lena and Lampinen, Jussi and Tuomi, Maria and Alday, Josu G. and Bucharova, Anna and Cancellieri, Laura and Casado-Arzuaga, Izaskun and Čeplová, Natálie and Cerveró, Lluïsa and Deák, Balázs and Eriksson, Ove and Fellowes, Mark D. E. and de Manuel, Beatriz Fernández and Filibeck, Goffredo and González-Guzmán, Adrián and Hinojosa, M. Belen and Kowarik, Ingo and Lumbierres, Belén and Miguel, Ana and Pardo, Rosa and Pons, Xavier and Rodríguez-García, Encarna and Schröder, Roland and Sperandii, Marta Gaia and Unterweger, Philipp and Valkó, Orsolya and Vázquez, Víctor and Klaus, Valentin H. (2020) Public attitudes toward biodiversity-friendly greenspace management in Europe. Conservation Letters, 13 (4). e12718. ISSN 1755-263X

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Abstract

Increasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people’s acceptance of biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2,000 people in 19 European cities about their attitudes toward near-natural urban grassland management in public greenspaces, and related their responses to nine sociocultural parameters. Results reveal that people across Europe can support urban biodiversity, yet within the frames of a generally tidy appearance of public greenery. Younger people and those using greenspaces for a greater variety of activities were more likely to favor biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Additionally, people who were aware of the meaning of biodiversity and those stating responsibility for biodiversity conservation particularly supported biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Our results point at explicit measures like environmental education to increase public acceptance of policies that facilitate nature conservation within cities.

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