Determinants of feeling of justice in jaguar management

Conservation focuses on environmental objectives, but a neglect to address social concerns can lead to a feeling of injustice among some actors and hence jeopardise conservation goals. Through the case study of a biodiversity... [ view full abstract ]

Conservation focuses on environmental objectives, but a neglect to address social concerns can lead to a feeling of injustice among some actors and hence jeopardise conservation goals. Through the case study of a biodiversity conflict occurring around jaguar management in the Calakmul region, Mexico, our research explores actors’ feelings of injustice and their associated determinants. We use a framework we developed, distinguishing justice as procedural environmental justice (fairness in decision-making), distributive environmental justice (fairness in the distribution of perceived burden), recognition justice (acknowledging individual rights, values, culture and knowledge systems), and ecological justice (the intrinsic values regarding connection with the natural world). During 235 interviews with farmers involved directly in the conflict (livestock breeders) or not involved directly (crop growers), we investigated what might drive their feeling of injustice, namely their perception of the injustice itself (i.e. location, intentionality, stability), individual characteristics (i.e. socio-economic status, motivation, environmental identity), and interaction with their environment (i.e. natural and social). We also asked the participants to make pairwise comparisons across 18 statements derived from our framework that characterize their feeling of justice toward jaguar management. We conducted a factorial analysis that allowed us to create profiles across our participants and assess how these profiles build their feeling of justice. Feeling of justice varied greatly among participants, and was related to different drivers, not only the perceived risk of jaguar impact on livestock, as usually assumed. Our result related to intra and intergroup interaction emphasizes the importance of actors’ relationships. The demand of justice appears to be less about a proper balance between benefits and costs among actors than about receiving appreciation from others, being treated with respect and having their identity recognized. We propose that perception of justice is one neglected but important aspect to include in integrative approaches to managing biodiversity conflicts.