ABSTRACT

Disconnect between humans and nature has been considered a driver of contemporary environmental crises. This has resulted in environmental managers calling for society to ‘re-connect’ with nature for future sustainability. However, conceptualisations of ‘connections to nature’ are fragmented in theoretical terms and practical application, as empirical research in environmental management literature exploring lay people’s conceptualisations of their personal ‘connections to nature’ is scarce. This raises a key issue: if environmental managers do not know what they are aiming for, how can it be effective? This study responds to the empirical gap by exploring what a ‘connection to nature’ means to lay individuals. Just under 1,000 respondents from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand engaged in the study. Results suggest that lay conceptualisations of ‘connections to nature’ range across nine dimensions – cognitive, affective, experiential, philosophical, spiritual, material, well-being, cultural or that it is a ‘hippie term’. Diversity of conceptualisations among the respondent group suggests that empirical exploration of the way that people conceptualise their ‘connections to nature’ is beneficial. These understandings could prove vital for more efficient sustainability actions to achieve more effective outcomes. The findings advance discourse on human-nature connections in environmental management literature.

摘要

人与自然之间的脱节被认为是当代环境危机的驱动因素。这导致环境管理者呼吁社会与自然“重新联系”，以实现未来的可持续性。然而，“与自然的联系”的概念化在理论术语和实际应用方面是支离破碎的，因为环境管理文献中探索外行人对其个人“与自然的联系”的概念化的实证研究很少。这就提出了一个关键问题：如果环境管理者不知道他们的目标是什么，它怎么能有效？这项研究通过探索“与自然的联系”对非专业人士意味着什么来回应经验差距。来自新西兰 Aotearoa 奥克兰的 Tāmaki Makaurau 的近 1,000 名受访者参与了这项研究。结果表明，“与自然的联系”的非专业概念跨越九个维度——认知、情感、体验、哲学、精神、物质、幸福、文化，或者它是一个“嬉皮士术语”。受访者群体概念化的多样性表明，对人们将“与自然的联系”概念化的方式进行实证探索是有益的。这些理解对于更有效的可持续性行动以实现更有效的结果至关重要。这些发现推动了环境管理文献中关于人与自然联系的讨论。受访者群体概念化的多样性表明，对人们将“与自然的联系”概念化的方式进行实证探索是有益的。这些理解对于更有效的可持续性行动以实现更有效的结果至关重要。这些发现推动了环境管理文献中关于人与自然联系的讨论。受访者群体概念化的多样性表明，对人们将“与自然的联系”概念化的方式进行实证探索是有益的。这些理解对于更有效的可持续性行动以实现更有效的结果至关重要。这些发现推动了环境管理文献中关于人与自然联系的讨论。