Understanding landowners’ intention to restore native areas: the role of ecosystem services

Abstract

Understanding landowners’ intention to voluntarily engage in conservation initiatives is essential to designing more realistic projects and interventions. In this study, we used the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the psychological constructs underlying landowners’ intention to restore areas with native vegetation on their properties over the next three years. We extended the model, investigating whether the perception of ecosystem services, age, number of springs, and size of property affect the intention studied. We interviewed 75 landowners whose properties are in the surroundings of a public protected area in Brazil and applied structural equation modeling to analyze the acquired data. The results agree with the predicted relationship between attitudes and intention. Furthermore, perception of the ecosystem services and the number of springs on a given property are two factors which directly affect attitude and indirectly affect the intention to restore. Younger landowners are more willing to restore. These results suggest that understanding the benefits of conserving biodiversity on farmland affects management practices. Investing in educational initiatives to promote more knowledge about ecosystem services will increase the involvement of more landowners in future conservation programs.