Science does not happen in a vacuum.
We are doing research, creating
suggestions and Conservation efforts,
but no Conservation is successful if the
society does not seem it as important.
It is the society who need to follow the
rules and regulations. And it is us, who
need to explain them, why. People form
societies, societies select governments
and government is in the end, are the
ones to decide about the Conservation
efforts of the country. So, for successful
Conservation efforts and
communication, we need to influence
the people. But also, to understand
their culture as communication is a
double-sided effort. As change of
cultural values is happening very
slowly, it is more effective to choose
our narrative than to wait for the
culture to change.
On a large scale, there is bigger diversity at the tropics, at
equator. On the other hand the countries with largest
biodiversity are also usually the ones with smallest
Conservation effort (measured as % of GDP Spent on
Conservation).
But large ammount of money does not mean Conservation
(China). We need the country to value biodiversity/nature in
their culture and to have enough resources.
The countries with high Conservation effort are usually the
„post-modern“ ones, with non-material values, high education,
big trust in the government, enough resources and concern
about right of all beings.
People and nature disconnected.
Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in
human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and
habits of the individuals in these groups. Humans acquire culture through the learning
processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures
across societies.
Culture is hierarchical with
the different levels
influencing each other. There
is culture of a continent /
country / religion group. On
the other hand a culture of a
person with same religion
will be different on different
continents. Cultural traits can
be also seen on workplaces
or family: we can see it in
dress-code, vocabulary,
timing of lunch, …
All thiese „wildlife rangers“
value nature and their gole is
to conserve it. But they
might do it for different
reasons as they come from
different cultural
backgrounds.
Culture has some similar traits as natural taxa.
• They are evolving with similar patterns as species
(dividing, being influential, hybridizing, can be
maladaptive) based on the natural environment.
• For example people in the mountains need to be
individualistic as there are little settlements divided
by mountains, while people in valleys tend to be
collective.
• Niche is a multidimensional space where a species
can be found. And we can measure „niches“ of
cultures as well based on various dimensions.
How can we measure the dimensions for cultures?
Hofstede originally found 4 dimensions, later researchers defined 3 more. We will, however talk only about the original 4
dimensions.
Geert Hofstede founded a personnel research
department in the IBM company of in Europe. He
wanted to manage the employees more
effectively, so he made a large survey research in
the multinational company. He got answers from
more than 117.000 people from 40 countries.
Next research later broaden it for 50 countries
and 3 regions from 93 population samples. The
methodology is still used in companies and
surveys. I send you a link to the chat to the
official Hofstede‘s page, where you can even try
to make the questionnaire for yourself:
https://geerthofstede.com/research-and-vsm/
Think critically about the method!
Possible bias towards well-educated
men.
Applying a personal questions on a
group of people can be problematic.
The data were applied at the national
level possibly mitigating the effect of
subcultures on lower levels.
Conservation needs cooperation and shared
interest. On the other hand, collectivism lacks
acting force and might lead to „shared blame“.
Degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups Individualistic
societies have loose ties and they like individual
more than family, kids leave the house early. Being unique is
seen as something good. „I“. Creation of superegos. Fast
walking speed.
Collectivism - tightly-integrated relationships, extended
families, life-lasting friendships. Loyalty. Being different mean
to be ostracised. Slow walking speed. High activity on social
media.
Collectivism – conflict is avoided under any means (let‘s not
talk about it) while in individualism it is seen as an opportunity
to learn.
In individualism, same rules apply to everyone. In collectivism,
different rules apply on you if you are and are not part of the
group – exclusion (kids)
In collectivism there is more empathy, but people in
individualism are more inclusive towards handicapped, in
collectivism they are seen as shame because they are „special“.
In collectivism, your CV will be judged based on your contacts.
In individualism based on your skills.
The extent to which the less powerful members
of organizations and institutions (like the family)
accept and expect that power is distributed
unequally.
High index – power is stratified (bosses and
workers), they do not mix, and the workers do
not question the decisions of the bosses, they eat
separately in canteens and have different
privileges.
In high ones, power is more concentrated and the powerless accept
it as a fact. It often leads to „Crimes of obedience“.
High Power Distance Low Power distance
Triangular communication (family) Direct communication (family)
The lower workers expect given orders The bosses expect the workers to come with ideas
Individualism and power distance corelate with collective societies
usually being high power distance ones.
Feminine countries will show higher levels of Conservation efforts.
• Very important – this does not mean if the society is
chauvinistic or feministic – it is about shared values
in the society + controversial (Japan)
• Masculine - preference in society for achievement,
heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for
success
• Feminine - a preference for cooperation, modesty,
caring for the weak and quality of life
Feminine Masculine
Approval, consent – sex is a mutual pleasure Leadership, negotiation – pleasure of one of the partners
Man and woman have same career options The options are separate (doctor X nurse, female lawyers)
Jealoucy of the one who excel Competition leading to excelence
Work to live Live to work
People of High uncertainity avoidance community feel
threatened by the forces of nature, society puts higher effort
in reducing the risks and puts higher effort
into nature conservation.
Uncertainity Avoidance
How much can people handle uncertainty. How much
is a person in a society anxious and nervous if there is
no plan, no given steps and instructions.
High Uncertainity avoidance Low uncertainity avoidance
Mortgages, own house, 1 career Moving often, rents, changing career
Having to know what will happen (schedule) Doing things without thinking about consequences (engagement
ring)
Family life very planned Family life unplanned
Prefere ABCD tests Prefere open questions
1) Conservation needs cooperation and shared interest. On the other hand, collectivism lacks acting force.
2) In high ones, power is more concentrated and the powerless accept it as a fact. It often leads to „Crimes of
obedience“.
3) Feminine countries will show higher levels of Conservation efforts.
4) People of High uncertainity avoidance community feel threatened by the forces of nature, society puts higher
effort in reducing the risks and puts higher effort
into nature conservation.
•Income of the country – when basic needs are fulfilled, we can think about environment
•Government form – more democratic countries tend to put more Conservation
•Education level
•Trust in government
•Part of Gross Domestic Product given for Conservation, sustainabillity indexes
Our assumptions
1) In high ones, power is more concentrated and the powerless accept it as a fact. It often leads to „Crimes of
obedience“.
2) Feminine countries will show higher levels of Conservation efforts.
•Education level
•Trust in government
Reality – what matters
Power distance mitigates the influence of most of the other factors.
While looking at the table on the next slide, try to think critically about the data and the reality
of Conservation in the countries (you can make a brief research if you do not see % of GDP as a
good measure). What is important? The cultural dimensions? The trust in government? The
level of modernisation?
Country Range Scandinavia Japan China Costa Rica Czech Rep. Slovak Rep. Nigeria
GDP % in
Conservation
ranked 2 3-4 6 1 3-4 5 No data
Power Distance 11*-104 22-31 54 80 35 57 100 80
The higher power distance, the poorer Conservation efforts.
Femininity /
Masculinity
5*-110 5-14 95 66 21 57 100 60
The higher masculinity, the poorer Conservation efforts.
Education % (uni.) 47-52 48 17 18 22 20 <10%
The higher education level, the more can people understand the complexity of the environment.
Rule of law 0-100* 98-100 90 45 70 81 71 19
The bigger the trust, that government listen to it‘s people, the better.
Individuality 6-91 60-74 46 20 14 58 52 30
We would expect that lower individuality will lead to higher Conservation effort. However, the effects are mitigated by power distance and rule of law, which are usually very high and low respectively in
collectivist countries.
Modernisation
level
1*-3 1 1 2 3 2 2 3
Uncertainity
avoidance
8-112 13-50 92 30 86 74 51 54
There is a week trend for high uncertainity avoidance countries to be less individualistic. However, no correlation with Conservation effort was found.
In the 1st row, you can see the countries ranked. Costa Rica gives the biggest % of their GDP to the Conservation, while China the smallest. In the „range“, you can see the global range of the value. For
example, in all surveyed countries, the lowest Power distance was 5 and the biggest was 111. Czech Rep. scored 57 and is therefore somewhere at the middle, while Slovak Rep. got almost the highest
ranking possible. The value marked with * is assumed to be better for the environment. The education is the % of people finishing tertiary education, with global maximum being Canada and Russia with
54 %.
Take home message:
1) The countries with biggest biodiversity usually makes the smallest conservation effort.
2) The conservation efforts are given by income of the country and its culture.
a) Large income does not automatically mean large conservation effort.
b) Culture that prioritise biodiversity does not mean higher conservation efforts as well.
3) Culture needs to have low power distance and be feminine to be more willing to protect biodiversity.
4) Country needs to be educated and have large rule of law and therefore trustful government to put more GDP
to conservation efforts.
https://jamboard.google.com/d/1Lt65QX1l4wSEsXknFEv0bvsGAx5H2mTxr-OW3nqeJoA/edit?usp=sharing