Thread by @Lindsey1west

1/7 #SeaTurtleTalks #TurtleTuesday

Using a relational values lens to explore community participation in sea turtle conservation in Tanzania 🇹🇿

Hello! I’m a PhD student at @DICE_Kent. Today I’ll be tweeting about my research on the human dimensions of #SeaTurtle conservation.

2/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

Local communities have been leading #SeaTurtle conservation in 🇹🇿 since 2001.

20 yrs of monitoring at 🇹🇿 largest #GreenTurtle rookery shows:
⬆️ nest numbers inc by 40% 📈👏
⬇️ harvesting of eggs dec by 88% 📉👏
⬆️ hatchling production inc by 60% 📈👏

3/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

But 🐢 conservation in 🇹🇿 generates limited 💰 for people + opportunity cost of forgoing access to turtle eggs & meat

So why conserve 🐢?
We used a #RelationalValues (RV) lens to explore stewardship motivations & experiences of conservation participation

4/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

📋 In-depth interviews with community #SeaTurtle monitors revealed diverse values & stewardship motivations:

➡️ care & concern for nature 🐢🐳
➡️ social responsibility to future generations 👶👧
➡️ stewardship identity & cultural connections to the ocean🌊

5/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

RV are reproduced as community members interact
➡️ increases social acceptability & legitimacy of conservation
Conclusion: Focusing on 💰 incentives may overlook other types of human-nature connections that can catalyze local stewardship & behaviour change

6/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

People-people relationships are just as imp as people-nature relationships in motivating conservation action.

Recommendation: integrate relational approaches into the design of #BiodiversityConservation programmes as a pathway for achieving social impacts.

7/7 #SeaTurtleTalks

Next steps: Explore community perceptions of #SeaTurtle conservation to better understand reproduction of RV and their influence on the social acceptability of conservation. #MarSocSci

Thanks to PhD supervisors, to @SeaSenseNGO and @SeaTurtleTalks