Theresa Selfa

Predictors of Pro-Environmental Behavior in Rural American Communities

Place and community attachment, community satisfaction, and environmental attitudes have all been independently linked to environmental behaviors. However, few efforts have attempted to determine the relationship between these factors, and together, how they relate to pro-environmental behaviors. Moreover, few studies have analyzed these concepts and relationships in the context of rural and low amenity settings. This study integrates these factors in a conceptual framework and examines them in the context of rural, low amenity communities. Based on the analysis of data from a survey of residents in six small, rural communities in Kansas and Iowa (N = 1,088), we find that environmental attitudes and place attachment are the strongest predictors of self-reported pro-environmental behaviors, while community satisfaction—including satisfaction with services and satisfaction with community leadership—is not a significant predictor. Recommendations for future research following the theoretical approach used in the study are presented.

Shifting Lands: Exploring Kansas Farmer Decision-Making in an Era of Climate Change and Biofuels Production

While farming has been the subject of frequent critical analysis with respect to its environmental impacts, including its greenhouse gas emissions, there has been relatively little consideration of the potentially positive role of agriculture in responding to a future greatly influenced by climate change. One possible realm for agriculture to contribute successfully to this future is through biofuels cultivation. This paper uses the state of Kansas as an example to examine factors that are influencing farmer decision-making during a time of heightened debates about climate and energy. Drawing on interviews with key informants and Kansas farmers, we apply and refine a conceptual model for understanding farmer decisions. We find that farmers have largely positive perceptions of the natural environment. Climate change, especially, is not a salient concern at this time. Factors that appear most likely to influence farmer decisions to adopt a new practice include the relative advantage of that practice and the ability to learn about and discuss it through existing social networks. Successful policy incentives must provide farmers with a continued sense of both independence and contribution to greater societal good.

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

Across the Americas, biofuels production systems are diverse due to geographic conditions, historical patterns of land tenure, different land use patterns, government policy frameworks, and relations between the national state and civil society, all of which shape the role that biofuels play in individual nations. Although many national governments throughout the Americas continue to incentivize growth of the biofuels industry, one key challenge for biofuels sustainability has been concern about its social impacts. In this article, we discuss some of the key social issues and tensions related to the recent expansion of biofuels production in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. We argue that a process of “simplification” of ecological and cultural diversity has aided the expansion of the biofuels frontier in these countries, but is also undermining their viability. We consider the ability of governments and non-state actors in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) to address social and environmental concerns that affect rural livelihoods as a result of biofuels expansion. We analyze the tensions between global sustainability standards, national level policies for biofuels development, and local level impacts and visions of sustainability. We find that both government and MSI efforts to address sustainability concerns have limited impact, and recommend greater incorporation of local needs and expertise to improve governance.

Climate Change Perceptions of NY State Farmers: The Role of Risk Perceptions and Adaptive Capacity

Climate change is expected to severely impact agricultural practices in many important food-producing regions, including the Northeast United States. Changing climate conditions, such as increases in the amount of rainfall, will require farmers to adapt. Yet, little is known with regard to farmers’ perceptions and understandings about climate change, especially in the industrialized country context. This paper aims at overcoming this research limitation, as well as determining the existing contextual, cognitive, and psychological barriers that can prevent adoption of sustainable practices of farmers in New York State. The study is framed within the adaptive capacity and risk perception literature, and is based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with farmers in 21 farms in two counties in Central New York. The results reveal diverging views about the long-term consequences of climate change. Results also reveal that past experience remains as the most important source of information that influences beliefs and perceptions about climate change, confirming previous research.

Navigating the Complex Trade-Offs of Pesticide Use on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

ABSTRACT Pesticide use by farmers on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos—a perceived adaptation to changing ecological and economic dynamics—has the potential to lead to environmental degradation in an area that is known and valued worldwide for its biodiversity. We survey Santa Cruz farmers to understand motivations for and concerns about pesticide use on the island. Results from farmer surveys are supplemented with interview data to develop the case study of pesticide use on Santa Cruz Island. We then apply a “complex trade-off” framework to explore and navigate the tensions between conservation and livelihoods. We conclude by elaborating the implementation of a participatory certification system, the Participatory Guarantee System, as a possible path for reconciling trade-offs in Santa Cruz, Galapagos.

How do states benefit from nonstate governance? Evidence from forest sustainability certification

Forest sustainability certification is emblematic of governance mechanisms associated with neoliberal state reforms. Despite being conceived as a means of compensating for the unwillingness or inability of states to regulate forest practices, in practice, forest certification has come to entail complex and hybrid relationships between private-sector, civil society, and government actors. Indeed, states have increasingly embraced certification as a means of complementing or even supplanting traditional forms of governmental regulation of the forest sector. Yet processes of neoliberalization imply both an expansion of opportunities for hybrid governance and a weakening of the state capacity that is often needed for successful implementation of certification initiatives. We analyze the complex relationships between neoliberalization, state capacity, and certification through two contrasting cases in Wisconsin, United States, and Entre Ríos, Argentina. Our findings illustrate the tensions within broadly neoliberal and postneoliberal regimes and highlight the persistence of long-standing patterns of state-led environmental governance.