Mapping Tibetan Forestry Perception Š John Studley 2002
Summary Research was conducted in the Hengduan Mountain region of China , between 1995 and 2002 using multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a method for understanding Tibetan environmental perception in response to the exogenous introduction of large-scale forestation, forest protection, nature conservation and tourism. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was used to provide background information, free listing was used to identify domain themes related to forest importance, and MDS & HCA were used to ascertain proximity between themes [Likert dissimilarity between 1 and 5]. To date the data suggests a much closer proximity between conservation & Nature worship, B lessing and Tibetan Buddhism, than socialism , and that industrial forestry & conservation has poor “cultural fit�, especially in Zongdian (Shangri-la)* County From an advocacy perspective this would suggest that conservation strategies should be built on Nature worship & Tibetan Buddhism [rather than socialism] and that more consultation is required in order that Industrial Forestation will gain the acceptance and cooperation of local Tibetan peoples, especially in Zhongdian. Perceptual mapping appears to offer natural resource managers a tool to; better understand all forest actors (stakeholders or clients) , the potential impact of any new innovation, to develop apposite extension strategies, to update their own cognitive domain models , and to develop synergy between local and non-local models of cognition sustainability , biodiversity and development.
John Studley
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