About this Research Topic
The way in which we humans perceive and interact with nature is a relevant driver of our behavior toward wild species. Throughout history, societies have built empirical knowledge about wild species with which they interact. At the same time, diverse and complex emotions toward those species have developed. Local knowledge and emotions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and communities have had leading roles in wildlife management and conservation across different regions and cultures. However, scientific knowledge and government-administered policies frequently determine how wild animals and their habitats are used and protected in many areas of the world. This Research Topic focuses on exploring and discussing the richness and relevance of local traditional knowledge about wildlife populations and their habitats, and how emotions are involved.
The contributions of local knowledge and human emotions to wildlife conservation have been insufficiently documented and discussed in the scientific literature. To recognise these contributions, this Research Topic invites manuscripts that improve and expand our understanding of how local knowledge and human emotions have been applied in managing and conserving wild animal species (both vertebrates and invertebrates) worldwide. Contributions may range from descriptive and qualitative assessments to rigorous quantitative research focused on specific groups and animal species, including case studies and comparative surveys at different temporal and geographical scales. Papers emerging from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, ethnobiology, psychology, sociology, wildlife management, and others may be appropriate for this topic. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary studies are also welcome.
Potential themes to be addressed in the papers submitted to this Research Topic may include:
• Specific or integrative assessments of wildlife management and conservation by communities or social groups using local/traditional knowledge based on experience.
• Studies using qualitative or quantitative methods to analyze worldviews, emotions, values, and attitudes relevant to managing and conserving wild species or groups.
• Historic and cross-cultural analyses of local knowledge and emotions related to wildlife management and conservation among social groups coexisting in shared environments or independent territories.
• Assessments of the interrelationships between local knowledge and emotions toward wildlife.
• Bibliographic and critical reviews of documented local/traditional knowledge and emotions toward wildlife present in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities worldwide.
The contributions of local knowledge and human emotions to wildlife conservation have been insufficiently documented and discussed in the scientific literature. To recognise these contributions, this Research Topic invites manuscripts that improve and expand our understanding of how local knowledge and human emotions have been applied in managing and conserving wild animal species (both vertebrates and invertebrates) worldwide. Contributions may range from descriptive and qualitative assessments to rigorous quantitative research focused on specific groups and animal species, including case studies and comparative surveys at different temporal and geographical scales. Papers emerging from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, ethnobiology, psychology, sociology, wildlife management, and others may be appropriate for this topic. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary studies are also welcome.
Potential themes to be addressed in the papers submitted to this Research Topic may include:
• Specific or integrative assessments of wildlife management and conservation by communities or social groups using local/traditional knowledge based on experience.
• Studies using qualitative or quantitative methods to analyze worldviews, emotions, values, and attitudes relevant to managing and conserving wild species or groups.
• Historic and cross-cultural analyses of local knowledge and emotions related to wildlife management and conservation among social groups coexisting in shared environments or independent territories.
• Assessments of the interrelationships between local knowledge and emotions toward wildlife.
• Bibliographic and critical reviews of documented local/traditional knowledge and emotions toward wildlife present in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities worldwide.
Keywords: conservation, emotions, local knowledge, management, wildlife
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
