Thesis Title:
Wolves, lynx and wild boar: human-wildlife coexistence and shifting baseline syndrome in Scotland and Estonia
Abstract:
Co-occurring with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and growing support for a nature positive vision for Scotland, the reintroduction of extirpated keystone species has been flagged as a powerful intervention to combat the biodiversity crisis by some conservation NGOs. But efforts to reintroduce these species are controversial and highly contested, with the competing values and objectives of stakeholders often unable to find common ground. One reason for this could be shifting baseline syndrome (SBS), which refers to the unconscious, gradual change in the accepted norms for the condition of the environment across generations and over the course of individual lives. The aim of this project is to explore whether SBS can help explain divisions over extirpated species reintroductions in Scotland. It consists of three overarching research objectives: i) to investigate human-feral pig/wild boar coexistence in Loch Ness; ii) to investigate human-wolf and human-lynx coexistence in Estonia; and iii) to investigate the influence of SBS on normative values towards wild boar, lynx, and wolves in Scotland. This thesis will be implemented in collaboration with local interest groups in Scotland and Estonia using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Subsequently, this thesis will develop novel and innovative thinking about conflicts over extirpated species and their potential reintroduction in Scotland, as well as informing understandings of human-wildlife relationships and coexistence in Estonia.
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/toryn-whitehead-756516163
First Supervisor:
Prof Terry Dawson
Pathway:
Pathway 9: Political Ecology, Energy & Environmental Health (PEEH)