IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v31y2023i5p3843-3856.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stakeholder perceptions of sustainability and possible behaviour in a biosphere reserve

Author

Listed:
  • Elricke Botha

Abstract

The sustainability of biosphere reserves is arguably linked to socio‐economic factors, yet limited research exists that links socio‐economic factors, sustainable development, and tourism with biosphere reserves. There is thus a need for studies to determine how stakeholders engage in the process of sustainability. Determining stakeholders' perceptions can be useful during several stages of the conservation programme implementation. These perceptions could also indicate how stakeholders would participate in the conservation programme. This research aimed to gauge tourism entrepreneurs' possible behaviour as custodians of the Marico Biosphere Reserve. This was operationalised by determining their perceptions of sustainability. This research applied thematic analysis which identified themes related to the necessity of protecting natural resources, designation uncertainties and how to ensure sustainability. As there is a link between perceptions and behaviour, these results were further contextualised in the protection motivation theory, which raised concerns about tourism entrepreneurs' self‐efficacy and response costs that could hinder the desired protective behaviour in the reserve. Practical implications relate to employing a bottom‐up management approach, creating awareness, sustainable tourism development, and increasing social cohesion, while theoretical implications suggest extending the protection motivation theory with place attachment and social cohesion dimensions. Future research recommendations are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Elricke Botha, 2023. "Stakeholder perceptions of sustainability and possible behaviour in a biosphere reserve," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3843-3856, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:5:p:3843-3856
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2629
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2629
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2629?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst & Florian Schmitt, 2020. "Exploring the Potential and Contribution of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves for Landscape Governance and Management in Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Ramkissoon, Haywantee & Graham Smith, Liam David & Weiler, Betty, 2013. "Testing the dimensionality of place attachment and its relationships with place satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviours: A structural equation modelling approach," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 552-566.
    3. Lyon, Andrew & Hunter-Jones, Philippa & Warnaby, Gary, 2017. "Are we any closer to sustainable development? Listening to active stakeholder discourses of tourism development in the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, South Africa," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 234-247.
    4. Michael Huber & Arne Arnberger, 2021. "Factors Influencing the Level of Local Participation in Planning and Management of the Planned Salzburger Lungau & Kärntner Nockberge Biosphere Reserve in Austria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Cuong, Chu Van & Dart, Peter & Dudley, Nigel & Hockings, Marc, 2017. "Factors influencing successful implementation of Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam: Challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 16-26.
    6. Ghulam Jilani & Guangqin Yang & Irfan Siddique, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro-Environmental Behavior of the Individuals from the Perspective of Protection Motivation Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, December.
    7. Philipp Babcicky & Sebastian Seebauer, 2020. "Collective efficacy and natural hazards: differing roles of social cohesion and task-specific efficacy in shaping risk and coping beliefs," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 695-712, June.
    8. Francesco S. Montesano & Frank Biermann & Agni Kalfagianni & Marjanneke J. Vijge, 2023. "Balancing or prioritising for sustainable development? Perceptions of sustainability integration among professionals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1921-1936, June.
    9. Llewellyn Leonard & Thema Lebogang, 2018. "Exploring the Impacts of Mining on Tourism Growth and Local Sustainability: The Case of Mapungubwe Heritage Site, Limpopo, South Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 206-216, May.
    10. Michael Huber & Arne Arnberger, 2016. "Opponents, waverers or supporters: the influence of place-attachment dimensions on local residents' acceptance of a planned biosphere reserve in Austria," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(9), pages 1610-1628, September.
    11. Piyapong Janmaimool, 2017. "Application of Protection Motivation Theory to Investigate Sustainable Waste Management Behaviors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-16, June.
    12. Bonaiuto, Marino & Carrus, Giuseppe & Martorella, Helga & Bonnes, Mirilia, 2002. "Local identity processes and environmental attitudes in land use changes: The case of natural protected areas," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 631-653, October.
    13. Jason Ryan & Sari Silvanto & Victoria Seitz, 2013. "The promotion of UNESCO biosphere reserves as tourist destinations: a preliminary examination of trends and implications," International Journal of Business and Globalisation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(3), pages 309-324.
    14. Suk Min Pang & Booi Chen Tan & Teck Chai Lau, 2021. "Antecedents of Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Organic Food: Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Protection Motivation Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    15. David Schiefer & Jolanda Noll, 2017. "The Essentials of Social Cohesion: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 579-603, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Iversen, Endre Kildal & Dugstad, Anders, 2024. "Spatial dimensions in stated preference valuation: The role of place attachment," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Adam Mayer, 2018. "Community economic identity and colliding treadmills in oil and gas governance," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Haesun Park-Poaps & Tae-Im Han, 2025. "The Roles of Perceived Threat, Organic Trust, and Consumer Effectiveness in Organic Consumption Across Different Organic Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Sharkasi, Nora & De Maeyer, Peter & Lababdi, Houyem chaib & AlMansoori, Salma & Agag, Gomaa, 2025. "A sustainable step forward: Exploring factors influencing the purchase intentions towards remanufactured products using fsQCA," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Haji, Latif & Momenpour, Yadgar & Choobchian, Shahla, 2024. "Moving toward salvaging Iran's groundwater: A psychological analysis of blocking unauthorized agricultural wells," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    6. Song, Zening & Daryanto, Ahmad & Soopramanien, Didier, 2019. "Place attachment, trust and mobility: Three-way interaction effect on urban residents' environmental citizenship behaviour," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 168-177.
    7. Halkos, George & Gkargkavouzi, Anastasia & Matsiori, Steriani, 2018. "Teachers’ environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior: An application of CNS and EID scales," MPRA Paper 84505, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Delin Liu & Xiaole Chang & Siyu Wu & Yongling Zhang & Nana Kong & Xiaobing Zhang, 2024. "Influencing Factors of Urban Public Flood Emergency Evacuation Decision Behavior Based on Protection Motivation Theory: An Example from Jiaozuo City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Alessandro Concari & Gerjo Kok & Pim Martens, 2020. "A Systematic Literature Review of Concepts and Factors Related to Pro-Environmental Consumer Behaviour in Relation to Waste Management Through an Interdisciplinary Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-50, May.
    10. Zahra Fozouni Ardekani & Seyed Mohammad Javad Sobhani & Marcelo Werneck Barbosa & Ehsan Amiri-Ardekani & Samaneh Dehghani & Najmeh Sasani & Hans De Steur, 2024. "Determinants of household food waste behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran: an integrated model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 26205-26235, October.
    11. Violeta Mihaela Dincă & Mihail Busu & Zoltan Nagy-Bege, 2022. "Determinants with Impact on Romanian Consumers’ Energy-Saving Habits," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.
    12. Jianwen Zhang & Jacob Cherian & Yawar Abbas Sandhu & Jawad Abbas & Laura Mariana Cismas & Constantin Viorel Negrut & Lucia Negrut, 2022. "Presumption of Green Electronic Appliances Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Personal Moral Norms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, April.
    13. Farida Saleem & Ahmad Adeel & Rizwan Ali & Shabir Hyder, 2018. "Intentions to adopt ecopreneurship: moderating role of collectivism and altruism," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 6(2), pages 517-537, December.
    14. Agus Sugiarto & Cheng-Wen Lee & Andrian Dolfriandra Huruta & Christine Dewi & Abbott Po Shun Chen, 2022. "Predictors of Pro-Environmental Intention and Behavior: A Perspective of Stimulus–Organism–Response Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, December.
    15. Siow‐Kian Tan & Siow‐Hooi Tan, 2023. "A creative place‐making framework – Story‐creation for a sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3673-3691, October.
    16. Xueting Hong & Zhenfang Huang & Xu Huang, 2021. "Place references in Chinese music titles since 1912: changing patterns across regions and time," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. Sarah M. Naiman & Shorna B. Allred & Richard C. Stedman, 2021. "Protecting place, protecting nature: predicting place-protective behaviors among nature preserve visitors," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 11(4), pages 610-622, December.
    18. Miriam Berg, 2025. "Refugee Integration in Germany: The Interplay of Othering, Digital Exclusion, and Identity Negotiation," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 235-254, March.
    19. Umar Nawaz Kayani & Anamul Haque & Umme Kulsum & Nishat Taslin Mohona & Fakhrul Hasan, 2023. "Modeling the Antecedents of Green Consumption Values to Promote the Green Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-15, August.
    20. Abdullah Uslu & Emrullah Erul & José António C. Santos & Sanja Obradović & Margarida Custódio Santos, 2023. "Determinants of Residents’ Support for Sustainable Tourism Development: An Empirical Study in Midyat, Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-14, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:5:p:3843-3856. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.