Effects of Community Identity and Place Attachment to the Commons on Environment-Conscious Behavior at the Watershed Level?

Research Topic
Effects of community identity and place attachment to the commons on environment-conscious behavior at the watershed level?

Lead Researcher
Naoko Tokuchi, Professor, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University

Joint Researchers
Daisuke Akaishi, Program-Specific Assistant Professor, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University

Juri Hori, Research Fellow, Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute

Andrea Flores Urushima, Specially Appointed Lecturer, Human Environment Design Program, Kyoto Seika University

Minori Tokito, Research Fellow, Kyoto University Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies

In order to solve global environmental problems, it is essential to promote environment-conscious behavior among citizens in the community. It has been shown that a “sense of community,” including attachment to the region (place), influences the willingness to participate in environmental conservation activities, which is one of the environment-conscious behaviors (Hori, Akaishi & Tokuchi, 2019; Hori, Inoue & Tokuchi, in press). Other research suggests that the stronger the “community identity,” which captures the sense of belonging to a community and the self-concept of belonging itself, the more likely it is to promote both the individual and collective actions related to the conservation of commons, for example Lake Biwa. Furthermore, it is specifically shown that “place attachment to the commons” affects collective behavior in relation to its conservation (Nonami & Kato, 2009). Regarding the formation of attitudes toward environmental issues, two types of attitudes have been reported: one that focuses on “the problem itself” and the other on “the area where the problem arose” (Kato, Ikeuchi and Nonami, 2004).

However, there have been no detailed individual discussions about the impact of community identity or place attachment to commons, which affects both individual and collective behaviors in regard to the environmental problem itself, and the attitude formation toward environment-conscious behavior in the area where a problem arises.

In this project, we will examine the effects of community identity and place attachment to the commons on the attitude formation which promotes environment-conscious behavior. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the development of a more practical Science Policy Interface (SPI) methodology by “strengthening the countermeasure options that encourage environment-conscious behavior,” which has been conducted in an exploratory manner.

2021/07/02