What is it like to take care of the land? Toward an understanding of private land conservation

Land conversion for agriculture, residential developments and infrastructure expansion is one of the main problems in environmental conservation. Government policies for public lands alone are unlikely to stem these dynamics. It is increasingly recognized that private land conservation is an essential part of environmental protection and especially properties of non-farm, private landowners are interesting for conservation purposes. However, non-farm, private landowners are less likely to respond to traditional motivators for environmental conservation and little is known about the conservation attitudes and values of this group. To gain a better understanding of private land conservation, the current study explored the relationships of 13 non-farm, private landowners with their land and its natural environment. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used as the approach because of its practical ability to reveal how personal contexts and experiences shape these relationships and how personal meaning is created. The results indicate that private landowners can have strong, affective relationships with their land that are associated with childhood histories of rural living and the enjoyment of natural spaces. These relationships increase quality of life, give a sense of belonging, and motivate a desire to protect the land against environmental degradation. The present private landowners expressed a well-developed conservation ethic. However, future conservation approaches for these properties are less clear, but might be achieved through conservation easement programs.