SOMER: an assessment tool for social acceptance in wetland conservation contexts

Social acceptance plays an important role in wetland conservation, yet existing studies often rely on context-specific approaches that limit systematic assessment across wetland contexts. To fill this gap, this paper introduces the Social Monitor for Ecosystem Relations (SOMER), an assessment tool designed to examine social acceptance in wetland conservation contexts. In this study, social acceptance is operationalized through individuals’ perceptions of the costs and benefits of wetlands. To demonstrate the empirical applicability of SOMER, the assessment tool was applied in a survey study conducted in the Netherlands (n = 667). We included Nature Connectedness, climate-related perceptions, and contextual factors in this study to explore their associations with social acceptance. The findings indicate that social acceptance is associated with multiple factors, including Nature Connectedness, climate-related perceptions, socio-demographic characteristics, and geographic distance to wetlands. In addition, ecological and recreational dimensions of wetland perceptions were associated with different explanatory factors. By integrating ecological, social, and contextual dimensions, SOMER provides a promising standardized assessment tool for examining the social acceptance of wetland conservation initiatives and supporting more socially responsive environmental planning.