Department Environmental Social Sciences

In this project, we evaluate the effects of different forms of interactive involvement in river restoration projects on residents’ understanding of biodiversity and their psychological ownership and whether this enhances the acceptance of such projects. We will do so based on a quasi-experimental approach. That is, we will conduct a pre- and follow-up survey in several case regions in Switzerland measuring a) residents’ mental models of biodiversity, b) their sense of ownership of the local river area and c) their acceptance of river restoration projects. Between measurements, we will implement various interactive interventions. Our project will include the following steps:

• Step 1: expert models and local residents’ mental models of biodiversity will be elicited and compared based on qualitative interviews.
• Step 2: a pre-survey measuring local residents’ understanding of biodiversity, their sense of ownership of local river areas, and acceptance of a local river restoration project will be conducted in every case region (N = 8'000).
• Step 3: respondents will be assigned to interventions related to the planning and implementation of river restorations. The interventions will include citizen science projects and different types of interactive workshops.
• Step 4: based on a follow-up survey, we will determine the effects of the interventions on residents’ mental models, their sense of ownership, and their acceptance of river restorations.

The main project outputs are, first, a practice guideline that informs planners on the added value of interactively involving residents in river restoration and appraises the benefits of various inclusion methods and, second, the publication of a scientific article.

The project is conducted by members of the group Social Sciences in Landscape Research at WSL and the Environmental Health Psychology group at Eawag.