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Urban Wildlife Communication and Negotiation

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Urban Wildlife conservation

Abstract

Effective communication shapes how urban audiences affect and are affected by wildlife, ranging from policy making and management to citizen science and conflict resolution. This chapter reviews the elements of communication: Sources, Encoding, Messages and Media, Decoding, Receivers, and Feedback. We describe the process for identifying communication objectives, targeting audiences, using mass media and social dialogues, and evaluating results. We present strategies for wildlife conflict negotiation among diverse urban audiences as an example of communications that impact the fate of our urban ecosystems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 32611-0430, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Susan K. Jacobson, Dara M. Wald, Nia Haynes & Ryo Sakurai

Authors
  1. Susan K. Jacobson
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  2. Dara M. Wald
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  3. Nia Haynes
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  4. Ryo Sakurai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan K. Jacobson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Robert A. McCleery

  2. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Christopher E. Moorman

  3. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    M. Nils Peterson

Appendices

Conclusion

Effective communications are essential for influencing conservation policy, changing people’s behaviors, garnering funds, sharing scientific advances, and negotiating conflicts. The fate of our urban ecosystems and wildlife resources depend on effective communication with diverse audiences . This chapter described the communications process and provided guidelines for several common communication channels used by wildlife professionals in urban areas, including mass media approaches and stakeholder group negotiations . Following a systematic plan that includes identifying goals and objectives , analyzing audiences , selecting effective media and message strategies, and evaluating the impacts, should result in successful communications to promote sound wildlife management in urban areas.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to B. Chen for research assistance.

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Jacobson, S., Wald, D., Haynes, N., Sakurai, R. (2014). Urban Wildlife Communication and Negotiation. In: McCleery, R., Moorman, C., Peterson, M. (eds) Urban Wildlife conservation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7500-3_11

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