Understanding the role of assigned values in natural resource management

Understanding community values can improve communication and ownership of decisions about the management of natural resources. However, the extent that values predict environmental behaviour is less certain. Most research has focused on held values, those values towards the environment in general. In contrast, assigned values relate to specific natural places, and we hypothesise that they may be a better predictor of behaviour. Drawing on existing theory and our case study findings, we developed a conceptual model of factors that influence assigned values and of the role of assigned values in shaping environmental behaviour. This model builds on the widely accepted value-belief-norm theory with additional components addressing asset characteristics, socialisation processes and externally-imposed factors. An understanding of community-assigned values is likely to assist decisionmaking by regional natural resource management bodies as they move towards a more targeted approach to the investment of public funds and a focus on the most highly valued environmental assets.