Do conservation organizations influence the production of natural resource violations?

Abstract

This research extends the study of natural resource violations by examining the association between conservation organizations and the enforcement of natural resource violations across 67 Florida counties in 2006. Specifically, the authors look at natural resource violations as an organizational outcome that is influenced by perceived community organization around environmental conservation. To do this, they examine the association between the number of conservation organizations and the level of enforcement for natural resource violations. The results suggest that even while controlling for organizational capacity (i.e., number of officers), offenders and targets, proportion rural population, and economic benefits from natural resource use, a positive association exits between conservation organizations and natural resource enforcement levels. This relationship is not replicated in the case of animal rights and hunting and fishing organizations. Although issues related to environmental justice are always a concern in studies of environmental enforcement, the authors find no evidence of an association between social and economic disadvantage and community organizing. Finally, a post hoc examination of the data suggests that the association between conservation organizations and the level of natural resource enforcement is stronger for those counties where more officers enforce natural resource violations than for those counties where fewer officers enforce violations. © 2010 SAGE Publications.