Nikoleta Jones

University of Warwick · Institute for Global Sustainable Development

Protected areas are the most widely applied policy tool for biodiversity conservation. However, effective management of protected areas is often obstructed by conflicts mainly associated with the social impacts imposed on local communities and other users by their establishment. Despite the importance of these social impacts they remain significant...

The present study attempts an evaluation of the first co-management framework that has been adopted and implemented in Greece over the last ten years for the management of its protected areas. To get insight as to how efficient it has been, we evaluate the performance and outcomes of the 28 management authorities of the protected areas of the count...

There is now a growing literature emphasizing the critical importance of social variables in the formulation of coastal management policies seeking to tackle climate change impacts. This paper focuses on the role of social capital, which is increasingly identified as having a significant role in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies....

Protected Areas (PAs) are the most widely applied tool for biodiversity conservation. The primary role of these areas is to protect and restore ecosystems, but it has become increasingly evident that in order to designate effective PAs it is also crucial to take into consideration how they contribute to sustainable local socio-economic targets. In...

Protected Areas (PAs) are the most widely used tool for biodiversity conservation globally. In the European Union there are plans to protect 30% of land and 30% of water by 2030. Although PAs were initially proposed as a polity tool with a key aim to protect and restore biodiversity it is now widely recognised that they can also promote local socio...

Protected Areas (PAs) are widely used to conserve biodiversity by protecting and restoring ecosystems while also contributing to socioeconomic priorities. An increasing number of studies aim to examine the social impacts of PAs on aspects of people"s well-being, such as, quality of life, livelihoods, and connectedness to nature. Despite the increas...

Protected Areas are a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation policies, providing significant benefits both for nature and people. This study investigates the diversity, extent, and social and spatial distribution of the social outcomes of the Eifel National Park in Germany and how these are linked with the level of public support for the park, as...

This paper explores local public support for nature protected areas (PAs) to identify primary social factors explaining support. The model was built and tested using survey data collected from approximately 2300 in- dividuals living inside or near six Protected Areas in five different European countries using both face-to-face and online methods. R...

Protected areas (PAs) are the foremost policy tool for biodiversity conservation internationally. In order for PAs to deliver desired conservation outcomes effectively, equitably, and for the long-term, they require a high level of support from local communities. A mosaic of factors have been proposed aiming to explain the level of support for PAs...

In the past decade studies focusing on social impacts of Protected Areas (PA) have increased significantly capturing a number of aspects such as the impact on people’s quality of life, income and connectedness to nature. A main concern in the literature is that issues around social equity are often neglected by PA management authorities referring t...

The Eurasian or European beaver Castor fiber is known to have occurred in Greece until the 19 th century. The last report on beaver existence in the country comes from Peloponnese, southern Greece, in the 19 th century, although the animals are believed to have disappeared much later from northern Greece. In 2021 the Department of Biology at the Ar...

Rewilding is an increasingly common conservation approach, aiming to restore ecosystem processes and minimise human intervention. Rewilding has the potential to profoundly change landscapes and people–nature relations. These issues prompt an ongoing debate about how and if rewilding should be done. Farmers are key stakeholders in this debate; they...

Protected Areas are the most widely applied policy tool for biodiversity conservation. In Europe, protected areas are expected to significantly increase as the new EU Biodiversity strategy sets an ambitious target of 30% of land and 30% of water to be protected by 2030. Despite the popularity of this environmental policy, understanding variations i...

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00054-9

Forest ecosystems are important habitats for a vast number of species worldwide. These ecosystems are degrading faster than they are regenerating, due to the increased demand for natural resources. In order to protect these ecosystems, the designation of Protected Areas (PAs) has become the primary policy tool for forest conservation. The articles...

It is not enough to simply designate a protected area. According to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Target 11, these sites should be governed and managed effectively and equitably. Equitable (i.e., fair and inclusive) conservation is vital to ensuring effective protection of natural resources while maintaining human well-being. Yet,...

1. Minimal intervention, process-oriented ecological restoration, popularly called rewilding, is rapidly gaining traction in the UK as a forward-looking, optimistic agenda for ecological recovery and reversing biodiversity losses. However, proposals for projects of this nature have also created polarisation between people with differing views on th...

Forest ecosystems are important habitats for a vast number of species worldwide[...]

During the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic, management authorities of numerous Protected Areas (PAs) had to discourage visitors from accessing them in order to reduce the virus transmission rate and protect local communities. This resulted in social–ecological impacts and added another layer of complexity to managing PAs. This paper presents th...

The concepts of circular economy (CE) and sustainability (S) have lately gained momentum among scholars, theorists, academics, and practitioners. Although these concepts are considered necessary to solve many of the existing global environmental and social challenges (e.g., climate change, nature conservation and social equity), it seems there is n...

Recent trends in governance in England, UK – exemplified by the notion of the ‘Big Society’ and the 2011 Localism Act – have seen local communities and individuals encouraged to take greater responsibility for public policy issues that were previously seen as largely or exclusively state-led. This paper examines a case study where this localism pre...

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many European countries imposing lockdown measures and limiting people's movement during spring 2020. During the summer 2020, these strict lockdown measures were gradually lifted while in autumn 2020, local restrictions started to be reintroduced as a second wave emerged. After initial restrictions on visitors accessing...

Beneficial impacts on wellbeing levels of communities living near Protected Areas (PAs) is a key factor for meeting biodiversity conservation targets. Recent studies suggest that the proximity of communities to a PA influence to a significant extent their wellbeing levels. This paper explores further this argument by analysing data from approximate...

Effective designation of Protected Areas (PAs) requires the careful consideration of their social impacts as these are perceived by people. These refer to a variety of issues such as the distribution of power, social equity, social relations and more importantly the impact of PAs on human wellbeing. A number of studies have emerged in the past deca...

Assessing vulnerability is key in the planning of climate change adaptation policies and, more importantly, in determining actions increasing resilience across different locations. This study presents the results of a hierarchical linear multilevel modeling approach that utilizes as dependent variable the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND...

In this paper we examine the relative importance of an individual’s subjective evaluations and social capital on his/her decision to exercise social control (i.e. confront the offender) on the hypothetical instance of witnessing a PAYT (Pay-As-You-Throw) scheme violation. Our data (N = 299) originates from an online questionnaire filled in by resid...

As the impact of climate change increases it is more likely that we will see an increase of extreme weather events leading to significant food production losses. Therefore, understanding the complexities of how production losses impact on policy (through export or import restrictions) and prices (through markets) is important for the governance of...

Measuring sustainability is an integral part of decision-making processes in order to promote sustainable development. The present paper focuses on sustainability indicators as these are measured on local level and explores two main issues: firstly, the subjective measurement of indicators focusing especially on social dimensions of sustainability,...

The social impacts of Protected Areas (PAs) are increasingly recognized as a key issue that needs to be explored and combined with existing evaluation frameworks assessing the economic and environmental impacts of PAs. The present paper focuses on the subjective assessment of social impacts of PAs and how these perceptions are formulated. Results o...

The monetary valuation of ecosystem services is gaining traction in policy and business communities. Several tools and decision-making processes have been proposed, including criteria to assess the appropriateness of using monetary valuation for biodiversity conservation outcomes. These criteria include measures such as scale, uniqueness, and threa...

Local enterprises can play a key role in the economic development of communities in which they are situated but simultaneously, they are often a contributor to negative impacts on the natural environment. Several studies have highlighted the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in order to strike a balance between socio-ec...

This chapter will discuss the incorporation of sustainability indicators in the formation of public policies. We will focus specifically on policies that aim to tackle environmental degradation from the industry sector with subsequent socio-economic consequences for the local community and will analyze the area of the Asopos River in Greece as a ca...

A major challenge in areas where local communities co-exist with industries is to overcome potential conflicts occurring in the context of these complex socio-economic systems. Several studies highlight the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility actions as a useful way for industries to benefit local communities where they are established th...

A major challenge in areas where local communities coexist with industries is to overcome potential conflicts occurring in the context of these complex socio-economic systems. Several studies highlight the importance of corporate social responsibility actions as a useful way for industries to benefit local communities where they are established thu...

This paper explores the notion of environmentally induced spatial stigma through an analysis of data from interviews across public attitudes to pollution within the Asopos river basin in central Greece. The area has a 40 year plus history of legal and illicit industrial waste disposal and public debate on the associated environmental degradation. T...

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the provision of environmental and social performance information have gained momentum over the past decade. In this respect, the practice of organisational accountability has expanded to include aspects of non-financial nature and issues that can enhance the transparency of business activiti...

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the provision of environmental and social performance information have gained momentum over the past decade. In this respect, the practice of organisational accountability has expanded to include aspects of non-financial nature and issues that can enhance the transparency of business activiti...

Globally, it is widely acknowledged that constructing hard engineered coastal defences is both financially and environmentally unsustainable. Here we seek to investigate the willingness of residents in rapidly eroding coastal zones to contribute towards the costs of constructing and maintaining such structures. The originality of this paper is that...

The measurement of sustainability can provide significant information in order to plan and implement environmental policies. Several methods have been proposed in the literature in order to select the appropriate indicators along with a variety of techniques for their measurement. These methods are often divided in two main categories: a) a top-dow...

Economic activities of industries are often very important for the local communities in which they are established. Local enterprises can significantly contribute to the increase of employment level and the economic development of local communities. However, the establishment of industries may be accompanied with environmental degradation with sign...

An increasing number of large corporations around the world engage in accounting for and reporting on their plans and measures towards climate change, as part of their environmental responsibility agenda. Using a disclosure index, this study investigates the status of the disclosure practices of the top 100 companies operating in Greece with respec...

Globally, one of the most common approaches to protect coastal areas from flooding and erosion is to construct hard engineered defence structures. However, it is now widely acknowledged that constructing and maintaining 'hard' defences is both financially and environmentally challenging for public authorities and national governments. Here we seek...

There is a growing consensus among researchers that social aspects and the involvement of local communities play a critical role in public decision-making processes in the coastal zone. Social capital is a parameter which has recently gained significant attention in this context. It is regarded that it has a significant influence on the adaptation...

To develop public policies that respond to climate change demands examination of multiple physical and social variables. In the context of coastal zone management, these range from addressing prevailing environmental conditions, to accommodating the socio-economic needs of local communities and acknowledging the attitudes, norms and environmental b...

Purpose The aim of the present study is to contribute to the discussion introducing the concept of social capital as a significant parameter influencing students' perceptions concerning greening initiatives in HEIs. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical analysis is presented concerning the possible links of social capital components with stude...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of social factors (expressed as social and institutional trust social norms, and social networks) on the decision of individuals to pay for improvement of environmental protection of biodiversity. For this purpose an empirical study was carried out in two National Parks of Northern Greece. Three sc...

Managing Protected Areas (PAs) is a challenging task, and globally many instruments have been utilised for this purpose. Existing research demonstrates that the effectiveness of these instruments is highly dependent on their social acceptability among local communities resident within PAs. Consequently, investigating local attitudes and perceptions...

Public policy issues arising from climate change projections are becoming increasingly important in terms of the range and the scope of their effects. In order to effectively confront them it is important to address social, environmental and economic aspects as fully as possible in decision-making processes. In this context, social risk assessment...

The designation and management of protected areas (PAs) is a challenging task significantly influenced by numerous parameters, both economic and social. In this paper, these issues are explored by means of an empirical survey in a PA of international importance in Greece: the National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (NPEMT). In particular, the...

Several policy instruments have been proposed in order to minimize the negative impacts of local communities' activities on forests. The present paper presents an empirical survey conducted in a Greek forest area on the island of Lesvos, focusing on citizens' perceptions of alternative management scenarios along with the role of social factors on t...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of social factors (expressed as social and institutional trust social norms, and social networks) on the decision of individuals to pay for improvement of environmental protection of biodiversity. For this purpose an empirical study was carried out in two National Parks of Northern Greece. Three sc...

To plan environmental policies it is important to identify factors influencing their effective implementation. Regarding Greek environmental policy, several factors have been underlined in the literature influencing its implementation. These include, among others, the structure of state mechanisms, the existence of clientelistic networks, the weak...

Planning and implementing environmental policies for the sustainable management of water resources is a challenging task. In order to improve the effectiveness of these policies it is essential to explore their social implications. The present article aims to investigate environmental policies focusing on domestic water conservation and their inter...

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can contribute significantly to the achievement of environmental sustainability through teaching and research activities, and also through improvements in the environmental management of University estates. This article explores the results of implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) in a HEI in Gree...

Four main components of social capital are identified: social trust, institutional trust, social networks and compliance with social norms. A theoretical analysis explores the links between these components and environmental behaviour and policy in order to lay the ground for an investigation of the influence of social capital on the implementation...

Several factors have been identified as determinants of willingness to pay (WTP), including socio-economic and environmental elements. The present article aims to investigate the influence of individual social capital on willingness to pay for environmental goods. In particular, through an empirical study, a multi-dimensional measurement of social...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of social factors (expressed as social norms, institutional and social trust and social networks) on the decision of individuals to pay for the protection of biodiversity. For this purpose an empirical study was carried out in two National Parks of Northern Greece. Three scenarios were proposed dif...

Social capital is an important factor influencing several issues both in individual and collective level. Various indicators have been presented in the relevant literature for its measurement. The most commonly known are: social trust, institutional trust, social networks and social norms. The aim of the chapter is to analyze social capital indicat...

The level of effectiveness of an environmental policy depends to a significant degree on the level of acceptance and cooperation of citizens. The relevant literature indicates that social capital may significantly influence environmentally responsible behaviour connected with the implementation of an environmental policy. In this context, the prese...

Environmental policies aimed at the conservation of protected areas are significantly influenced by social factors revealing the importance of investigating local knowledge and perceptions during their planning and implementation. The present article aims to explore perceptions and awareness of citizens in three protected areas of Greece: The Natio...

Several instruments have been proposed for household solid waste management. In order for these instruments to be successful, it is essential to investigate social factors affecting the public's behaviour during their implementation. The present article aims to explore the influence of social parameters, connected with the concept of social capital...

Citizens activation for environmental issues is a significant parameter for the resolution of environmental problems. The present article analyzes the influence of social factors, connected with social capital literature, on environmental activation. In particular, social capital is defined as a multi-dimensional concept consisting of several struc...

The resolution of environmental problems and the minimization of environmental degradation is a major challenge. In this context, the role of civil society organizations is crucial in order to promote collaboration of several entities and also to enforce citizens’ participation. The present article aims to explore volunteerism in the context of Gre...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the theory of social capital for the challenges presented during environmental management initiatives in higher education institutions (HEIs). In particular, the paper utilises the fundamental components of social capital theory and assesses a hypothesis that higher stocks of social...

Social capital has been recognized as one of the most influential concepts in social and political sciences. It is assumed that it has significant influence on several issues such as health status, educational achievement and environmental attitudes. In the present article we attempt to investigate the influence of social capital on the tendency of...

Regional Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) may contribute significantly to the promotion of sustainability through several means connected with their functioning. Nevertheless, several challenges can present themselves during the planning and implementation of such initiatives. The aim of this paper is to underline these limitations through the...

The literature connecting social capital with natural resources management has increased significantly in the past decade. Several studies have indicated that higher levels of social capital may lead to improved environmental management by communities. In this context, a multidimensional concept of social capital is used and its connection with env...

The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental benefits resulting from the construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Mitilini, Greece. The main benefits identified were the improvement of the coastal water quality and subsequent impacts on citizens’ activities. The valuation was conducted using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) thr...