**4. Development of attitudes**

The human mind seems to have a strong need for consistency, so we all develop attitudes [37]. Attitudes reflect our evaluation in various fields, and always have a focus (a person, nation, product, etc.). The attitude may be negative (unfavourable), neutral or positive (favourable). If we receive new information, attitudes can change since we want to eliminate mental inconsistency. Attitudes can be more or less conscious, depending on the amount of informa‐ tion and reflection, and they may be weak or strong.

Within the discipline of conservation biology, several authors have pointed to the development of attitudes as important in order to save biodiversity. Ehrlich [38] said that "a revolution in attitudes" is needed, and that "a quasi-religious transformation leading to the appreciation of diversity for its own sake, apart from the obvious direct benefits to humanity, may be required to save the organisms and ourselves". Wilson [20] concluded: "In the end, I suspect it will all come down to a decision of ethics – how we value the natural worlds in which we evolved and now, increasingly, how we regard our status as individuals". He also stressed that these questions include the "protection of the human spirit".

concepts should be welcomed. Emotions are valuable for us, but difficult to communicate. The situation might be paralleled by the difficulties of explaining a deep musical experience.

Nature's health-promoting effect in the Nordic countries Norway, Sweden and Denmark, came into focus three years ago by a report from Nordic Council of Ministers [36]. While epidemic diseases represented the main health problem in earlier times, the health of today's people is mainly threatened by *non-epidemic life style diseases*. There are two of them: Over‐ weight due to inactivity, and a depressed mental state, maybe due to a strong materialistic focus. Physical activity is good for both diagnoses, but the effect is best if the physical activity occurs in nature. Nature greets us with the absence of stress, combined with beauty, silence, and other positive experiences. Furthermore, physical and mental improvements support each other through so-called "effect-chains", resulting in improved life quality. In Sweden, and to a certain degree also in Norway, doctors have begun to order outdoor activity as a "green prescription" instead of tablets. Rather than heading to the chemist, people are heading to nature. This is cheap medicine, since nature is free and always open. The new trend reminds us of the importance of having access to near-nature, a resource which is shrinking in many Nordic cities and other densely populated areas. Areal planners are increasingly aware that to preserve green areas and greenbelts are good health politics. Health improvements by green prescription is, of course, also economically favourable for the society by shortening the

Concepts like threatened nature types and threatened species are now universally used. Sometimes we also see the term "threatened nature phenomenons". The Monarch butterfly is famous for its long, yearly migrations between Canada in north and Mexico and California in south. Although the Monarch is not an endangered species the annual migration is considered a threatened phenomenon by IUCN. Since there are very few overwintering sites where the adults aggregate, their populations become vulnerable. These sites are threatened by human activities, mainly logging, development, and agriculture. In 1984, the Monarch Project was created in order to save these sites. The Mexican conservation organization, Monarca, works closely with governmental agencies and local people to establish land protection and enhance

Also the spectacular, yearly migration of wildebeest and zebras over long distances through Tanzania and Kenya is a threatened nature phenomenon. Plans about a highway through the Serengeti national park, which would halt the necessary migrations, has till now been stopped,

The concept of threatened nature phenomenons deserves to be used more actively. People are not only fascinated by the teeming diversity of other life forms, but perhaps even more about what they are doing: What kind of processes nature reveals for us, and how it all functions. And least of all: Nature's secrets and mystery, about which we like to wonder. In light of the psychological value of nature experiences we should also use the concept of "threatened nature experiences". And furthermore, we should regard nature as a "resource of positive experien‐ ces". My favourite concept, trying to include nature's various contributions to our mental

hospital queues.

140 Environmental Change and Sustainability

alternative economic development in the region.

due to international protests.

health, is *nature-dependent life quality*.

The Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss is known for his "deep ecology", which includes respecting the intrinsic value of all life forms [40,41]. This also implies respecting people's spontaneous appreciation of species and nature.

The development of attitudes as a process of systematic thinking has been described by the present author [42]. His focus was the natural heritage, with biodiversity and pristine nature as the main elements. In the box, with permission from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, four levels of insight are presented. The first level is to achieve good *knowledge* about the threats to the natural heritage. Step two is to discuss the *values* which are connected to biodiversity and pristine nature. The combination allows us to formulate *attitudes*, which represent the third level. Attitudes built on such stepwise thinking are clear and easy to explain. They form the motivation for *action*, or practical conservation work, the fourth level.


Because today's situation is a result of earlier evolution and history, and also represents the options for future biodiversity, each level of insight contains a time factor. As well as having focus on today's situation, we are invited to consider "contact with prehistoric times" and "perspective for the future". At the first level, we are reminded that the planet is very old, and that today's biodiversity is a product of a very long evolution. Correspondingly, evolution will need millions of years to develop new species, and future biodiversity depends on our plundering or conservation. At the second level, pristine nature is considered to be an important part of our planet's identity. Intact nature also brings us in contact with prehistoric times, and helps us to understand and reconstruct evolution. In a futuristic perspective, pristine nature has all potential uses intact and can be regarded as a "gene bank". Besides this selfish aspect, the inherent value of all life forms is pointed at. Also, preservation of species is beneficial for further evolution, while termination of evolutionary lines in our time represents irreversible losses. The third level formulates attitudes in a condensed way, where words like "respect for" and "care for" are useful in expressing a feeling of responsibility and duty. The precautionary principle is central here, meaning that all doubt should go in favour of nature. In a prehistoric perspective, it is a matter of respecting the planet's own production through evolution. Likewise, it is considered morally right to allow evolution to proceed on the basis of genetic diversity.

The Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss is known for his "deep ecology", which includes respecting the intrinsic value of all life forms [40,41]. This also implies respecting people's

The development of attitudes as a process of systematic thinking has been described by the present author [42]. His focus was the natural heritage, with biodiversity and pristine nature as the main elements. In the box, with permission from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, four levels of insight are presented. The first level is to achieve good *knowledge* about the threats to the natural heritage. Step two is to discuss the *values* which are connected to biodiversity and pristine nature. The combination allows us to formulate *attitudes*, which represent the third level. Attitudes built on such stepwise thinking are clear and easy to explain.

They form the motivation for *action*, or practical conservation work, the fourth level.

Because today's situation is a result of earlier evolution and history, and also represents the options for future biodiversity, each level of insight contains a time factor. As well as having focus on today's situation, we are invited to consider "contact with prehistoric times" and "perspective for the future". At the first level, we are reminded that the planet is very old, and that today's biodiversity is a product of a very long evolution. Correspondingly, evolution will

spontaneous appreciation of species and nature.

142 Environmental Change and Sustainability

At the attitude level, a futuristic perspective also must consider our duties for future genera‐ tions. We should not destroy their possibilities by reducing biodiversity. They also might find quite new ways of using or appreciating both species and nature types – including cultural and recreational purposes. Furthermore, there is a democratic challenge here: Later genera‐ tions will consist of a much higher number of persons together, than the population living today. In that perspective, we have an ethical duty to respect their democratic plurality.

Finally, we reach the fourth level of action, which is our everyday fight to preserve nature qualities. It consists of mapping, preservation, and a general care of biodiversity in forestry, agriculture, industry, areal planning, etc. It is no secret that personal attitudes mean a lot in this work, which is often a fight against several strong, and often short-sighted forces. Even within a ministry of environment, it is possible to do both a bad and good job; even within schools or in your own local community. At all levels, it is often so that certain "resource persons" may be driving forces, and also inspire others. Furthermore, both the prehistoric and the futuristic perspective may be relevant for the way we think and act. An evolutionary perspective helps to motivate preserving pristine nature as nature documents. And what about placing an empty chair at important meetings, for the imaginary representative for future generations?

In our everyday work, we might need a "short version" attitude to guide our priorities and decisions. In a condensed form, a basic attitude could be formulated in the following way: "Respect for the planet's natural heritage, for future generations, and for future evolution" [42]. Perhaps this attitude may even help us to preserve our respect for ourselves.

Who shall teach us to develop sound environmental attitudes? A good beginning is to get people into contact with nature, the younger the better. If you love nature, you may be prepared to defend it. If you have not "tasted" enough nature to miss the savour when it is gone, you may not be concerned about nature loss. Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. Therefore, there is a danger of "less nature – less concern" [43].
