Exploring Community Perceptions and Attitudes toward Protected Areas in Myanmar: The Role of Socio-Spatial Factors in Conservation Support

In the Anthropocene era, securing protected areas (PAs) has become an important strategy to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services. However, insufficient integration of social aspects in the management of PAs and failure to consider the rights and potential contributions of impacted communities often result in conservation conflicts and unfulfilled biodiversity targets. It is therefore critical to incorporate the requirements and attitudes of local communities in developing conservation strategies for PAs. Additionally, comprehensive studies representing diverse geographical and sociocultural landscapes are needed to better understand people-park interactions. We evaluated how communities' location, sociodemographics, and perceptions of potential benefits influence their attitudes toward PAs and conservation support in Myanmar. We conducted questionnaire surveys with 1099 households in five PAs: Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary, Indawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary, Moeyungyi Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary, Natma Taung National Park, and Shwe Set Taw Wildlife Sanctuary. Our results indicate that distance to PA, occupation, gender, and geographical differences significantly influenced attitudes. Most informants relied on PA resources and recognized more benefits than those who did not. Informants with knowledge of or experience with conservation were more willing to contribute to conservation.