Social science qualitative fieldwork on the three wetland case study sites: Somerset, Bedfordshire and North Lincolnshire 2018

Fieldwork included two discussant focus groups and thirty semi-structured interviews with specialist users of wetlands. The University of Brighton's social science qualitative fieldwork seeks to capture the different perspectives of people whose lives are intimately connected to particular English wetlands, in order to understand the range and diversity of wellbeing practices in these spaces. The target cohort are those groups of people, or organisations, that are particularly drawn to wetlands, or who could be expected to make regular use of these spaces, particularly for their health and wellbeing. Such Specialist Interest Groups (SIGs) would include birders, walkers, wildlife photographers, artists and anglers alongside educators, naturalists, spiritual practitioners and ecologists. They may not live close to the wetland sites but their field of interest, or sense of place, would be expected to include them. The data collection supports the ‘sense of place’ and 'contemporary social representations' workpackage components of the overall WetlandLIFE project. These interviews and focus groups took place at the case study sites in the Somerset Levels (Westhay Moor and Shapwick Heath), Bedfordshire (Priory Country Park and Millennium Country Park) and North Lincolnshire (Alkborough Flats) between January 2018 and September 2018. <p>Interest in the health and wellbeing impacts of wetlands has increased in the UK, in the context of both short and long term responses to extreme weather events and climate change. This is reflected in the UK Wetland Vision (Hume, 2008) that identifies a need to 'make wetlands more relevant to people's lives by better understanding and harnessing the benefits provided by naturally-functioning rivers and wetlands' (p.7). Expansion of wetlands can bring many benefits but it can also increase potential for mosquito-borne disease. There is a lack of knowledge about the consequences of wetland expansion for disease risk. This knowledge gap opens up space for speculation in the press and media about the perceived problems of 'killer' mosquitoes spreading across England, which can in turn fuel community unease and opposition to wetland creation and expansion. A key concern of the project is, therefore, to develop ecological interventions and guidance for diverse end-users to minimise mosquito-related problems, framed within and facilitated by a broader understanding of wetland value as impacted by mosquitoes. The potential contribution of wetland development to social and economic wellbeing envisaged in the UK Wetland Vision could be severely constrained by a failure to adequately address the risks imposed by mosquitoes and biting insects.

The overall aim of this project will be to show how positive socio-cultural and ecological values of wetlands can be maximised for wellbeing and negative attitudes reduced. Management interventions for use by Public Health England and general guidelines will be developed to limit the damaging effects of mosquito populations and enhance appreciation of the ecological value of mosquitoes in wetland ecosystems. The project will result in an increase in our understanding of wetland environments and demonstrate how ecological interventions embedded in a broader understanding of wetland valuation can deliver wellbeing benefits to a broad range of stakeholders.

There are four main objectives:
1) Development of a new conceptual place-based ecosystem services and wellbeing framework for understanding the impact of interventions and wetland values.
2) Exploration of the value of wetlands and mosquitoes in twelve case study locations.
3) Production of guidelines for valuing wetlands and managing mosquito populations to enhance the value of British wetlands for wellbeing.
4) Production of a place-based narrative on the socio-cultural, economic and ecological value of wetlands in British Society in the early years of the 21st Century.
There are divergent views of wetlands among different stakeholders. This project is therefore designed to provide technical interventions and general guidelines in a range of wetland management contexts to maximise wellbeing benefits. A range of stakeholders are potential beneficiaries of this research including land managers, non-governmental organisations, conservation groups, local residents, visitors and tourists among others. This research will help implementation of the Wetland Vision by understanding the complex ways in which wetlands are valued and produce measures to maximise wellbeing benefits and minimise disvalue. Benefits include: a) production of a range of technical interventions for mosquito control by end users; b) raising the social and cultural value of wetlands to facilitate wetland expansion in response to extreme weather and climate change; c) enhanced opportunities for visitors to wetlands and local residence to experience health and wellbeing benefits; d) increased opportunities for tourism and leisure by reducing anxiety associated with wetlands. </p>

本次田野调查包含两场嘉宾焦点小组座谈，以及针对湿地专业使用者开展的30场半结构化访谈。布莱顿大学（University of Brighton）的社会科学质性田野调查旨在捕捉与英格兰特定湿地有着紧密生活联结的人群的多元视角，以此解析此类空间中福祉实践的范畴与多样性。本研究的目标群体为那些因特定目的（尤其是为健康与福祉）而频繁到访湿地的群体或组织。这类专业兴趣小组（Specialist Interest Groups，SIGs）涵盖观鸟者、徒步旅行者、野生生物摄影师、艺术家、垂钓者，以及教育工作者、自然主义者、灵修从业者与生态学家。他们或许并不居住在湿地周边，但自身的兴趣领域或场所认同感（sense of place）使其与湿地产生联结。本次数据采集服务于整体WetlandLIFE项目中“场所认同感（sense of place）”与“当代社会表征（contemporary social representations）”两大工作包模块。本次访谈与焦点小组座谈于2018年1月至9月间，在萨默塞特平原（Somerset Levels，含韦斯瑟伊沼地与夏普威克沼地）、贝德福德郡（含普里乡村公园与千禧乡村公园）以及北林肯郡（阿尔克博勒平原）的案例研究地点开展。

英国国内对湿地健康与福祉效应的关注度不断提升，这一趋势与英国应对极端天气事件与气候变化的短期、长期举措密不可分。这一点在《英国湿地愿景》（Hume，2008）中有所体现，该文件提出需“通过更好地理解并利用自然运作的河流与湿地所提供的益处，让湿地更贴合民众的生活需求”（第7页）。湿地扩容虽能带来诸多益处，但同时也会提升蚊媒疾病的传播风险。目前学界对湿地扩容对疾病传播风险的影响仍缺乏足够认知。这一认知空白为媒体臆测“致命蚊虫在英格兰境内扩散”等问题提供了空间，进而引发民众不安与对湿地建设、扩容的抵制。因此，本项目的核心关切之一便是，在充分理解蚊虫对湿地价值的影响的框架下，为各类终端使用者开发生态干预方案与指导手册，以最大限度降低与蚊虫相关的问题。若无法妥善应对蚊虫与吸血昆虫带来的风险，《英国湿地愿景》中所设想的湿地开发对社会与经济福祉的潜在贡献或将大幅受限。

本项目的整体目标是阐明如何最大化湿地的社会文化与生态价值以增进福祉，并如何降低公众对湿地的负面态度。项目将为英国公共卫生署（Public Health England）开发管理干预方案，并制定通用指南，以限制蚊虫种群带来的负面影响，同时提升人们对湿地生态系统中蚊虫生态价值的认知。本项目将增进学界对湿地环境的认知，并阐明在充分理解湿地价值评估的基础上开展的生态干预，如何为广泛的利益相关方带来福祉收益。

本项目共有四项核心目标：
1) 构建全新的、基于场所的生态系统服务与福祉概念框架，用于解析干预措施与湿地价值的影响机制；
2) 在12个案例研究地点中探究湿地与蚊虫的价值；
3) 制定湿地价值评估与蚊虫种群管理指南，以提升英国湿地的福祉增益价值；
4) 针对21世纪初期英国社会中的湿地，撰写基于场所的叙事性文本，阐述其社会文化、经济与生态价值。

不同利益相关方对湿地的看法存在分歧。因此，本项目旨在针对多种湿地管理场景提供技术干预方案与通用指南，以最大化福祉收益。本研究的潜在受益方涵盖土地管理者、非政府组织、保护团体、当地居民、访客与游客等广泛群体。本研究将通过解析湿地价值的复杂构成，制定最大化福祉收益、最小化负面价值的措施，助力《英国湿地愿景》的落地实施。本研究的预期收益包括：
a) 为终端使用者提供一系列蚊虫防控技术干预方案；
b) 提升湿地的社会文化价值，以推动湿地扩容以应对极端天气与气候变化；
c) 为湿地访客与当地居民提供更多获取健康与福祉收益的机会；
d) 通过缓解民众对湿地的焦虑，拓展旅游与休闲产业的发展空间。