SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS OF CONSERVATION CRIME: INSIGHTS FOR PREVENTION IN PROTECTED AREAS

Abstract

Conservation crime, including illegal hunting, logging, and resource extraction, continues to threaten biodiversity in protected areas worldwide. While enforcement remains a dominant response, less attention has been given to the socio-ecological conditions that shape the risk of persisting conservation crime. This dissertation advances a prevention-oriented and risk-informed framework by integrating criminological theory, spatial modeling, and participatory qualitative methods in and around Pù Mát National Park, Vietnam. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, the research moves from qualitative theory adaptation to spatial operationalization and methodological reflection. Study 1 constituted an exploratory qualitative phase of research and applied General Strain Theory (GST) to examine how cumulative social and environmental strains shape coping strategies. Across three fieldwork phases in 2023–2024, 218 participants from 16 communities engaged in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The analysis identified nine distinct strains, including four ecologically embedded and spatially situated forms such as environmental strain, and road and remoteness strain. Participants described four primary coping strategies: conservation crime, outmigration, reliance on aid, and lifestyle adaptation. Basic needs, economic hardship, land access, and remoteness strains emerged as most frequently associated with conservation crime risk, suggesting that structural inequalities and spatial marginalization shape vulnerability to illegal resource use. Study 2 spatialized GST. Qualitative strain dimensions were operationalized as village-level strain scores and linked with geospatial covariates. Using correlation analysis and testing four regression models with cross-validation, the study produced 1 km-grid strain-risk maps. Cumulative strain dimensions performed more consistently than independent driver strains, and accessibility-related predictors recurred across models. The resulting maps represent relative patterns of strain-related vulnerability rather than predictions of individual behavior, offering a complementary perspective to opportunity-focused crime modeling. Study 3 provided a methodological reflection on member checking within conservation social science. Through 18 sessions with 88 participants representing communities, park staff, NGOs, and researchers, the study evaluated how iterative feedback influenced credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. Findings affirmed that member checking served as a mechanism for strengthening scientific rigor, reflexivity and ethics. By linking General Strain Theory, spatial context, and risk-informed analysis, the research provided empirically grounded knowledge to help support more context-sensitive conservation crime prevention.