Esthetic and spiritual values motivating collective action for the conservation of cultural landscape—A case study of rice terraces in Japan

Japan's rice terrace landscapes are not only used for food production but also appreciated as a place of high biocultural value. This paper pursues the question as to how far esthetic and spiritual values influence the motivation to participate in collective agricultural actions aiming at the conservation of traditional land use systems, the respective cultural (= traditional rural) landscapes and their biocultural diversity. Our results show that in the Ownership System of Ōyamasenmaida (Chiba Prefecture, Japan) landscape beauty is the main motivator for the mainly urban volunteers (the ‘tenants’) to participate in activities of the local Preservation Association, as well as for visitors who merely come to enjoy the scenery of the rice terraces. The active tenants, however, differ from the ‘passive’ visitors in their ecological interest and emotional attachment to the area. Interestingly, there is also a difference regarding the belief in nature spirits. A higher percentage of people who can imagine that such spirits are always present have been found among the tenants than among the visitors. Even more significant in this respect was the difference between female tenants and female visitors. To what extent spirituality is the cause for or an effect of involvement in nature conservation activities cannot be concluded from this survey. Future studies should therefore take a closer look at the connection between spirituality/religiosity and engagement in nature conservation activities. In Western countries (mainly in Central Europe or North America), nature conservation works on a more ‘scientific’ level, mobilizing engagement through scientific evidence on, for example, losses of species or biodiversity. Addressing the motivations of the volunteers on an emotional, esthetic or social level could be a promising way forward.