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Contribution short abstract:

The research examines female hunters, focusing on how they perceive environmental change and justify hunting as a tool for biodiversity conservation. Their narratives of "good" and "bad" nature reveal tensions between tradition, sustainability, and resource use in evolving human-nature relationships

Contribution long abstract:

My dissertation explores the role of female hunters in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of Germany, analyzing how shifting gender conceptions and human-nature relationships shape hunting practices. Central to this research is the question of how these transformations intersect with broader debates on nature conservation and resource extraction, revealing the evolving role of hunting in sustainability processes. Female hunters describe environmental changes in ways that construct narratives of "good" and "bad" nature, shaping their perspectives on conservation and wildlife management. In doing so the surveyed woman emphasize these narratives. They reflect on how landscapes and animal populations have transformed over time, often contrasting the present with an idealized past. These narratives influence their understanding of responsibility toward nature, as well as their justifications for intervention—whether through selective hunting, habitat management, or predator control. Biodiversity emerges as a key concern, with hunting framed as a necessary tool to restore ecological balance, even as it involves the killing of animals. By examining hunting as both a practice of resource extraction and a space of conservation ethics, this research sheds light on the nuanced ways in which hunters navigate the tensions between tradition, sustainability, and ecological responsibility. It contributes to broader discussions on how hunting communities mediate human-nature relationships in times of environmental change.