Quality of Life

"Quality of life" generally refers to the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group.  Unlike standard of living, which is a basic economic measure, quality of life is difficult to measure directly.  It typically is viewed as having a physical and psychological component.

The physical aspect includes health, diet, protection against pain and disease.  The psychological component includes such things as stress, worry, pleasure and other emotional states.  Social researchers assume with some confidence that a higher average level of diet, shelter, safety,  personal freedoms and rights a general population has, the better overall quality of life will exist.

Moreover, the quality of their environment clearly impacts both aspects as issues such as water and air quality directly affect health, and the aesthetics and recreational values associated with the outdoor environment clearly impact psychological well-being.

Leadership Florida concluded their second annual Sunshine State Survey in November 2007 and reflected that most Floridians feel their quality of life is slipping.  43 percent of Floridians feel the quality of life has declined in the past five years.  The results represent a 7-percent increase over the 2006 survey findings.  The trend looks to continue as 37 percent of Floridians imagine Florida becoming a worse place to live over the next year, - with only 24 percent saying they think it will get better.  Focusing on conservation of our natural resources; therefore, is fundamental to improving the quality of life for our citizens and visitors.

A 2005 Survey by Responsive Management documented the public perception that water quality/pollution (22 percent) was the top-named fish and wildlife issue facing Florida, followed closely by habitat loss (17 percent) and urban sprawl (15 percent).

Moreover, respondents were read six statements about land use and wildlife management and asked if they agreed or disagreed with them.  The statement with the highest percentage in agreement was that the use and development of land should be restricted to protect fish and wildlife, with which 87 percent agreed.  The other two statements with which a majority agreed were that hunting and fishing are part of the scientific management of fish and wildlife populations (71 percent agreed) and that the respondent can make a significant difference in conserving fish and wildlife habitat (64 percent).

The links to the upper-right will help inform you about what you can do a steward of our resources to help conserve them, not only for their own intrinsic value, and the economic benefit of Floridians, but also to improve the quality of life here in Florida.