Sense of Place and Customary Legitimacy in Marine Protected Area Co‐Management: Evidence From Beloi Village, Atauro Island, Timor‐Leste

ABSTRACT Marine protected areas increasingly depend on social legitimacy, customary authority and community participation, yet the interaction between sense of place and conservation behaviour remains insufficiently understood in small‐island settings. This study examined how place attachment, place dependence, place identity, perceived Tara Bandu effectiveness and co‐management satisfaction were associated with conservation behaviour in Beloi Village, Atauro Island, Timor‐Leste. A cross‐sectional mixed‐methods design was applied to 60 purposively selected residents using structured questionnaires and open‐ended responses. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, bivariate correlations, demographic comparisons, multiple regression and thematic analysis were conducted. Respondents reported a moderately high overall sense of place ( M = 3.761, SD = 0.522), with place dependence obtaining the highest mean ( M = 3.933). The 12‐item sense‐of‐place scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.925). Exploratory factor analysis retained one dominant factor explaining 51.2% of the variance, indicating that attachment, dependence and identity operated as an integrated place‐based orientation. However, no significant bivariate associations emerged between conservation behaviour and any theoretical predictor. The regression model was non‐significant, F (4,55) = 0.104, p = 0.981, explaining only 0.7% of behavioural variance ( R 2 = 0.007; adjusted R 2 = −0.065). Men reported significantly higher scores across all sense‐of‐place dimensions, with very large effect sizes, whereas conservation behaviour and governance evaluations did not differ by gender or other demographic characteristics. Qualitative analysis identified five themes: place‐based identity, livelihood dependence, customary legitimacy, institutional constraints and preference for integrated governance. Low reliability in several behavioural and governance scales warrants cautious interpretation. These findings indicate that conservation behaviour in Beloi is not directly determined by isolated psychological or demographic factors, but emerges from the interaction of customary legitimacy, livelihood conditions, institutional capacity and shared governance.