I had the change to talk to Mongabay.com about the importance of social science in conservation , and more specifically about the use of marketing techniques to influence human behaviours and achieve conservation goals. Have a listen below!
NEW RESEARCH! Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role in biodiversity conservation. The majority of these organisations rely on public donations to fund their activities, and therefore fundraising success is a determinant of conservation outcomes. In spite of this integral relationship, the key principals for fundraising success in conservation are still guided by expert opinion … [Read more…]
Fresh of press is a new article in the journal Animal Conservation (FULL TEXT HERE). In it we describe an intervention to reduce demand for bushmeat in northern Tanzania. The intervention was centered around the 1-h radio show My Wildlife – My Community which included 15-min episodes of the radio drama Temboni, designed by PCI … [Read more…]
For years there have been reports in the popular press of the impact of the Harry Potter phenomenon in the UK on the demand for owls as pets. This narrative became so popular that it led even JK Rowling to issue several statements on this issue asking fans to not keep owls as pets. But … [Read more…]
A first! For the first time one of my articles has been translated to Chinese! A few weeks ago I wrote a piece for The Conversation entitled “Will optimistic stories get people to care about nature?” where I argue that there is a lot to gain from not succumbing to the doom and gloom messages … [Read more…]
The Earth is home to millions of species, but you wouldn’t know it from the media’s obsession with only a few dozen animals like tigers and gorillas. This narrow focus makes the most of popular fascination with large and cute creatures. Conservationists take advantage of these nonhuman celebrities to raise awareness about important issues and … [Read more…]
Talking about nature has frequently become talking about extinction, decline and loss. But it does not have to be. The “Lost and Found” project works to bring to life the inspirational stories of those that never stopped believing and whose passion led them to rewrite the history of the species they so deeply cared about. … [Read more…]
As a result of the IUCN Award I received last September, I was invited to talk at the Portuguese Radio Show “Cientifica Mente”, one of the few shows in Portuguese radio fully devoted to science and which has through the years featured some of the top Portuguese minds working around the science and the environment. … [Read more…]
Recently Emma Mckinley and I wrote a correspondence piece for the journal Oryx, celebrating the formation of the SCB Conservation Marketing Working Group and highlighting the potential of this new field to contribute to biodiversity conservation. We were no doubt excited when we were told that we had received a reply, where the case against … [Read more…]
The upcoming CITES COP has led to a lot of discussion around proposals to legalize the trade in rhino horn. I was interviewed by “El Español”, a large digital Spanish newspaper for an article entitled El futuro del rinoceronte, un asunto de cuernos . I was asked questions about the trade in synthetic rhino horn … [Read more…]