Dan Challender, University of Oxford; Amy Hinsley, University of Oxford; Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford, and Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes, University of Oxford The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have been linked to a “wet” market in Wuhan, in the Hubei province of eastern China. Wet markets are common in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, selling … [Read more…]
Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford If a piece of information is repeated often enough, it will eventually be believed, even if there is no evidence for it. One example of this features the friendly clownfish Nemo and his side-kick Dory, a blue tang fish, who you may know from the animated blockbusters Finding Nemo and … [Read more…]
I was lucky to be part of the last episode of the latest episode of the BBC’s Podcast “Costing the Earth“, which is dedicated to the impact of Chinese Traditional Medicine on Wildlife Trade. I talked about the potential impacts of the expansion of the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine around the world and the … [Read more…]
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!
The Lost & Found Project was featured in the latest edition of Positive News! This inspiring current affairs magazine is a pioneer of ‘constructive journalism’ – an emerging approach in the media towards rigorous and relevant reporting that is focused on solutions, not doom and gloom. On the same note, we were also featured in … [Read more…]
The tiny Mediterranean country of Malta is often on the news for the trials and tribulations involving birds, hunters and conservationists. After a 2015 national referendum on Spring hunting ended with a very (very) narrow victory for the hunting camp, there are now discussions around the possibility of a second referendum on the same issue. … [Read more…]
Some stories are just too alluring not to be true. On of these self perpetuating narratives suggests Harry Potter, the boy wizard that keeps a snowy owl as a pet, was leading to an increase in demand for pet owls in the UK. Even J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, released multiple statements asking … [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…]
In a recent interview for Oceana‘s blog, I talked about the importance of positive messaging in conservation and discussed how I think my Lost & Found storytelling project could help address some of the challenges we are currently facing in connecting with the public Read all about it here: http://oceana.org/blog/save-planet-scientist-says-%E2%80%98stay-optimistic%E2%80%99-0
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…]