Biodiversity conservation isn’t just about protecting species; it’s about changing the way we, as humans, interact with the natural world. Every major threat to wildlife, from climate change and pollution to habitat destruction, is driven by human behavior. That’s why influencing behavior is essential if we are to address the ongoing extinction crisis. Our recent … [Read more…]
LINK: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado1142 The wildlife trade spans across various species and motivators, including pet ownership, collections, and derived products like food and medicine. While some trade is legal and sustainable, illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is growing globally, posing threats to species, ecosystems, and human health. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild … [Read more…]
It was great to have ABC cover some of my work exploring the role of documentaries in environmental awareness and action. It’s heartening to see discussions around the nuanced dynamics of positive and negative messaging in environmental storytelling. The collaborative effort to dissect the influence of renowned documentaries, such as those presented by David Attenborough, … [Read more…]
I am proud of having been part of the working group that put together the Social Marketing Statement of Ethics, which lays out key principles to be observed in the design of behaviour change. This has now been approved by the International Social Marketing Association and its regional affiliates given this document global klout in … [Read more…]
I recently wrote a short summary of a review we published recently (more on that soon) for the excellent blog Please keep to the path! See below.. In a nutshell: When it comes to looking at changing actual behaviour to conserve the environment the evidence base is limited as most studies do not measure actual … [Read more…]
I was lucky to be involved in a paper was published last week around the ethical challenges of doing social science in a biodiversity conservation context. It was great to have a space for early career researchers to reflect on this much neglected issue. Abstract below. Full text HERE! Social science is becoming increasingly important … [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…]
Yesterday I gave a webinar on some of the ways social marketing can help conservationists. Conservation and management efforts can benefit from marketing because effective conservation and management are also about getting people – resource users, resource managers, consumers, local citizens, politicians, etc. – to change their behavior. I was thrilled that almost 220 people … [Read more…]
Microplastic has been reported in every major open ocean and many freshwater lakes and rivers. Its small size makes it bioavailable to thousands of species across nearly all trophic levels. Because of the difficulty of large-scale cleanup, environmental managers, scientists, and environmentalists have stressed that the best solution to microplastic pollution is source reduction. Recently, … [Read more…]
Published originally at http://conservationbytes.com/ — Just a few weeks back, more than 2000 conservationists got together in Montpellier, France, for the 27th International Congress on Conservation Biology (ICCB). I have been attending these conferences since 2008, and once again had a blast. Yet as I went through the usual talks, posters, work meetings, and this … [Read more…]