Abstract
Encouraging people’s pro-environmental behaviors is an objective of Education for Sustainable Development. In the context of small-scale fisheries, unsustainable fishing practices are compromising the integrity of coastal communities and ecosystems. Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) is an ecosystem modeling software that presents interactions/changes in the food web as a result of fishing. Despite the multiple applications of EwE in fisheries management, it is unknown from a quantitative perspective whether the application of EwE trophic modeling in environmental education processes and management produces effects on norms and ecological beliefs, and if it alters behavioral intentions of the participants receiving ecosystem modeling information. We conducted a behavior change intervention with gillnet fishers in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, to compare antecedents of pro-environmental behavior between participants who received an ecosystem-based intervention (lectures containing EwE models; treatment) and those who received lectures that didn’t involve EwE (control). Based on theories of environmental psychology, we used a pre–post survey design, to evaluate changes between control/treatment, and to assess the influence of psychometric constructs and fishing characteristics on the behavioral intentions to support sustainable fishing measures and owning a fishing license (revealed behavior). Personal norms and values were significant at explaining management measures’ support, along with some fishing characteristics (e.g., fishing site). Deliberating about possible future scenarios (via EwE-modeling) helped reduce uncertainties, increasing legitimacy and a perceived behavioral control (PBC) to support measures. Currently, licenses in the Gulf aren’t granted under defined ecological criteria, and although altruistic-biospheric values scored highly before the intervention began, due to mistrust and high illegal-unlicensed fishing, fishers may be underestimating how much others care about the environment. Value-oriented and ecosystem-based interventions may assist to effectively redesign the licensing system and encourage fishers to support sustainable measures. Our research indicates the importance of education interventions that teach about the impacts of fishing in the ecosystem while helping participants to perceive themselves as capable of implementing actions (PBC) and expressing biospheric-altruistic values to restore trust. Redirecting human behaviors to reconnect with ecosystem resilience can be a leverage point for sustainability and for the compliance of small-scale fisheries management measures.
Highlights
Encouraging people’s commitment to protect marine biodiversity and adopt behavior toward sustainability are important objectives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2016)
It is noteworthy that after the workshops and the deliberation process, a change is identified and the biospheric and altruistic values showed a significant positive influence in supporting the reduction of fishing effort, which makes a call for educational programs that promote an orientation in values; for instance, informational interventions can make those who care deeply about the environment more inclined to act in accordance with its values (Bolderdijk et al, 2013)
Several of the participants’ comments indicated the need for more educational processes such as the current one, finding it as an attractive way to learn, we suggest that these types of interventions can act as an active learning process (Kenter et al, 2016) that contribute to more legitimate and empowered ways of creating conservation plans
Summary
Encouraging people’s commitment to protect marine biodiversity and adopt behavior toward sustainability are important objectives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2016). To implement realistic sustainable conservation measures in small-scale fisheries – given irreducible complexity and uncertainty – solutions at the level of whole ecosystem are required (Walters, 1986). This would be accompanied by experiential education (Stern et al, 2008), active learning, deliberation and participatory processes (Dietz, 2013), as well as an understanding of the human-nature relationships behind behavior of those individuals and communities that are involved in conservation plans (Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002)
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