Conservative Behavior Research Articles

Do generational differences determine the conservation intention and behavior towards sacred trees?

Conserving sacred trees is of paramount importance for preserving biodiversity and safeguarding biocultural heritage. However, evolving perceptions across generations raise concerns about the future existence of these significant landscape elements. The objective of this study is to examine the factors influencing the intention and behavior of two generations towards sacred tree conservation. In this research, we integrate "cultural values" and "religious values" as new variables into an extended theory of planned behavior. A questionnaire survey was conducted, involving 399 individuals representing both young and old generations. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The research variables explained 57 % and 60 % of the variance in intentions and 7 % and 81 % of the variance in actual behaviors for the young and old generations, respectively. Attitude was found to be crucial in shaping intentions for both generations. Subjective norms significantly influenced the intentions of the older generation but were not observed among the younger generation. Perceived behavioral control had a positive impact on intentions in both age groups, although its effect on actual behavior varied. While it translated into conservation behavior among the older generation, it did not have the same effect on the younger generation. Furthermore, cultural and religious values positively influenced intentions in both generations, but their impact on behavior differed. While these values influenced the behavior of the older generation, they did not translate into actual conservation practices among the younger generation. These findings emphasize the interplay of generational differences, cultural values, and religious values in shaping conservation intentions and behaviors.Given the crucial role of the younger generation in the future of sacred trees, targeted conservation initiatives addressing their specific needs are essential, as they exhibit lower intentions and behaviors towards conservation. This study provides valuable insights for designing effective strategies for the sustainable conservation of sacred trees and the fostering of biocultural heritage.

Determinants of Long-Term Water and Energy Conservation Behavior: An Integrated Review

Over the last decades, drinking water and energy use have increased exponentially. To preserve ecosystems in the long term, a change in behavior is necessary on all levels of society including on the household level. This paper presents an integrated review of the determinants of long-term drinking water and energy conservation behavior of households. We identified forty-nine relevant studies discussing long-term conservation behavior in the context of drinking water and energy use. Long-term conservation behavior was measured as either persistent behavior, maintaining behavioral change, or intentions to maintain behavior, each with specific determinants. We found four key factors for long-term conservation behavior: consumption feedback, household characteristics, effort, and motives for conservation behavior. For future studies, we suggest follow-up questionnaires or interviews to measure the persistence of behavior and differentiate between curtailment and efficiency behavior. Worthwhile avenues for future research on long-term conservation behavior are household-tailored feedback mechanisms and the interaction between contextual factors and effort-based choices.

Backing biodiversity: understanding nature conservation behaviour and policy support in Australia

Community mobilisation is essential to prevent further biodiversity loss and protect the natural environment. This includes engaging in public- and private-sphere behaviours, and community support of relevant government policies. This purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the factors associated with public- and private-sphere nature conservation behaviour and policy support. We utilised data from a survey of 4,048 Australians, representative for age, gender, and geographic location, which measured engagement in nature conservation behaviours and support for diverse conservation policies. Hierarchical Multiple Regressions were conducted to assess relationships between behaviour and policy support with the key independent variables of awareness (of biodiversity issues), connection (to nature), and concern (about biodiversity issues), and socio-demographic covariates. Overall, community support for nature conservation policies was high, not just for incentive measures but for regulations and penalties. Regression models explained 22.9% of the variance in public-sphere behaviour, 30.2% of the variance in private-sphere behaviour, and 43.5% of the variance in policy support. Concern made one of the strongest contributions for all outcomes, and was substantially stronger for policy support compared to behaviour. Awareness and connection also made independent contributions to all outcomes. Socio-demographic variables explained a smaller proportion of unique variance for policy support (1.0%) compared to behaviour (public-sphere: 9.6%, private-sphere: 6.3%). Notably, for public-sphere behaviour, younger age explained almost as much variance as concern. Implications for practitioners and policymakers seeking to engage the general population in conservation support are discussed.

The effectiveness of a green default nudge in achieving resource conservation

Abstract Green nudges are used to promote conservation and pro-environmental behavior. This study examines the lasting effectiveness of a green default nudge in paper conservation, where price incentives are absent. At a private college in New York City, the default print setting was changed from single-sided to double-sided in Spring 2019, accompanied by a salient pop-up window that asked students to print double-sided. Analyzing student-level data over four semesters (Spring 2018 and Fall 2018 as control, Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 as treatment), this research contributes to the literature as it studies the effect of the nudge in the absence of pecuniary incentives. The findings support the hypothesis that this green default nudge was effective in promoting paper conservation and increasing resource efficiency. Results show that double-sided printing increased while single-sided printing decreased, leading to an overall reduction in paper usage. Employing a panel regression model with student fixed effects, this study finds that the nudge had a statistically significant effect in reducing the sheets per page ratio, and it improved the efficient use of paper by 19 percent. This inexpensive behavioral intervention proves successful in promoting environmental behavior and reducing paper consumption, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

What Happens When Payments End? Fostering Long-Term Behavior Change With Financial Incentives.

Financial incentives are widely used to get people to adopt desirable behaviors. Many small landholders in developing countries, for example, receive multiyear payments to engage in conservation behaviors, and the hope is that they will continue to engage in these behaviors after the program ends. Although effective in the short term, financial incentives rarely lead to long-term behavior change because program participants tend to revert to their initial behaviors soon after the payments stop. In this article, we propose that four psychological constructs can be leveraged to increase the long-term effectiveness of financial-incentive programs: motivation, habit formation, social norms, and recursive processes. We review successful and unsuccessful behavior-change initiatives involving financial incentives in several domains: public health, education, sustainability, and conservation. We make concrete recommendations on how to implement the four above-mentioned constructs in field settings. Finally, we identify unresolved issues that future research might want to address to advance knowledge, promote theory development, and understand the psychological mechanisms that can be used to improve the effectiveness of incentive programs in the real world.

Spatial diffusion of innovations: a spatial analysis of agricultural conservation behaviors in New York State

Spatial diffusion of innovations: a spatial analysis of agricultural conservation behaviors in New York State

Distribution of dissolved aluminum and dissolved iron in Kongsfjorden: A glacial fjord in the Arctic

Iron plays a pivotal role in marine primary production and the carbon cycle. Glaciers have been recognized as a regional iron source to the ocean. Understanding both the endmember values and the transport processes of glacial iron passing through coastal waters to the ocean is essential to comprehend the fate and flux of iron derived from glaciers to the ocean. Fjords are typical coastal pathways in polar marine environments, connecting glacial meltwater to the open ocean. To better estimate iron transport from glacial meltwater to the ocean, we examined dissolved iron (dFe), dissolved aluminum (dAl), iron stable isotopes (δ56Fe), and other biochemical parameters, including dissolved organic carbon, total suspended matter, and chlorophyll a in an Arctic fjord system, Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. In surface Kongsfjorden, low dFe levels averaging 5.23 ± 0.43 nM were detected in the inflow along the southern bank of the outer fjord, while elevated dFe concentrations were observed in both the inner and middle fjord regions (10.74 ± 5.22 nM), as well as in the outflow along the northern bank of the outer fjord (9.37 ± 2.85 nM). The association of dFe distribution with circulation patterns, in addition to the correlation between dFe and salinity, emphasizes that both glacial input and circulation regulate dFe distribution in Kongsfjorden. dFe and dAl endmember values from glacial meltwater were estimated as 82 ± 21 nM and 1089 ± 200.7 nM, respectively. The summer flux of glacier-derived dissolved iron and aluminum in Kongsfjorden were calculated to be 4.6–19 Mg/summer and 29 ± 5.4 Mg/summer, respectively. A short residence time for dFe in the Surface Water of Kongsfjorden was estimated at approximately a few days to a week, while dAl exhibited nearly conservative behavior, suggesting a possible application as a tracer for glacier input. The average δ56Fe value in Kongsfjorden surface water was 0.08 ± 0.19‰, and our extrapolated glacial δ56Fe input fingerprint ranged from 0.1‰ to 0.3‰ as iron traveled from the glacier towards the ocean. Our results emphasize the transport pattern of glacier-derived iron towards the ocean through Arctic fjord systems.

Thirsty nation: An investigation into water scarcity and public conservation behaviour in Pakistan

AbstractPakistan is on the brink of becoming a water‐scarce country as a result of a peak in population and rapid urbanization. This research investigates the awareness of water scarcity amongst the general public in Pakistan and their behaviour and attitude towards water conservation practices at the household level. The study incorporated the theory of planned behaviour to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon. Households were surveyed in Islamabad Capital City using a quantitative research approach. Descriptive analysis and Fischer's exact test were followed to measure the variables. Results demonstrated a significant awareness regarding water scarcity amongst the residents which influenced positive behaviour and attitudes towards water conservation in the households. Notably, the p‐value for water consumption patterns was found to be highly significant at 0.000 for activities such as laundry, gardening and car washing and less significant at 0.003 for bathing and 0.002 for housecleaning. It is concluded that water use is conditioned by dwelling characteristics and the types of devices employed in the houses. This comprehensive understanding is crucial for developing targeted interventions that resonate with diverse populations worldwide.

Does Active or Informative Messaging Result in Greater Conservation Engagement?

Strategic communication can motivate target audiences to take conservation action. Yet, whether audiences are motivated by more information or more influential visuals is unclear. Using online surveys, we compared different visual communication strategies using text, graphics, and photographs for encouraging parrotfish-friendly conservation behaviors to see which one yields greater emotion, interest, and intended action. Experiment 1 explored whether a scientific-oriented poster would be more or less effective in promoting conservation behaviors than a graphical poster using social marketing techniques. Experiment 2 contrasted the two posters with a photograph and graphic icons without text against a blank control. Results revealed how engaging visuals can inspire reactions and behavioral intentions. The posters both elicited positive reactions, but with less text and content to process, the social marketing poster more efficiently inspired the desired reactions. This work highlights that conservation communications can strategically use psychology and graphics to efficiently inspire desired actions.

Eliciting small island tourists’ ecological protection, water conservation, and waste reduction behaviours

Small island destinations possess fragile ecosystems that are susceptible to the effects of tourism. Ensuring sustainability in these destinations is undoubtedly of utmost importance. This research delved into the fundamental cognitive, affective, and normative processes underlying tourists' intentions toward ecological protection, water conservation, and waste reduction during their visits to small island destinations. Additionally, the study examined the moderating role of environmental protection activities in everyday life. Cutting-edge statistical methods, specifically generalized structured component analysis with measurement errors incorporated and necessary condition analysis, were applied to validate a theoretical model and uncover the crucial factors influencing tourists' intentions concerning environmental protection. The findings categorised the predictive constructs into four groups: necessary and sufficient, necessary but insufficient, unnecessary but sufficient, and unnecessary and insufficient. Our findings shed light on the essential and/or nonessential factors that shape tourists’ ecological intentions in small island destinations.

Conflict Governance between Protected Areas and Surrounding Communities: Willingness and Behaviors of Communities—Empirical Evidence from Tanzania

Under the dual pressures of climate change and human activities, the restrictions imposed by conservation policies, along with the increasing overlap between wildlife protected areas (PAs) and community living areas, have intensified the contradictions and conflicts between PAs and surrounding communities. Effective governance of such conflicts is particularly crucial to reconciling the contradictions between conservation and development. This study takes the Mikumi–Selous areas in Tanzania, Africa, as a case study. Through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, it explores the current state of conflicts between PAs and communities in the study area and summarizes conflict governance measures. Moreover, this research focuses on identifying various factors that influence the conservation willingness and action of community residents, further validating the relationships between residents’ household characteristics, conservation costs and benefits, conservation cognition, willingness, and behaviors through empirical analysis methods. The results indicate that residents’ conservation cognition significantly positively impacts their conservation willingness and behaviors, while conservation willingness also positively affects their conservation behaviors. Additionally, it was found that conservation costs inhibit residents’ conservation willingness and behaviors. This study primarily explores, from a community governance perspective, the participation willingness and behaviors of core stakeholders in conflict governance, emphasizing the critical role of community involvement in achieving biodiversity conservation and coordinated community development and providing a new perspective for alleviating conservation and development issues.

Role of education and awareness programs in fostering energy conservation behavior in cities: Empowering urban sustainability using deep learning approach

This paper introduces a pioneering framework that emphasizes the critical role of education in promoting energy conservation behavior within urban environments. By synergizing deep learning methodologies with education-awareness formulations and algorithm, the framework aims to bolster energy conservation security in cities. A central aspect of this framework is the development of an advanced Intrusion Detection System (IDS) model, utilizing Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs) tailored to enhance energy consumption security. Through six strategic integrations of educational components, the IDS not only identifies but also mitigates potential threats to energy systems with unprecedented efficiency. Additionally, the research introduces a novel evolutionary feature selection method based on Memetic Algorithms (MAs), which strategically identifies crucial features for RBM training, ensuring optimal model performance. The incorporation of Memetic Algorithms facilitates individual learning and problem-specific knowledge transmission, further enhancing the adaptive capabilities of the system. This multifaceted approach underscores the pivotal role of education in fostering urban sustainability, pushing the boundaries of energy conservation security. By proactively responding to emerging threats, the proposed framework contributes significantly to the overarching goal of sustainable and secure urban energy management.

Write your paper on the motherland?

ABSTRACT ‘Write your paper on the motherland’ is an influential Chinese slogan encouraging researchers to focus on domestic issues and prioritize local applications of their work, though interpretations differ. The 2024 ‘International Journal Early Warning List’ update sparked renewed debate over the slogan’s meaning. This letter argues that misinterpreting this slogan as merely promoting domestic journal submissions could lead to a more conservative submission behavior and a more closed academic system. This reflects a common challenge among non-English-speaking countries to balance international reach with local contributions in publications.

Does spending time with nature affect people’s desire to protect it? A case study of Nigerian beachgoers

ABSTRACT This study explores the intricate relationship between beach conservation and human behaviour, focusing on beachgoers in Lagos State, Nigeria. It underlines the importance of nature connection in determining people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the management and preservation of coastal ecosystems. As well as providing spaces for recreation, beaches provide vital ecosystem services such as flood protection and contributions to biodiversity, but they are often threatened by human-induced actions such as pollution. The research investigates pathways through which individuals connect with nature, highlighting beauty, compassion, emotion, contact and meaning. It reveals that participants primarily establish their connection through the aesthetic appeal of beaches. Additionally, the study uncovers a positive WTP for beach management, with most participants willing to contribute modest amounts. The study’s implications point to the need for holistic beach management strategies in Nigeria that balance economic development and environmental conservation. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of strengthening connections between individuals and the natural world to foster pro-environmental behaviour and financial contributions to conservation efforts.

Non-conservative behavior of organic matter and its interaction with metals in an equatorial estuary, Brazil.

Droughts are becoming more intense and frequent in the Brazilian semiarid because of El Niño and global climate changes. The Jaguaribe River estuary is a semiarid ecosystem that experiences a reduction in freshwater discharges due to droughts and river damming. The decrease in freshwater fluxes has increased metal availability through the water residence time increase in the Jaguaribe River estuary. Then, this study aimed to evaluate the dissolved organic matter quality and its interaction with metals in the Jaguaribe River estuary after a severe drought period. It was performed through carbon analyses, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultrafiltration technique, and determinations of metals by ICP-MS. Optical analysis showed that the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was preponderantly composed of terrestrial-derived humic compounds, while the low ratio between the particulate organic carbon (POC) and chlorophyll-a indicated that POC was predominantly phytoplankton-derived. DOC and POC presented non-conservative removal during the estuarine mixing. DOM and dissolved elements were mostly distributed within the LMW fraction and presented a low percentage in the colloidal fraction. Li, Rb, Sr, Mo, and U showed conservative behavior, while Cu, Fe, Cr, and V had non-conservative behavior with a significant positive correlation with DOM, suggesting DOM as a relevant driver of metal availability at the Jaguaribe River estuary even during the rainy season.

Utilizing Ant Forest technology to foster sustainable behaviors: A novel approach towards environmental conservation

Amidst mounting environmental threats and exacerbated global risks from climate change, the urgency for sustainable behaviors has never been more critical, demanding concerted efforts to cultivate individual actions for environmental conservation. Ant Forest technology, a groundbreaking innovation for sustainable lifestyles, stands at the forefront of this battle, harnessing technological advancements to drive positive environmental impact and must be championed. This research investigates the dynamics of environmental conservation behaviors facilitated by Ant Forest Technology. Employing a theoretical framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the study explores the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation on attitudes, intentions, and conservation behaviors. Furthermore, the research assesses the influence of knowledge disseminated through Ant Forest Technology on users' intentions and behavior toward conservation behaviors. The study utilized the partial least square structural equation modeling in its analysis. Findings reveal that both motivational factors and knowledge significantly shape users' engagement in conservation behaviors activities through perceived ease of use and usefulness. These insights contribute to the development of effective policies and interventions aimed at harnessing Ant Forest Technology as a powerful tool for fostering widespread environmental conservation behaviors.

Social and genetic connectivity despite ecological variation in a killer whale network.

Philopatric kin-based societies encourage a narrow breadth of conservative behaviours owing to individuals primarily learning from close kin, promoting behavioural homogeneity. However, weaker social ties beyond kin, and across a behaviourally diverse social landscape, could be sufficient to induce variation and a greater ecological niche breadth. We investigated a network of 457 photo-identified killer whales from Norway (548 encounters in 2008-2021) with diet data available (46 mixed-diet individuals feeding on both fish and mammals, and 411 exclusive fish-eaters) to quantify patterns of association within and between diet groups, and to identify underlying correlates. We genotyped a subset of 106 whales to assess patterns of genetic differentiation. Our results suggested kinship as main driver of social bonds within and among cohesive social units, while diet was most likely a consequence reflective of cultural diffusion, rather than a driver. Flexible associations within and between ecologically diverse social units led to a highly connected network, reducing social and genetic differentiation between diet groups. Our study points to a role of social connectivity, in combination with individual behavioural variation, in influencing population ecology in killer whales.

Effectiveness of Pro-Environmental Interventions to Improve Ecological Behavior

This research aims to determine the effectiveness of Pro-Environmental Behavior intervention in improving ecological behavior. The interventions provided are in the form of psychoeducation and individual tasks related to aspects of pro-environmental behavior which include recycling, energy conservation, and vicarious social behavior towards conservation. This research uses a quasi-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design. Sampling was carried out using a purposive sampling method which was determined through inclusion and exclusion criteria. The participants selected in this study were 8 members of Fishing Community X who showed low ecological behavior as measured by the General Ecological Behavior Scale (GEB). The data analysis used in testing the pre-test and post-test data was the paired sample t-test. In this study, t-count > t-table was obtained, namely 8,683 > 2.365. The results of this analysis show that pro-environmental behavior interventions have proven effective in improving the ecological behavior of research participants through providing psychoeducation and activities that provide benefits to the environment.

Resident water conservation behaviors among different age groups in rural areas of the Weibei arid belt, China

Understanding water conservation behaviors across various age groups is crucial for developing effective water resource management strategies particularly in arid and semiarid zones. Based on a semi-structural questionnaire survey of 445 households in China's Weibei arid belt and extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model, a Structural Equation Model (SEM) was constructed to elucidate the age-related impact of water conservation knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control on water-saving behaviors. The results show that (1) youth group prioritizes personal hygiene and laundry activities whereas the elderly exhibit lower such requirements. (2) Water consumption varies significantly by age, with the elderly group consumes the least, averaging 62.26 L per capita per day (Lpcd), followed by the middle-aged group at 73.95 Lpcd, and the youth at the highest consumption rate of 84.60 Lpcd. (3) Influential factors on water conservation behavior differ substantially by age: Among the youth, water conservation behavior is strongly influenced by attitude in this domain (standardized path coefficient [SPC] = 0.32). The middle-aged group is influenced by subjective norms (SPC = 0.27) and attitudes toward water conservation (SPC = 0.27). Conversely, the elder group's behavior is dominated by knowledge (SPC = 0.35) and perceived control (SPC = 0.32). Given such distinct perceptions and behaviors of household water consumption, tailored water conservation strategies are essential of water conservation education through social media for youth, tiered pricing for the middle-aged, and water-saving subsidies to the elderly in the case areas.

Movement strategies during obstacle crossing in people with Parkinson disease: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Navigating obstacles involves adjusting walking patterns, particularly when stepping over them. This task may be particularly challenging for people with Parkinson disease (PD) for several reasons.This review aims to compare the spatiotemporal gait parameters of people with and without PD while stepping over obstacles. A systematic literature search was conducted in six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase, and SciELO) from inception to September 2023. Studies were selected that evaluated gait parameters of people with and without PD while walking over obstacles. Two independent researchers evaluated the eligibility and extracted gait parameters during obstacle crossing. The risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2-tests. Random effects models were determined for effect sizes as standardized mean differences (SMD). Twenty-five studies were included in the review and 17 in the meta-analysis. Most of the studies (58%) showed a low risk of bias. People with PD exhibit a shorter step when landing after crossing an obstacle (SMD = -0.50 [-0.69 to -0.31]). Compared to people without PD, people with PD also widen their support base (SMD = 0.27 [0.07-0.47]) and reduce gait velocity (SMD = -0.60 [-0.80 to -0.39]) when crossing the obstacle. People with PD adopt a more conservative motor behavior during obstacle crossing than those without PD, with a shorter step length when landing after crossing an obstacle, greater step width and lower crossing speed.