Motivation For Conservation Research Articles

Recognition of local flora and fauna by urban park users: Who notices which species?

It is increasingly evident that the general public’s recognition of local flora and fauna is typically inaccurate, because the majority of species are not recognized by ordinary people. These incorrect perceptions are a concern because they could lead to decreased public motivation for conservation and reduced health and well-being benefits that people gain when interacting with nature. However, there remains limited knowledge of how well ordinary people recognize wild plants and animals in their local areas and how the levels of recognition vary among the general public. We conducted a questionnaire survey among urban park users in Zenpukuji Park in Tokyo to assess their levels of recognition of birds and flowering plants and determined the factors that affect their recognition of these taxa. We asked participants to report their own personal characteristics and whether or not they had observed each of 24 common bird and 24 flowering plants species found in the park. Numbers of bird and plant species recognized by participants varied greatly, with those who visited the park frequently and who had greater taxonomic knowledge reporting higher numbers. Moreover, the traits of each of the study bird and plant species were associated with the numbers of participants who recognized them. Our results suggest that both the individual’s personal characteristics and species’ ecological traits determine park users’ recognition of local biodiversity. Increasing individuals’ use of urban greenspace and strengthening their orientation toward and familiarity with wildlife, especially species that may be less noticeable, would contribute to enhancing their perceptions of the local wildlife.

Participatory policies and intrinsic motivation to conserve forest commons

Participatory policies for natural resource management and poverty reduction have been implemented worldwide. Inclusive participation and empowerment potentially enhances intrinsic motivation to conserve resources. However, whether participation in activities for poverty reduction enhances intrinsic motivation for resource conservation is unknown. We evaluate the impact of participation, in activities to develop sustainable livelihoods, on the intrinsic motivation of forest-dwelling community members to conserve forest commons. As a component of Brazil’s Bolsa Floresta programme, these activities involve decision making, skills training and knowledge exchange related to sustainable livelihoods. Using a framed common-pool resource game with 160 community members in Amazonas State, we measure intrinsic motivation via members’ extent of cooperation in conservation of trees. We obtain an estimate of impact by exploiting a natural experiment, whereby the treatment group was offered the choice to participate in activities to develop sustainable livelihoods. We find that participation crowds in cooperative behaviour and, hence, intrinsic motivation to conserve forest commons. This result suggests that enabling participation and empowering community members in the development of sustainable livelihoods has a positive effect on conservation behaviour. Our results have critical implications for participatory policies with dual environment–development goals in settings where policy recipients are marginalized. A framed common-pool resource game analysis in the Brazilian Amazon shows that participatory initiatives are associated with cooperative behaviour and intrinsic motivations for tree conservation.

Obstacles and opportunities for moratoria on oil and gas exploration or extraction in Latin America and the Caribbean

ABSTRACT This article draws lessons from the existing, successful cases of moratoria or bans on oil and gas exploration or extraction activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, in contrast to the failed attempts for a conditional moratorium in Ecuador, the widely discussed Yasuní-ITT project. It also refers to obstacles and possible opportunities for larger-scale implementation of such instruments to limit fossil fuel supply in the region, indicating the main factors, both at the domestic and international level, that influenced their viability. So far, moratoria have been driven mainly by environmental, economic, and conservation concerns, rather than by climate change considerations. Countries that may be quite proactive in the multilateral climate change negotiations have been unable or unwilling to plan for large-scale domestic restrictions in fossil fuel supply. Moratoria on oil and gas exploration or extraction activities are forceful instruments to bring about these restrictions, but are often perceived ex ante as costly, even unaffordable on economic or political grounds. This article calls for a broad use of conservation motivations to overcome some shortcomings of the current multilateral climate regime, such as the absence in the Paris Agreement of specific provisions on fossil fuel supply. Key policy insights There is increasing interest in ‘supply side’ policy, such as moratoria on fossil fuel exploration and extraction, as a tool for mitigating climate change. Some of the first examples of supply side policy emerged from the Latin American and Caribbean region. Review of these policies shows that protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services – rather than a climate rationale – provided the imperative for moratoria or bans in Belize, Costa Rica, and Mexico. An emphasis on potential benefits to be reaped from bans and moratoria may increase the viability of their adoption.

Do We All Speak the Same Language When Talking Conservation? Caiçara Understandings of Conservation in their Landscape

Based on their world view, indigenous and local communities may have their own concepts of conservation, which may be different from Western ideas of conservation. Here we report the results of a photovoice study with a Caicara community in the Juatinga Ecological Reserve, a protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest region. Participants were asked to take photos of their landscape/seascape to illustrate what they understand as conservation. Photos produced by the participants served as 'boundary objects' that helped to evoke feelings, ideas, and thoughts of people-nature relationships during individual interviews, and finally during a group discussion. The results helped to explore ways to frame a Caicara concept of conservation and highlight the importance of developing place-based conservation projects and approaches meaningful for Caicara people. Such initiatives can help in understanding Caicara motivations for conservation, aid partnership-building, and promote knowledge co-production between community, government managers and other stakeholders.

The effectiveness of training program based on protective motivation theory on improving nutritional behaviors and physical activity in military patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction:Diabetes is considered as one of the most common metabolic disorders and one of the biggest worldwide health problems; first-line treatment is suggested as a changing diet and physical activity by experts. The aim of the present study was the determination of the effectiveness of a training program based on a protective motivation theory on improving nutritional behaviors and physical activity in type 2 military diabetic patients.Methods:In this controlled intervention study, 76 military diabetic individuals (2 groups with 38 individuals in each) were participated. Data gathering instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire based on structures of conservation motivation theory. The data were entered into SPSS19 software and analyzed by using paired t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient.Results:Findings showed that except in perceived sensitivity in the test and control groups, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of all the components of the Protective Motivation Theory. In the test group, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of all constructs of the Protective Motivation Theory before and after the educational intervention, while in the control group, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of fear, effectiveness of response, severity, and perceived sensitivity structures before and after educational intervention. Glycated hemoglobin (Hb-A1c) and weight of the intervention group were significantly decreased after the intervention. In addition, adherence to diet and physical activity were increased.Conclusion:The results of this study showed that conservation motivation theory can be used as a framework in designing educational programs to improve the diet and physical activity among diabetics.

Conserving Natures? Co‐producing Payments for Ecosystem Services in Mongolian Rangelands

ABSTRACTDespite well‐founded concerns over the proliferation of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes, critical geographers have begun to challenge the ‘milieu of apprehension’ associated with PES (Jackson and Palmer, 2014: 122). There is a growing call for more nuanced analyses of ways in which the ecosystem services paradigm and PES may, in particular circumstances, encompass and make legible diverse ways of being in/knowing nature and provide opportunities for local/indigenous actors to advance their own needs and values. Adopting a ‘radical pragmatist’ approach, the author of this article worked with Mongolian herder groups to develop a locally‐grounded manifestation of PES, with specific attention to the incorporation of diverse socio‐ecological relations, beliefs and values. The article argues that such co‐produced iterations of PES, with due attention to tripartite dimensions of environmental justice, can facilitate local stewardship, whilst eschewing enclosure of commons and crowding out of non‐market values and motives for conservation, albeit shaped and constrained by diverse manifestations of power.

Why joint conservation and development projects often fail: An in-depth examination in the Peruvian Amazon

Conservation projects commonly claim to convert local people into long-term environmental stewards and improve their well-being. Yet, evidence frequently contradicts these win-win claims. The “multiple environmentalities” framework outlines distinct approaches that projects often use to foster environmental motivation and behavior: (1) neoliberal: constructing material incentives, (2) sovereign: imposing protective laws, and (3) disciplinary: fostering norms and values. We use a mixed method approach to examine how combinations of these environmentalities shape the land use motivations and behavior of 270 families living in 15 project settings in the Peruvian Amazon. We identify four direct reasons why these projects often fail to achieve their intended outcomes, regardless of the environmentalities employed: (1) self-selection of like-minded individuals, (2) limited ability of extrinsic motivators (i.e. material incentives and protective laws) to reduce reported deforestation behaviors, (3) limited internalization of motivations for conservation, and (4) ignored broader economic drivers of deforestation. We argue that these challenges stem from the typical external design of conservation projects based on fixed and limited interpretations of human motivation. Our findings point to the importance of deliberative processes that can support local and external actors to navigate and reframe competing motivations to co-design approaches to conservation governance at local and broader scales.

Influence of Internet-Based Messages and Personal Motivations on Water-Use Decisions

This research investigates motives behind individual willingness to conserve water and if media messages can promote sustainable behaviors. Experiment 1 (n = 143) assessed water conservation motives after participants viewed a pro-conservation or neutral video. Disgust motivated refusing most sustainable water uses, especially for personal consumption. Experiment 2 (n = 591) examined the effectiveness of messages targeting underlying motives, and Experiment 3 (n = 152) examined the effect of pro-conservation media on willingness, intention, and behaviors regarding recycled water. Results suggest that pro-conservation messages can improve attitudes toward recycled water but not affect behaviors, thereby demonstrating limitations of correlational research.

Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States?

Since 2011, qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) have burgeoned. This article presents a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative investigations into CPP adoption since 1996. We found three themes are discussed primarily as motivating adoption: farmer characteristics, environmental awareness, and trust in information sources. Four themes are discussed primarily as barriers to adoption: farm management, negative perceptions of a conservation practice, perceptions that adoption is a risk, and land tenure. Four themes were discussed as both motivations and barriers: economic factors, social norms, perceptions of government programs, and farm characteristics. Overall, we found farmers’ economic and management needs and their perceived and actual limitations to conservation behavior influenced adoption. Implications of our findings for policymakers and practitioners include promoting systems-based conservation strategies and stressing the benefits of conservation practices.

Assessing the impact of water price reform on farmers’ willingness to pay for agricultural water in northwest China

A water price increase has been used as an effective method to guarantee national water security and maintain national food security in China. The reasonableness of the water price has a direct influence on people's attitude, behavioural decision regarding willingness to pay, and motivation for water conservation. A double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method was used to assess the impact of integrated agricultural water price reform on farmers' willingness to pay for irrigation water in northwest China. The estimated mean willingness to pay in the study area was 0.144 RMB/m3. A comparison showed that higher education and longer experience in farming were likely to result in a higher willingness to pay in the study area. Participants who had a higher awareness of water price reform showed a higher likelihood of agreeing to higher bidding. Those who thought the current water price was lower had a higher willingness to pay for irrigation water. Participants who considered agricultural water resources to be scarce in the area also had a higher willingness to pay. In contrast, the bidding variables were negative and significant at the 1% level, showing that participants were more inclined to reject a higher bid. Meanwhile, the older the participant, the less they were willing to pay. An unintended finding was that participants' willingness to pay decreased if they chose to use water-saving technology. One possible explanation was that the investment in the construction of the infrastructure (such as pipes and pumps) may have exacerbated farmers' burden and may not have resulted in any benefits to them. Based on the results of this paper, a related optimization policy was presented for water price reform.

Examining water conservation behaviors and attitudes: evidence from the city of Ada, Oklahoma, USA

The study reported here provides the most current empirical data on household water conservation strategies and behaviors in the city of Ada, Oklahoma. Survey data was collected in the summer of 2017. The results indicate that households in Ada employ several strategies to conserve water including checking and repairing water leakages around the house (90%), washing dishes by hand (83%), lowering the water level on washing machines and using the dishwasher with full loads (72%). Additionally, the following factors are identified as having the greatest influence on a household water conservation drive; drought (92%), pollution of fresh water, and substantial increases in water bills (91%). In contrast to previous works, it is notable that our findings on pollution of freshwater sources as a water conservation motive are unique to this study. Regarding efficacy, the results indicate that households in Ada are aware of the need to conserve water and generally have a positive attitude towards water conservation (90%). These findings are remarkable for several reasons. Most importantly, they provide recent data on a collection of conservation strategies employed by household in a rural American town. We conclude the study by suggesting policy options that should be considered by policymakers when developing strategies to incentivize effective water conservation practices. These include; encouraging water efficiencies regarding the use of household appliances, the use of pricing, and the application of restrictive local ordinances.

Species’ cultural heritage inspires a conservation ethos: The evidence in black and white

AbstractBirds feature prominently in the arts and folklore of practically every culture. Yet, in industrialized countries, this rich cultural heritage is largely ignored by conservation biologists. Taking the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) as a focal species, we conducted a classroom‐based survey to test the value of avian cultural heritage for inspiring a conservation ethos among UK schoolchildren, comparing it with the effects of other information types and factors. Although identified effects were not strong, species’ cultural heritage was found to be valued and a positive driver of conservation concern—one, we suggest, that has the potential to endure into adulthood when certain other conservation motivations may fail. We therefore encourage its more widespread incorporation into conservation education and outreach programs. Our findings constitute an important “first word” on the potential value of species’ cultural heritage for inspiring a lasting conservation ethos.

Evaluation of pay-for-release conservation incentives for unintentionally caught threatened species.

In the developing world, the exploitation of threatened species jeopardizes their permanence in the wild. Because not all captures are intentional, for instance when capture methods have low selectivity, pressure on these species may be lessened by releasing living incidentally caught animals. However, it is often unrealistic to expect people to voluntarily do so because it means foregoing the benefits of resource extraction. Financial incentives for such animal release may foster conservation objectives. Reducing human-animal conflicts, protecting natural habitat, and conserving nests of threatened species are examples of conservation benefits that can be built on financial reward systems. However, incentives aiming to protect unintentionally captured threatened species are scarce. We considered pay for release, a type of ecosystem-service payment designed to foster the release of incidentally captured threatened species. We aimed to determine the best conditions to implement this scheme, its potential benefits (e.g., incentivizing the release of threatened species), and pitfalls and priority research needs (e.g., required conditions for pay for release to work) to show that its global applicability is possible. Given that approaches solely based on education and law enforcement may be ineffective under some circumstances, we argue that pay for release can protect incidentally captured endangered species if used under conditions conducive for its success. When local participants' intrinsic motivation for conservation is weak, but the release of incidentally live-caught animals into their habitats is readily achievable, pay-for-release schemes could jump start urgently needed conservation efforts against indiscriminate animal harvesting.

Conservation - Minded Behavior of the Field Practice Participants on Automotive Engineering Education Program

Conservation – Minded Behavior of Field Practice Participant On Automotive Engineering Education Program. This study was aimed at figuring out: 1) conservation – minded behavior, 2) knowledge conservation, 3) achievement motivation, and 4) the support of conservation knowledge and achievement motivation simultaneously or independently to the conservation – minded behaviour of the field practice participants on automotive engineering education program, Engineering Faculty. This study was conducted in Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, UNNES and industry in Semarang in the year of 2017. 33 students were involved as the samples of this study. The conservation – minded behavior data were gathered using observation sheet, conservation knowledge data by test and achievement motivation data were gathered using questionnaire. The data were then analysed using descriptive statistics, multi regression and communality. The descriptive analysis showed that: conservation-minded behaviour of the field practice participants was mostly high, the conservation knowledge was mostly low and achievement motivation was mostly high. The multi regression analysis showed that the knowledge conservation and achievement motivation contributed 35.4% to the conservation – minded behavior. The communality analysis showed that conservation knowledge of the field practice participants contributed 15% to the conservation – minded behavior, and achievement motivation distributed 17.8% to the conservation – minded behaviour. The suggestion from this study was that the automotive engineering education should make an effort to improve the conservation – minded knowledge.

The psychological appeal of owning private land for conservation.

Continued threats to global biodiversity have stimulated interest in the private purchase of land for conservation. Though not a new phenomenon, private land conservation appears to be on the rise, and its ambiguous position between philanthropy and financial investment leads to questions about the nature of landowner motives. To examine these motives, we used grounded theory techniques to analyze transcripts of narrative interviews with the owners of privately conserved areas (PCAs) and assessed what landowners had in common across a variety of cultural and policy contexts. The result was a model of PCA engagement in which landowners became personally invested in the management of PCAs and in the nature they protected. We found that PCAs can be conceptualized not merely as philanthropic endeavors or investments, but also as meaningful projects in which their owners engage. We integrated our findings with literature indicating that fundamental psychological drives for autonomy, efficacy, and social connection facilitate the engagement process, regardless of whether conservation motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic. Our findings suggest that land conservation programs might benefit from allowing landowner autonomy to the maximum extent possible, developing best practice standards against which landowners can assess their efficacy, and facilitating the development of landowner networks.

Nature for whom? How type of beneficiary influences the effectiveness of conservation outreach messages

In recent years the conservation community has engaged in debate over value in nonhuman nature, especially as it relates to motivations for conservation. Many have expressed the assumption that more people are willing to support conservation when emphasis is placed on the human benefits of nonhuman nature, rather than the value of nonhuman nature for its own sake. To test this assumption, we designed an online survey investigating how the type of beneficiary (human, nonhuman, or both) depicted in outreach messages affects two metrics of support: attitudes toward the message and donations for a conservation organization. Each respondent viewed one message highlighting humans, nonhumans, or both as conservation beneficiaries. Predicting that the effect of beneficiary type would depend partially on individual differences, we also measured respondents' moral inclusivity, i.e., the values and beliefs they hold with regard to human and various nonhuman entities. Although beneficiary type did not affect attitudes, we report several key findings for donation. Compared to messages depicting only nonhuman beneficiaries, messages depicting only human beneficiaries were associated with lower likelihood of donation overall and, among less morally inclusive respondents, lower donation amounts. At the same time, messages depicting both human and nonhuman beneficiaries were not associated with more positive donation outcomes than messages depicting only nonhuman beneficiaries. Our results suggest that highlighting humans as conservation beneficiaries may not most effectively generate social support for conservation. Messages advocating the protection of nonhuman nature for its own sake may produce the most consistently positive donation outcomes.

Shifted baselines and the policy placebo effect in conservation

AbstractCoastal ecosystems have been degraded by human activity over centuries, with loss of memory about past states resulting in shifted baselines. More recently conservation efforts have resulted in localized recoveries of species and ecosystems. Given the dynamism of ecosystem degradation and recovery, understanding how communities perceive long-term and recent changes is important for developing and implementing conservation measures. We interviewed stakeholders on three Caribbean islands and identified a shifted baseline with respect to the extent and degree of long-term declines in marine animal populations; stakeholders with more experience identified more species as depleted and key species as less abundant than those with less experience. Notably, the average respondent with < 15 years of experience listed no species as depleted despite clear evidence of declines. We also identified a phenomenon we call the policy placebo effect, in which interviewees perceived some animal populations as recently recovering following passage of new conservation legislation but in the absence of evidence for actual recovery. Although shifted baselines have a negative effect on conservation as they can lower recovery goals, the outcomes of a policy placebo effect are unclear. If the public prematurely perceives recovery, motivation for continued conservation could decline. Alternatively, perception of rapid success could lead communities to set more ambitious conservation goals.

Understanding youth motivation for water onion (Crinum thaianum J. Schulze) conservation in Thailand

Water Onion is an aquatic plant endemic to the coastal plains of southern Thailand. The species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Despite rapidly declining stocks, the species is not protected under any Thai legislation nor under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). At the local level, Water Onion is protected and conserved by young people and adults for various socio-economic reasons. The study explored the participation and underlying conservation motivations of 312 youths in Kapoe district, Ranong province. Using principal component analysis, the youth's motivation for Water Onion conservation was classified into four categories: pro-social, pro-nature, social image, and extrinsic. The results from a logit regression indicated that pro-nature is one of the key motivational factors enhancing actual youth participation in the protection and conservation of Water Onion. It is important for policy makers to understand the effects of various types of motivation on different policy mechanisms in order to craft more effective policies that can further enhance youth participation in conservation initiatives.

“The ‘future of conservation’ debate: Defending ecocentrism and the Nature Needs Half movement”

The Future of Conservation survey, launched in March 2017, has proposed a framework to help with interpreting the array of ethical stances underpinning the motivations for biological conservation. In this article we highlight what is missing in this debate to date. Our overall aim is to explore what an acceptance of ecocentric ethics would mean for how conservation is practised and how its policies are developed. We start by discussing the shortcomings of the survey and present a more convincing and accurate categorization of the conservation debate. Conceiving the future of conservation as nothing less than an attempt to preserve abundant life on earth, we illustrate the strategic and ethical advantage of ecocentric over anthropocentric approaches to conservation. After examining key areas of the current debate we endorse and defend the Nature Needs Half and bio-proportionality proposals. These proposals show how the acceptance of an ecocentric framework would aid both practices and policies aimed at promoting successful conservation. We conclude that these proposals bring a radically different and more effective approach to conservation than anthropocentric approaches, even though the latter purport to be pragmatic.

Information strategies for energy conservation: A field experiment in India

Little is known about the effectiveness of information strategies on energy conservation in developing countries. In this study, we conduct a field experiment in an apartment complex in India to test how information about electricity usage impacts the electricity consumption of urban middle class households. Our results, based on fifteen-minute electricity readings over an academic year, show that non-monetary messages that framed electricity consumption in terms of environmental and health impacts were more effective than messages emphasizing the monetary savings of reducing electricity consumption. Households in the environmental/health group accessed the online energy-monitoring dashboard more frequently and reduced their electricity usage by 18.4% relative to the control group. Households in the monetary group did not significantly alter their usage. These results about revealed preferences are contrasted with stated preferences disclosed in a survey of urban Indians who describe money, not health, as the main motivation for energy conservation. Our findings have important implications for the development non-monetary strategies for energy conservation in developing countries.