Motivation For Conservation Research Articles

The underappreciated value of brownfield sites: motivations and challenges associated with maintaining biodiversity

Protection and mitigation of biodiversity are essential within land-use planning; highlighted by the increased importance of nature during the global pandemic and the fight against climate change. Currently, the character of both the land and decision-makers can influence the weight biodiversity is ascribed within planning processes. Through analysis of semi-structured interviews, with various actors within the Northamptonshire planning system, this research explored the opportunities and challenges around promoting biodiversity across brownfield sites; the motivations for conservation by different planning actors; and what this means for the future of urban habitats on previously developed land. This research found that brownfield sites continue to be undervalued for their biodiversity potential, predominantly due to the downplaying of ecological expertise in decision-making. With England’s proposed planning reforms, this paper argues that tensions between brownfield redevelopment and biodiversity conservation stand to be further exacerbated as the government intends to “scythe through red tape” (Johnson 2020b).

Conservation as Integration: Desire to Belong as Motivation for Environmental Conservation

Considering the growing need to protect nature and acknowledging that not everyone has intrinsic desires to do so, what happens when social, community-based motives are seen to align with pro-environmental behavior? Specifically, the hypothesis addressed in this study is that individuals engage in actions to protect the natural environment at least partly to improve their sense of belonging to their community. To test this hypothesis, we distributed an online survey in rural regions of the UK. We found that particularly people who are concerned about their reputation and have a strong desire to belong engage in conservation actions. Our findings support the hypothesis that people conserve the environment to enhance their sense of belonging and illustrate that there are different additional processes at work that affect the relationship between desire to belong and engagement in conservation actions.

Motivational crowding effects in payments for ecosystem services: Exploring the role of instrumental and relational values

Abstract Nature is perceived and valued in many different ways. Often, the types of values that are the most important to people depend on how they cognitively frame desirable human–nature relations. For instance, the value of nature can be seen through a utilitarian lens, for example, as providing ecosystem services for humans. Alternatively, it can also be considered valuable for non‐instrumental reasons, for example, for its sacred or spiritual significance. In this paper, we use a framed field experiment to test how people belonging to three distinct communities in Colombia (Indigenous, Afro‐Colombian and Campesino) respond to different ways of framing payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes, so as to assess potential motivational crowding effects of pro‐social/intrinsic motivations for forest conservation. The experimental results indicate that crowding‐in of intrinsic motivations for forest conservation occurred in participants from the Indigenous community when the PES scheme was framed in a way that highlighted the relational values of the forest. By contrast, motivational crowding‐in took place for participants in the framed field experiment from the Campesino community when the PES scheme was introduced in a way that highlighted instrumental values instead. Participants from the Afro‐Colombian community did not show the evidence of motivational crowding under either framing. Together, these results suggest that PES schemes that are framed in a way that harmonizes with locally salient human–nature relational models and associated values are more likely to cause motivational crowding‐in, and thus encourage the higher rates of environmental conservation, even after payments are discontinued. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article

The (De)motives to Conserve the Environment among Small Independent Hotels in a Resource Scarce Destination

ABSTRACT This study explores the (de)motivations of small, independently-owned, hotels to conserve the environment in the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan. This destination provides an interesting case study as it represents one of the world’s most deprived regions with a scarce resource base. This resource scarcity should prompt hotels to conserve the environment. However, this resource scarcity may prevent environmental conservation as the limited resources can be spent on other operational tasks. By interviewing senior hotel managers, this study showcases their limited motivation for environmental conservation. The study highlights the role of various stakeholders in encouraging hotels to save the environment. Recommendations are made on policy and management interventions required to incentivize environmental conservation by hoteliers.

What motivates communities to participate in forest conservation? A study of REDD+ pilot sites in Cross River, Nigeria

Market-based forest governance mechanisms such as reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) are implemented in many forests rich countries to conserve biodiversity and mitigate against global climate change. The assumption is that communities will be better motivated to participate in forest conservation if monetary payments are provided to compensate for past efforts or future improvements against pre-defined carbon reference levels. In this paper, I utilized Q methodology to identify discourses of forest values and motivations for forest conservation in selected REDD+ pilot communities in Cross River State, Nigeria. Data from interviews and focus group discussions are also used to support the analysis. The aim is to examine communities' motivations for practicing conservation initiatives and the extent to which such motivations are shaping their participation in the REDD+ program. The analysis uncovers five main discourses namely: forest for survival, forest is beautiful, no pay no care, conservation volunteers, and we care but pay us. I discussed these discourses around three themes: livelihoods dependence, financial incentives, and place attachment and social norms. Results indicate that the reasons why communities practice conservation are complex and subjective, and payment of monetary incentives or lack thereof will not necessarily motivate them to participate in the REDD+ program. I suggest that values such as place attachment, nature connectedness and social norms matter in the success of REDD+ particularly in communities that have long history of practicing voluntary conservation initiatives.

Assessing ecological knowledge, perceived agency, and motivations regarding wildlife and wildlife conservation in Samburu, Kenya

In international wildlife conservation programs, community engagement and incentivization strategies (e.g., wildlife-related employment, tourism income) typically reflect the ecological understandings and motivations of Western conservationists who design them. However, these views may not always be shared by people who live alongside wildlife and are the intended beneficiaries of the incentives. Such misalignments can undermine the effectiveness of conservation efforts to motivate pro-conservation behavior. In Samburu, Kenya, an area with multiple active international conservation programs, we sought to assess local residents' perspectives regarding three factors known to influence pro-environmental behavior: (a) ecological knowledge, including views on wildlife abundance and extinction risk; (b) perceptions of agency regarding wildlife conservation (here defined as the ability of humans to influence wildlife populations); and (c) personal motivations for wildlife conservation. We interviewed 74 residents and evaluated whether their perspectives aligned with the premises and assumptions that underpin the strategies commonly used by international organizations to promote wildlife conservation in the area. We found that concepts of rarity and extinction based on Western-based science were not salient in how residents thought about local wildlife populations. Consistent with core assumptions of Western conservation programs, however, most residents did feel a sense of agency to influence wildlife populations, and reported economic incentives as primary motivations for conservation. We conclude with cautionary notes regarding tacit assumptions made when promoting wildlife conservation in other cultures, and the ethics and potential unintended consequences of ‘motivation crowding’ by powerful exogenous agents.

Transboundary Ecological Conservation, Environmental Value, and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons from the Heart of Borneo

Balancing economic growth with international commitments to environmental sustainability is a global challenge. One of the main objectives of this study is to address this challenge by stimulating and sustaining motivation for environmental conservation by means of a comprehensive rethinking of the values inherent in nature and the limitations of monetary approaches to biodiversity valuation. This is achieved based on a case study of a transboundary ecological conservation project, the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in Borneo Island, covering Kalimantan in Indonesia, Borneo Malaysia comprising the states of Sarawak and Sabah, and Brunei Darussalam. This study synthesizes critical insights into the multiple ranges of life-supporting environmental values embedded in the HoB natural capital to enhance stronger motivations for environmental conservation. The study also reports on evidence gathered from extensive field studies conducted in Borneo Malaysia, confirming the correlations between environmental beliefs in value pluralism, ecological action, and environmental sustainability, and its implications for sustainable resource use and management. The synthesis is expected to serve as practical guidance for sustainable resource and environmental management decision-making, which is conceptually and universally applicable.

Environmental Politics: Grassroots Innovations in Conserving Geopark Environment (Study in Gunung Sewu UNESCO Global Geopark)

Environmental damage is the real threat of natural resources where the economic motives (utility) are often contrary to the conservation motives (protection). However, there are some efforts to reduce the damage. One of them is called bottom-up innovation, which is known as grassroots innovation. This study aims to identify and analyze the innovations emerging from society to preserve the environment in the geopark area, which is used as tourism objects. It is a qualitative descriptive study conducted on Nglanggeran Ancient Volcano Geosite, Pindul Cave Geosite, and Siung Beach Geosite. This study shows that the grassroots innovations are not purely initiated by local communities but by some people who are members of tourism awareness groups or Pokdarwis. The innovations were carried out independently without the help of experts or the government, the innovations were developed by a “trial and error” process, and the innovations are temporary and sometimes only solve the current problems and local scope. Based on the implication, the grassroots innovations can be divided into two categories; direct influence or indirect influence.

Toward moral pathways to motivate wildlife conservation

Endorsing the intrinsic value of nature fosters a moral obligation within humans to support wildlife conservation. Although recent evidence indicates that individuals contribute to conservation based on their moral commitments, empirical studies that evaluate various sources of moral motivation for conservation are rare. Drawing from theories in moral psychology, we developed a moral motivation for conservation model, where beliefs about whether nature is included in one's moral circle (i.e., moral expansiveness to nature), the extent to which morality is central to the self (i.e., moral identity), and empathy for wildlife each predicted support for conservation. We assessed the hypothesized model using data collected from students attending a large public university in the U.S. (n = 1278) and structural equation modeling. Participants who expanded their moral consideration to nature expressed greater support for conservation. Empathy for wildlife increased wildlife conservation support directly and by elevating moral consideration for nature. Also, the extent to which individuals internalized morality as part of their identities raised their support for conservation. Moreover, we classified the participants based on their identification with social groups supportive of hunting and those advocating animal rights. Although those identified with animal rights scored higher on our morality constructs, multigroup comparisons revealed that similar psychological mechanisms drive moral motivations for conservation among hunter and animal rights advocate groups. We discuss our findings in light of the emerging literature in moral psychology and conservation research and suggest pathways to foster conservation.

An analysis of communities’ attitudes towards wetlands and implications for sustainability

Wetlands provide a range of environmental, cultural and economic values, however, despite this they continue to be degraded and destroyed at an alarming rate. As a result, protection and conservation of the remaining wetlands is significant. An understanding on the attitudes of the people living in the peripheral of wetlands is crucial for conservation and management of wetlands. The aim of the study was to analyse communities’ attitudes towards wetlands and the implications for sustainability at Duthuni Village falling under the Vhembe District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Door-to-door surveys were undertaken from 29 July to the end of October 2020 during which interview-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Systematic random sampling was used to obtain a sample of 312 households from the target households of 1 655. Data obtained from questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics and this helped to generate frequencies up to 100% from the responses. The study showed that wetlands play a significant role in the lives of people as sources of water for domestic and irrigation purposes, important areas for fishing, harvesting of plant resources for roofing and handcraft production, crop production and valuable land for grazing purposes. The study revealed that the majority of respondents (98.1%; n = 306) in the study area had positive attitudes towards wetlands and wetlands conservation. Motivation for wetlands conservation tended to be ethical, with 67.6% (n = 211) of local communities willing to donate money for wetlands conservation, and 83% (n = 259) willing to vote for a councillor who promised to protect wetlands. It is concluded that the positive attitude of communities toward wetland conservation offers some hope for sustainable utilisation of wetlands.

Disparity between ecological and political timeframes for species conservation targets

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Aichi Target 12 aimed to prevent species extinctions and improve the conservation status of known threatened species by 2020 but has not been met. As the post-2020 global biodiversity framework is negotiated, it is essential that we learn lessons from past failures. Here, we investigate whether a reduction in extinction risk could realistically be achieved within the ten-year timeframe of the Aichi Targets. We identified threatened bird and mammal species for which a population increase could lead to down-listing on the IUCN Red List and created population models that assumed exponential population growth to predict how long it would take to reach the population size threshold required for down-listing. We found that in the best-case scenario, 39/42 birds (93%) and 12/15 mammals (80%) could be expected to show the population increase required to achieve down-listing by one Red List category within a ten-year timeframe. In contrast, under the worst-case scenario, 67% birds and 40% mammals were predicted to take > 10 years to reach the population threshold. These results indicate a disparity between the ecological timeframes required for species to show a reduction in extinction risk, and the political timeframes over which such ecological change is expected to be achieved and detected. We suggest that quantitative analyses should be used to set realistic milestone targets in the post-2020 framework, and that global indicators should be supplemented with temporally sensitive measures of conservation progress in order to maintain political and societal motivation for species conservation.

Motivational crowding effects in payments for ecosystem services under alternative value frames: Instrumental versus relational values

Nature is perceived and valued in many different ways. Often, the types of values that are the most important to people depend on how they cognitively frame desirable human-nature relations. For instance, the value of nature can be seen through a utilitarian lens, e.g., as providing ecosystem services for humans. Alternatively, it can also be considered valuable for non-instrumental reasons, e.g., for its sacred or spiritual significance. In this paper we use a framed field experiment to test how people belonging to three distinct communities in Colombia (Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and Campesino) respond to different ways of framing payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes, so as to assess potential motivational crowding effects of pro-social/intrinsic motivations for forest conservation. The experimental results indicate that crowding-in of intrinsic motivations for forest conservation occurred in participants from the Indigenous community when the PES scheme was framed in a way that highlighted relational values of the forest. By contrast, motivational crowding-in took place for participants in the framed field experiment from the Campesino community when the PES scheme was introduced in a way that highlighted instrumental values instead. Participants from the Afro-Colombian community did not show evidence of motivational crowding under either framing. Together, these results suggest that PES schemes that are framed in a way that harmonizes with locally salient human-nature relational models and associated values are more likely to cause motivational crowding-in, and thus encourage higher rates of environmental conservation, even after payments are discontinued.

Glenconkeyne: How Ireland’s Largest Native Woodland Became the Timber Yard of the Plantation of Ulster

Glenconkeyne: How Ireland’s Largest Native Woodland Became the Timber Yard of the Plantation of Ulster Gordon D’Arcy (bio) this essay explores the circumstances, particularly the ecological and cultural impacts, resulting from the disappearance of the forest of Glenconkeyne (Figure 1) in central Ulster in the early seventeenth century.1 Research has shown that this exploitation, occurring during the turbulent transition from the Gaelic to the colonial regimes and serving to satisfy the demands of the English “undertakers,” completely eradicated the forest by the mid-seventeenth century. The disappearance of a great forest is much more than the loss of a dramatic landscape feature or of the economic value of its constituent trees as a self-sustaining capital resource and the promise of prosperity. Greater than the sum of its parts: evaluation of the forest’s loss must also consider its vital life-supporting capacity and its hidden layers of human history. Ecologically, forests act as protectorates for flora and fauna, many of which are now endangered or relegated to isolated reserves. Forest biodiversity, especially that of the rain forests, is among the richest known, supporting many species that have unbroken links to primordial beginnings. Forests are thus irreplaceable repositories of living things. Their importance as “super lungs” on which all organisms, including humans, depend is common knowledge and one of the primary motivations for contemporary forest conservation. The removal of a forest also represents radical visual transformation: a [End Page 89] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Glenconkeyne Woodland, c. 1600 [End Page 90] landscape replete with natural form and texture replaced usually by unadorned modification; a tract of wilderness tamed. Culturally a forest constitutes a discrete arboreal archive. Human history, benign and nefarious, is frequently linked to the “wildwood”: a place of mystery, a place of retreat, a refuge for seekers of inspiration and outlaws—animal and human. Unchronicled narratives, in story and song, in place-names and folklore may survive in tantalizing snippets. However, since most of this archive disappears with the forest, a combination of myth and mystery is the common legacy. In the case of Glenconkeyne sufficient factual reportage survives, though scattered through medieval and early modern documents, to elucidate its former grandeur—and what became of it.2 Analysis of tree pollen from cores and the science of dendrochronology tell us that early forest history in Ireland is much like elsewhere in temperate regions. The process of landnam—clearing trees by “ring-barking” for agriculture, then moving on when the growing potential of the soil is exhausted—affected the Irish landscape from as early as six thousand years ago. The evidence is vividly exposed at Céide Fields in County Mayo, where a system of small fields, created by the first farmers, lies beneath a blanket of bog containing pine stumps, some cleared by ax and fire.3 Though fragmentary and peripheral, landnam was the beginning of a process that reflects Ireland’s uninterrupted preoccupation with the pastoral way of life. Although prolonged episodes of population collapse and natural climate change allowed the forest to return, the steady growth of an essentially rural population resulted in the “opening up” of the country by the end of the Bronze Age, some 2,500 years ago. Some upland regions, formerly afforested, were by this time rendered exposed and treeless by overgrazing: the Burren in County Clare, for instance.4 A climatic change resulting in cooler, wetter conditions subsequently thwarted farming and resulted in widespread forest reinvasion.5 The capacity to manufacture robust agricultural equipment from iron during the Celtic period and the establishment of thousands of ringfort homesteads pushed back the tree cover once again.6 Nevertheless, by the early medieval [End Page 91] period large tracts of primary and secondary forest remained, surrounding uplands, in river valleys, and in the largely inaccessible bogs.7 Abundant Old and Middle Irish references make clear that Gaelic culture included an arboreal sensitivity.8 The early Ogham alphabet, shown to be connected to tree names, may also have been an educational device. The Gaelic brehon law of neighborhood (Bretha Comaithchesa) ranks society in accordance with the usefulness and other attributes of trees.9 While a...

Developing farmer typologies to inform conservation outreach in agricultural landscapes

Understanding factors that motivate conservation behavior among farmers is crucial to addressing societal, soil, water, and wildlife conservation goals. Farmers employ soil conservation practices to maintain agricultural productivity while minimizing impacts to water and wildlife in the long-term. The majority of conservation programs are voluntary in nature and some farmers are more willing and/or able to implement conservation practices than others. To inform the development of more effective conservation outreach and incentive programs, we created a farmer typology using data from three waves (2015, 2016, 2018) of a longitudinal survey of 358 farmers from Iowa, a highly productive agricultural state in the U.S. Midwest. Using multivariate analysis (Principal Component Analysis, and Cluster Analysis), we employed 26 summated scale variables measuring largely unobservable and latent constructs related to conservation, including awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and perceived motivations and barriers to practice adoption. Through this analysis, we identified four types of farmers-Conservationist, Deliberative, Productivist, and Traditionalist—based on the salient characteristics of each group. “Conservationist” farmers scored highest on measures of stewardship motivations and identity. “Deliberative” farmers appeared to be favorably disposed toward conservation, but also seem to consider agronomic and economic impediments more than other groups. “Productivist” farmers had the highest scores on profit motivation and emphasis on input use. “Traditionalist” farmers reported being heavily influenced by family members and scored highest on social and regulatory influence on conservation motivations. Detailed understanding of between-groups differences on key conservation-related factors can contribute to developing targeted messages for specific subgroups of a given population, potentially resulting in higher adoption of voluntary conservation programs in Iowa and beyond.

Economic and stochastic efficiency analysis of alternative cover crop systems in Louisiana

SummaryLandowners can engage in voluntary conservation with the help of incentive programs. Recommended conservation practices are selected based on management intentions as well as the contribution of those practices to the overall net returns. However, conservation motives are heterogeneous and based on individual risk behavior. Existing cost-share programs might either under-fund or over-fund conservation, which could lead to inefficient management of natural resources. The current analysis evaluates the economic feasibility of variable cover crop strategies, multiple seeding rates, within a soybean production system in silt loam and clay soils. The study utilizes stochastic efficiency with respect to a function, referred to as SERF, for determining the preferred strategies under various risk preferences. The SERF method accounts for the heterogeneity of individual decision-making with regards to conservation adoption. Results indicate that most risk-averse farmers chose tillage radish with medium seeding rate as their preferred strategy. However, as the risk-bearing capacity of an individual increases, the current level of incentives does not motivate to implement conservation. The most preferred plan for risk-neutral farmers is the fallow system in both silt loam and clay soils. The economic and risk assessment framework can improve understanding of the temporal dynamics of different practices and inform policy on conservation structure that promotes agricultural systems that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.

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.