Biological Conservation

Abstract

Despite building a clear and compelling message about the importance of conserving biodiversity and what we risk in depleting it, meaningful engagement from implicated stakeholders remains limited. Past studies have examined the gap between the possession of environmental knowledge and displaying behavior that would help to conserve it. Essentially, increasing awareness and interest in environmental issues does not ensure that individuals will make the necessary changes in behaviours detrimental to biological conservation. This is a concern as failure to meaningfully engage the public into acting on conservation strategies will hamper efforts to curb biodiversity loss. Herein the authors investigate why action to address biodiversity loss has been slow or deficient in many jurisdictions. The authors draw from models and theories developed in health and social sciences to provide context to the key factors that prevent action and propose steps that could be taken to stimulate it.