The most urgent environmental challenges of our time have one thing in common, to solve them, people must start behaving differently. There is increasing recognition that human behavior is key to addressing the world’s most critical development and environmental challenges. And as such, conservationists must leverage the growing body of behavioral sciences to design efforts with that research at their cores.

For decades, the norm in conservation has been to rely on three key approaches: information sharing, regulation, and economic incentives. Yet each faces challenges in the conservation space. Regulations, even well-designed, can be difficult to enforce; Economic incentives can be powerful, but they are often applied in over-simplified ways, producing unintended consequences. Simply providing new facts and information rarely leads to desired environmental outcomes. On their own, these approaches form an incomplete toolkit for addressing global conservation challenges.

Thanks to new insights in behavioral science, there is a growing suite of strategies that can advance the field. An emerging body of research has shown that emotions play a critical role in our decision-making. Advances in evolutionary biology show that people are inherently social animals and that ‘self-interest’ is more complex than once assumed. Under the right conditions, we excel at cooperation, we seek reciprocity, and we act based on social cues. To get people to change, we need to design solutions that meet people where they are and use the power of emotional appeals, social incentives, and choice architecture as expertly as we apply financial incentives or regulatory frameworks.

Solutions designed with behavioral science at the core (e.g. behavior-centered design, BCD) must become the norm in the conservation field. If behavior is the source of the problem, it must also be central to the solution. Therefore, BCD is as relevant for those working with remote communities on fisheries or agriculture as it is for policymakers as it is for zoos and museums engaging the public in conservation.

In an effort to make nature a part of all people’s lives, thereby creating increased support and action for conservation globally, the #NatureForAll initiative was formally launched at the 2016 WCC. It was based on the concept that the more people experience and connect with nature emotionally, the more support and action there will be for conservation. This has since been detailed in the report, Home to Us All: How Connecting with Nature Helps Us Care for Ourselves and the Earth, which shares evidence that people’s relationship with nature profoundly influences their behaviors toward the Earth.

We want to build on this momentum by providing inclusive platforms that leverage behavioral science and drive sustainable behaviors, whether they be targeted at the general public, local communities, businesses or policymakers. Many of the co-sponsors already engage in relevant efforts (e.g. www.rare.org/center; www.letitgrow.eu/about/; www.waza.site-ym.com/page/Naturerecipients; www.chesterzoo.org/what-you-can-do/campaigns/; www.amnh.org/explore/science-topics/climate-change/climate-change-the-multiplier-effect) and a coordinated approach has the potential to influence societal change at the scale needed to tackle the environmental challenges we now face.

Sources: Bacon & Krpan 2018; Bhanot, S.P. 2018; Byerly, H. et al. 2018; Green, K.M. et al. 2019.

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums [United States of America]
• Bristol Clifton and West of England Zoological Society [United Kingdom]
• British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums [United Kingdom]
• Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums/ Aquariums et zoos accrédité du Canada [Canada]
• Canadian Museum of Nature [Canada]
• Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History - New York [United States of America]
• Conservation International [United States of America]
• Endangered Wildlife Trust [South Africa]
• European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians [Belgium]
• European Association of Zoos and Aquaria [The Netherlands]
• Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo A.C. [Mexico]
• Instituto de Montaña-Asociación Instituto Andino de Montaña [Peru]
• National Geographic Society [United States of America]
• Nederlandse Vereniging van Dierentuinen [The Netherlands]
• North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo) [United Kingdom]
• South African Association for Marine Biological Research [South Africa]
• Twycross Zoo, East Midland Zoological Society [United Kingdom]
• Verband der Zoologischen Gaerten (VdZ) [Germany]
• Wildlife Conservation Society [United States of America]
• World Association of Zoos and Aquariums [Spain]
• Zoo Leipzig GmbH [Germany]
• Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz e.V. [Germany]
• Zoologisk Have København [Denmark]
• Zoos Victoria [Australia]