Local Backlash Against INGOs? How Heterogeneous Interests Condition the Effects of Conservation Advocacy Campaigns

Many international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) run advocacy campaigns in the Global South to reduce the demand for threatened species. However, existing research documents that INGOs often face strong backlash in local areas. This paper uses an experimental analysis of pangolin (scaly anteater) conservation advocacy in Vietnam to evaluate how INGO advocacy campaigns interact with the heterogeneous interests of the local public. The results show that individual interests—in relation to nature and traditional medicine—condition the effects of conservation advocacy, highlighting the importance of matching a specific audience with an effective advocacy message. The findings suggest that INGO campaigns may be particularly prone to local backlash when information sources are foreign, but the disadvantage can be compensated by an effective framing strategy.