Barriers to public engagement with biodiversity conservation

Addressing biodiversity loss requires public engagement and action, including changes to individual consumption habits, support for on-the-ground conservation actions, and advocacy for government action and policy change. Conservation organizations are increasingly focused on encouraging probiodiversity attitudes and behaviors through interventions, such as education programs and marketing campaigns. Yet, motivating public audiences to change their behavior or become more active participants in conservation remains a challenge. We used a strategic communication approach to conceptualize barriers to public engagement with conservation and explored how these barriers manifest differently across audiences based on their current level of engagement (e.g., aware vs. active). The psychological, social, and structural barriers discussed are lack of knowledge, misaligned values, low self-efficacy, low personal or social relevance, and limiting structural context. These barriers are recognized across conservation science, behavioral science, and social change literature. Many different communication approaches may be used to overcome these barriers, including raising awareness, working with values, social norming, strategic calls to action, social mobilization, and advocacy. Regardless of the approach, understanding individual behaviors, audience types, and their social context is key to supporting biodiversity conservation actions and positive social change.