Pathways to Promoting Stewardship

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Pathways to Promoting Stewardship

The Pathways to Promoting Stewardship project established an evidence-based framework for prioritising community actions to protect biodiversity. By quantifying both the environmental impact and the likelihood of public uptake for various behaviours, the project provides a strategic roadmap for designing more effective conservation campaigns.

About this project

This project addressed the lack of clarity regarding which community conservation actions should be prioritised to meet national biodiversity targets. It focused on moving beyond general awareness to identify the specific on-ground, civic, and household behaviours that offer the “biggest bang for buck” for the environment. The research provides a toolkit for environmental managers to select actions that are both ecologically significant and socially feasible.

Our approach

The research team developed a custom Impact-Likelihood Matrix through a two-stage process. First, over 100 conservation experts used “best-worst scaling” to rank 28 different actions based on their perceived environmental impact. Second, a large-scale community survey of 3,200 people quantified the effort and willingness associated with each behaviour. This dual-lens approach allows managers to differentiate between “high-impact” actions that require significant support and “easy-win” actions that can be adopted quickly.

Goals/key achievements

Key outcomes identified were:
  • Behaviour Prioritisation: Identified that voting for the environment and land restoration are the highest-impact actions according to experts.
  • Impact-Likelihood Matrix: Created a visual framework to help policy-makers target specific social-ecological settings with tailored interventions.
  • Social Barrier Identification: Mapped the specific psychological and logistical barriers that prevent people from moving from “intent” to “action”.
  • Strategic Roadmap: Delivered a final report for the NSW Environmental Trust that outlines how to increase national participation in biodiversity conservation by 25%.

Status

Completed (2023).
The project was completed in September 2023. The final prioritisation framework and behavioural data have been delivered to the NSW Environmental Trust to inform future biodiversity grant programs and state-wide community engagement strategies.

Project Partners

Understanding People and Nature

Research That Makes a Difference

We explore how people connect with the environment from urban green spaces to ocean reefs, and develop strategies to promote conservation stewardship and meaningful engagement with the natural world. Through citizen science, community partnerships, and innovative communication strategies, we’re working to strengthen the connections between people and nature for lasting conservation impact.