Valuing Nature Conservation: Approaches and Theories from the Social Sciences

“Nature deficit disorder”, a term coined by Louv in 2005, is a serious condition, however, without professional medical acknowledgement. It describes the state in which children as well as adults do not know or care... [ view full abstract ]

“Nature deficit disorder”, a term coined by Louv in 2005, is a serious condition, however, without professional medical acknowledgement. It describes the state in which children as well as adults do not know or care anymore where, for example, milk, cheese, eggs and chicken wings come from. Nature deficit disorder also goes beyond the awareness of food production and the impact it has on nature. It can lead to a lack of understanding about how ecosystems function and, more importantly, insecurity about whether or how they should be ‘managed’. One way of approaching this ‘disorder’ is through nature education, indoors as well as outdoors, and good communication. But how can that be done effectively, publicly and by whom?

In recent years, it became obvious that inter-disciplinary approaches, can play an important role “to raise awareness and motivate people from all walks of life to embrace nature and its values, to facilitate opportunities for all to experience and connect with nature, and to create transformational moments that become pathways to lifelong personal connections and commitments to conservation action” as stated by IUCN in their ‘Nature for All’ report (2016). Nature education and communication is one of the most important tools to combat ongoing biodiversity loss, but it is increasingly difficult to grasp the attention of millions of media savvy people about a cause that does not appear to impact their everyday lives - yet. Furthermore, environmental issues have to compete in the media with “real problems” such as finding work, health, terrorism and human rights issues.

This presentation draws on existing studies and theories from the social sciences in order to help understand what makes people not only aware, but engage more with environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss and wildlife conservation.  These are predominantly from social psychology, in particular environmental and consumer psychology, linguistics, and educational studies. Besides giving an overview of existing evidence-based approaches, e.g. ‘storytelling’ and nature education from a young age onwards, this presentation discusses the responsibility of educators as well as the role of NGOs and concludes with suggestions regarding how to ensure that society values and understands the need to take action for nature conservation.