Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Perspective
  • Published:

Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science

Nature Human Behaviour volume 5, pages 550–556 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Human activities are degrading ecosystems worldwide, posing existential threats for biodiversity and humankind. Slowing and reversing this degradation will require profound and widespread changes to human behaviour. Behavioural scientists are therefore well placed to contribute intellectual leadership in this area. This Perspective aims to stimulate a marked increase in the amount and breadth of behavioural research addressing this challenge. First, we describe the importance of the biodiversity crisis for human and non-human prosperity and the central role of human behaviour in reversing this decline. Next, we discuss key gaps in our understanding of how to achieve behaviour change for biodiversity conservation and suggest how to identify key behaviour changes and actors capable of improving biodiversity outcomes. Finally, we outline the core components for building a robust evidence base and suggest priority research questions for behavioural scientists to explore in opening a new frontier of behavioural science for the benefit of nature and human wellbeing.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Conversion of Amazon forest to cattle pasture in Brazil.
Fig. 2: Actor classification.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Summary for Policymakers of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services http://rid.unrn.edu.ar/handle/20.500.12049/4223 (IPBES Secretariat, 2019).

  2. Maxwell, S. L., Fuller, R. A., Brooks, T. M. & Watson, J. E. M. Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers. Nature 536, 143–145 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Living Planet Report 2020—Bending the Curve of Biodiversity Loss (WWF, 2020).

  4. Ceballos, G. et al. Accelerated modern human-induced species losses: entering the sixth mass extinction. Sci. Adv. 1, e1400253 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Ceballos, G., Ehrlich, P. R. & Dirzo, R. Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, E6089–E6096 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Tilman, D. et al. Future threats to biodiversity and pathways to their prevention. Nature 546, 73–81 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Partridge, E. Nature as a moral resource. Environ. Ethics 6, 101–130 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Ehrenfeld, D. in Biodiversity (ed. Wilson, E. O.) 212–216 (National Academy Press, 1988).

  9. Taylor, P. W. The ethics of respect for nature. Environ. Ethics 3, 197–218 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Clayton, S. in The Virtues of Sustainability (ed. Kawall, J.) Ch. 1 (Oxford Univ. Press, 2021).

  11. Feinberg, M. & Willer, R. The moral roots of environmental attitudes. Psychol. Sci. 24, 56–62 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kellert, S. R. The Value of Life: Biological Diversity and Human Society (Island Press, 1997).

  13. Bratman, G. N. et al. Nature and mental health: an ecosystem service perspective. Sci. Adv. 5, eaax0903 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Díaz, S. et al. Assessing nature’s contributions to people. Science 359, 270–272 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Gibb, R. et al. Zoonotic host diversity increases in human-dominated ecosystems. Nature 584, 398–402 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Balmford, A., Fisher, B., Mace, G. M., Wilcove, D. S. & Balmford, B. COVID-19: Analogues and lessons for tackling the extinction and climate crises. Curr. Biol. 30, R969–R971 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Dobson, A. P. et al. Ecology and economics for pandemic prevention. Science 369, 379–381 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Allen, T. et al. Global hotspots and correlates of emerging zoonotic diseases. Nat. Commun. 8, 1124 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Morens, D. M., Daszak, P., Markel, H. & Taubenberger, J. K. Pandemic COVID-19 joins history’s pandemic legion. mBio 11, e00812-20 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Wilkinson, D. A., Marshall, J. C., French, N. P., Hayman, D. T. S. & Wilkinson, D. A. Habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss and the risk of novel infectious disease emergence. J. R. Soc. Interface 15, 20180403 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Mallapaty, S. Where did COVID come from? WHO investigation begins but faces challenges. Nature 587, 341–342 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Tilman, D. & Clark, M. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature 515, 518–522 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science 992, 987–992 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. ‘t Sas-Rolfes, M., Challender, D. W. S., Hinsley, A., Veríssimo, D. & Milner-Gulland, E. J. Illegal wildlife trade: scale, processes, and governance. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 44, 201–230 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Dietz, T. Drivers of human stress on the environment in the twenty-first century. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 42, 189–213 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Balmford, A. et al. Capturing the many dimensions of threat: comment on Salafsky et al. Conserv. Biol. 23, 482–487 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Nepstad, D. C., Stickler, C. M. & Almeida, O. T. Globalization of the Amazon soy and beef industries: opportunities for conservation. Conserv. Biol. 20, 1595–1603 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. zu Ermgassen, E. K. H. J. et al. Results from on-the-ground efforts to promote sustainable cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon. Sustainability 10, 1301 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. MacFarlane, D. et al. Reducing demand for overexploited wildlife products: Lessons from systematic reviews from outside conservation science. Preprint at OSF https://osf.io/preprints/8935b/ (2020).

  30. Thomas-Walters, L. et al. Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products. Conserv. Biol. 35, 483–491 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Johnson, C. K. et al. Global shifts in mammalian population trends reveal key predictors of virus spillover risk. Proc. R. Soc. B 287, 20192736 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Avery, M. Inglorious: Conflict in the Uplands (Bloomsbury, 2015).

  33. Cowling, R. M. Let’s get serious about human behavior and conservation. Conserv. Lett. 7, 147–148 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Marselle, M., Turbe, A., Shwartz, A., Bonn, A. & Colléony, A. Addressing behavior in pollinator conservation policies to combat the implementation gap. Conserv. Biol. 35, 610–622 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Saunders, C. D. The emerging field of conservation psychology. Hum. Ecol. Rev. 10, 137–149 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Selinske, M. J. et al. Revisiting the promise of conservation psychology. Conserv. Biol. 32, 1464–1468 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Schultz, P. W. Conservation means behavior. Conserv. Biol. 25, 1080–1083 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Cinner, J. How behavioral science can help conservation. Science 362, 889–891 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Reddy, S. M. W. et al. Advancing conservation by understanding and influencing human behavior. Conserv. Lett. 10, 248–256 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Burgess, G. Powers of persuasion? Conservation communications, behavioural change and reducing demand for illegal wildlife products. TRAFFIC Bull. 28, 65–73 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Kidd, L. R. et al. Messaging matters: A systematic review of the conservation messaging literature. Biol. Conserv. 236, 92–99 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ostrom, E. et al. The Drama of the Commons (National Academy Press, 2002).

  43. Dietz, T., Ostrom, E. & Stern, P. C. The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302, 1907–1912 (2003).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Ostrom, E. Governing the Commons: The evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990).

  45. Stern, P. C., Young, O. R. & Druckman, D. E. Global Environmental Change: Understanding the Human Dimensions (National Academy Press, 1992).

  46. Veríssimo, D. The past, present, and future of using social marketing to conserve biodiversity. Soc. Mar. Q. 25, 3–8 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Veríssimo, D. et al. Does it work for biodiversity? Experiences and challenges in the evaluation of social marketing campaigns. Soc. Mar. Q. 24, 18–34 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Green, K. M., Crawford, B. A., Williamson, K. A. & DeWan, A. A. A meta-analysis of social marketing campaigns to improve global conservation outcomes. Soc. Mar. Q. 25, 69–87 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. DeWan, A., Green, K., Li, X. & Hayden, D. Using social marketing tools to increase fuel-efficient stove adoption for conservation of the golden snub-nosed monkey, Gansu Province, China. Conserv. Evid. 10, 32–36 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  50. McDonald, G. et al. Catalyzing sustainable fisheries management though behavior change interventions. Conserv. Biol. 35, 1176–1189 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Veríssimo, D. & Wan, A. K. Y. Characterizing efforts to reduce consumer demand for wildlife products. Conserv. Biol. 33, 623–633 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Byerly, H. et al. Nudging pro-environmental behavior: evidence and opportunities. Front. Ecol. Environ. 16, 159–168 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. van der Linden, S., Maibach, E. & Leiserowitz, A. Improving public engagement with climate change: five ‘best practice’ insights from psychological science. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 10, 758–763 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Chapman, D. A., Lickel, B. & Markowitz, E. M. Reassessing emotion in climate change communication. Nat. Clim. Chang. 7, 850–852 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Nisa, C. F., Bélanger, J. J., Schumpe, B. M. & Faller, D. G. Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials testing behavioural interventions to promote household action on climate change. Nat. Commun. 10, 4545 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Valkengoed, A. M. Van & Steg, L. Meta-analyses of factors motivating climate change adaptation behaviour. Nat. Clim. Chang. 9, 158–163 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Nielsen, K. S. et al. How psychology can help limit climate change. Am. Psychol. 76, 130–144 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Dessart, F. J., Barreiro-Hurlé, J. & van Bavel, R. Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review. Eur. Rev. Agric. Econ. 46, 417–471 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Palm-Forster, L. H., Ferraro, P. J., Janusch, N., Vossler, C. A. & Messer, K. D. Behavioral and experimental agri-environmental research: methodological challenges, literature gaps, and recommendations. Environ. Resour. Econ. 73, 719–742 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Wallen, K. E. & Kyle, G. T. The efficacy of message frames on recreational boaters’ aquatic invasive species mitigation behavioral intentions. Hum. Dimens. Wildl. 23, 297–312 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Metcalf, A. L., Angle, J. W., Phelan, C. N., Muth, B. A. & Finley, J. C. More ‘bank’ for the buck: microtargeting and normative appeals to increase social marketing efficiency. Soc. Mar. Q. 25, 26–39 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Green, K. M., DeWan, A., Arias, A. B. & Hayden, D. Driving adoption of payments for ecosystem services through social marketing, Veracruz, Mexico. Conserv. Evid. 10, 48–52 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  63. Stern, P. C. & Dietz, T. A broader social science research agenda on sustainability: Nongovernmental influences on climate footprints. Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 60, 101401 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Niemiec, R. M., Sekar, S., Gonzalez, M. & Mertens, A. The influence of message framing on public beliefs and behaviors related to species reintroduction. Biol. Conserv. 248, 108522 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Watts, D. J. Should social science be more solution-oriented?. Nat. Hum. Behav. 1, 0015 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Berkman, E. T. & Wilson, S. M. So useful as a good theory? The practicality crisis in (social) psychological theory. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620969650 (2021).

  67. Giner-Sorolla, R. From crisis of evidence to a ‘crisis’ of relevance? Incentive-based answers for social psychology’s perennial relevance worries. Eur. Rev. Soc. Psychol. 30, 1–38 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Henrich, J., Heine, S. J. & Norenzayan, A. The weirdest people in the world? Behav. Brain Sci. 33, 61–83 (2010).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Rad, M. S., Martingano, A. J. & Ginges, J. Toward a psychology of Homo sapiens: making psychological science more representative of the human population. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 11401–11405 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Ewert, B. Moving beyond the obsession with nudging individual behaviour: towards a broader understanding of behavioural public policy. Public Policy Adm. 35, 337–360 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  71. Bhargava, B. S. & Loewenstein, G. Behavioral economics and public policy 102: beyond nudging. Am. Econ. Rev. 105, 396–401 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Wright, A. J. et al. Competitive outreach in the 21st century: why we need conservation marketing. Ocean Coast. Manag. 115, 41–48 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Veríssimo, D. & McKinley, E. Introducing conservation marketing: why should the devil have all the best tunes? Oryx 50, 14 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Nilsson, D., Fielding, K. & Dean, A. J. Achieving conservation impact by shifting focus from human attitudes to behaviors. Conserv. Biol. 34, 93–102 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Bennett, N. J. et al. Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation. Conserv. Biol. 31, 56–66 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Nelson, K. M., Partelow, S. & Schlüter, A. Nudging tourists to donate for conservation: experimental evidence on soliciting voluntary contributions for coastal management. J. Environ. Manag. 237, 30–43 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Niemiec, R. M., Willer, R., Ardoin, N. M. & Brewer, F. K. Motivating landowners to recruit neighbors for private land conservation. Conserv. Biol. 33, 930–941 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  78. Byerly, H., D’Amato, A. W., Hagenbuch, S. & Fisher, B. Social influence and forest habitat conservation: experimental evidence from Vermont’s maple producers. Conserv. Sci. Pract. 1, e98 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Amel, E., Manning, C., Scott, B. & Koger, S. Beyond the roots of human inaction: fostering collective effort toward ecosystem conservation. Science 279, 275–279 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. Selinske, M. J. et al. Identifying and prioritizing human behaviors that benefit biodiversity. Conserv. Sci. Pr. 2, e249 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Diamond, J. M. in Extinctions (ed. Nitecki, M. H.) 191–246 (Univ. Chicago Press, 1984).

  82. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis (Island Press, 2005).

  83. Wilson, E. O. The Future of Life (Vintage, 2002).

  84. Dukes, J. S. & Mooney, H. A. Does global change increase the success of biological invaders? Trends Ecol. Evol. 14, 135–139 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  85. Smith, S. D. et al. Elevated CO2 increases productivity and invasive species success in an arid ecosystem. Nature 408, 79–82 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  86. Díaz, S. et al. Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Science 366, eaax3100 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  87. Dietz, T., Gardner, G. T., Gilligan, J., Stern, P. C. & Vandenbergh, M. P. Household actions can provide a behavioral wedge to rapidly reduce U.S. carbon emissions. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 18452–18456 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  88. Stern, P. C. Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. J. Soc. Issues 56, 407–424 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  89. Stern, P. C. Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change. Am. Psychol. 66, 303–314 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  90. Nielsen, K. S., Cologna, V., Lange, F., Brick, C. & Stern, P. C. The case for impact-focused environmental psychology. J. Environ. Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101559 (2021).

  91. Nielsen, K. S. et al. Improving climate change mitigation analysis: a framework for examining feasibility. One Earth 3, 325–336 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  92. Vandenbergh, M. P. & Gilligan, J. M. Beyond Politics (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2017).

  93. Selinske, M. J. et al. We have a steak in it: eliciting interventions to reduce beef consumption and its impact on biodiversity. Conserv. Lett. 13, e12721 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  94. Seto, K. C. et al. Carbon lock-in: types, causes, and policy implications. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 41, 425–452 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  95. Marteau, T. M. Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 375, 20160371 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  96. Ogilvie, D. et al. Using natural experimental studies to guide public health action: turning the evidence-based medicine paradigm on its head. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 74, 203–208 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  97. Marteau, T. M., Fletcher, P. C., Hollands, G. J. & Munafo, M. R. in Handbook of Behavior Change (eds. Hagger, M. S. et al.) 193–207 (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

  98. Rutter, H. et al. The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health. Lancet 390, 2602–2604 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  99. Sutherland, W. J., Fleishman, E., Mascia, M. B., Pretty, J. & Rudd, M. A. Methods for collaboratively identifying research priorities and emerging issues in science and policy. Methods Ecol. Evol. 2, 238–247 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  100. Hollands, G. J. et al. The TIPPME intervention typology for changing environments to change behaviour. Nat. Hum. Behav. 1, 0140 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  101. Michie, S. et al. The behavior change technique taxonomy (v1) of 93 hierarchically clustered techniques: Building an international consensus for the reporting of behavior change interventions. Ann. Behav. Med. 46, 81–95 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  102. Liu, J. et al. Framing sustainability in a telecoupled world. Ecol. Soc. 18, 26 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  103. Marteau, T. M., Hollands, G. J. & Fletcher, P. C. Changing human behavior to prevent disease: the importance of targeting automatic processes. Science 337, 1492–1495 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  104. Sumaila, U. R. et al. Updated estimates and analysis of global fisheries subsidies. Mar. Policy 109, 103695 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  105. Bernedo, M., Ferraro, P. J. & Price, M. The persistent impacts of norm-based messaging and their implications for water conservation. J. Consum. Policy 37, 437–452 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  106. Ferraro, P. J. & Price, M. K. Using nonpecuniary strategies to influence behavior: evidence from a large-scale field experiment. Rev. Econ. Stat. 95, 64–73 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  107. Dayer, A. A., Lutter, S. H., Sesser, K. A., Hickey, C. M. & Gardali, T. Private landowner conservation behavior following participation in voluntary incentive programs: recommendations to facilitate behavioral persistence. Conserv. Lett. 11, e12394 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  108. Kelly, R. et al. Ten tips for developing interdisciplinary socio-ecological researchers. SEPR 1, 149–161 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  109. Campbell, L. M. Overcoming obstacles to interdisciplinary research. Conserv. Biol. 19, 574–577 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for funding from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative Collaborative, Fund and Arcadia, RSPB and the Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont. A.B. is supported by a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award. E.E.G. was supported by a NERC studentship (grant number NE/L002507/1). We thank P. C. Stern for helpful discussion and feedback.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Kristian Steensen Nielsen, Richard B. Bradbury, Emma E. Garnett & Andrew Balmford

  2. Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Theresa M. Marteau

  3. Department of Management, Society and Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Jan M. Bauer

  4. Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, Sandy, UK

    Richard B. Bradbury

  5. TRAFFIC, Cambridge, UK

    Steven Broad & Gayle Burgess

  6. Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Mark Burgman

  7. Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Hilary Byerly

  8. Psychology Department, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH, USA

    Susan Clayton

  9. Center for Behavior and the Environment, Rare, Querétaro, México

    Dulce Espelosin

  10. Carey Business School and the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Paul J. Ferraro

  11. Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Brendan Fisher & Taylor H. Ricketts

  12. Environmental Program, Rubinstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Brendan Fisher & Taylor H. Ricketts

  13. Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Emma E. Garnett

  14. College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University, Bangor, UK

    Julia P. G. Jones

  15. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Mark Otieno

  16. Department of Agricultural Resource Management, University of Embu, Embu, Kenya

    Mark Otieno

  17. Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA

    Stephen Polasky

  18. Natural Capital Project, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA

    Stephen Polasky

  19. Tropical Biology Association, Cambridge, UK

    Rosie Trevelyan

  20. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Sander van der Linden

  21. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Diogo Veríssimo

Authors
  1. Kristian Steensen Nielsen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Theresa M. Marteau
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jan M. Bauer
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Richard B. Bradbury
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Steven Broad
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Gayle Burgess
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Mark Burgman
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Hilary Byerly
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Susan Clayton
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Dulce Espelosin
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Paul J. Ferraro
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Brendan Fisher
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Emma E. Garnett
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Julia P. G. Jones
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Mark Otieno
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Stephen Polasky
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Taylor H. Ricketts
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Rosie Trevelyan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Sander van der Linden
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Diogo Veríssimo
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Andrew Balmford
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization of the research. K.S.N., T.M.M. and A.B. wrote the manuscript. The other contributing authors (J.M.B., R.B.B., S.B., G.B., M.B., H.B., S.C., D.E., P.J.F., B.F., E.E.G., J.P.G.J., M.O., S.P., T.H.R., R.T., S.v.d.L. and D.V.) provided critical comments and revisions. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristian Steensen Nielsen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Peer review information Nature Human Behaviour thanks Rebecca Niemiec, Philip Seddon and Matthew Selinske for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nielsen, K.S., Marteau, T.M., Bauer, J.M. et al. Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science. Nat Hum Behav 5, 550–556 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01109-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01109-5

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing