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Nature‐based tourism has a unique opportunity, and arguably responsibility, to promote widespread action on climate change. However, research suggests an aversion to providing information that might appear divisive or 'ruin' peoples day, particularly in places that are vulnerable to degradation.We explore how exposure to climate change information in vulnerable nature settings influences indicators of (i) the visitor experience and (ii) climate change engagement. Using a quasi‐experimental approach, we provided climate information on tourist boats operating on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and compared visitor experiences with a control condition where climate information was not provided. Visitor surveys (n = 656) assessed perceptions and experiences.Overall, visitors on trips where climate information was provided were more likely to report that the reef experience exceeded their expectations and did not report any reduction in subjective trip satisfaction.However, we detected minimal effects of climate information on indicators of climate engagement (threat awareness, action awareness, or information seeking), suggesting room for improvement in interpretation approach and design. Indeed, visitors reported high levels of acceptability for incorporating more information about climate change, particularly about actions.Synthesis and applications: These results suggest that providing climate information does not undermine visitor experiences and while further research is required to determine the most effective approach for influencing climate change engagement, an appetite for more information exists. It is possible that what tourism operators are fearful of, may be an opportunity to improve outcomes aligned with both industry and environmental objectives. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engagement in biodiversity citizen science initiatives can confer health and wellbeing benefits to individuals and communities. Yet, few biodiversity citizen science initiatives are explicitly planned to optimize health and wellbeing as a potential co-benefit, leading to missed opportunities for biodiversity conservation and human health. In this perspective, we use a dose-response approach to discuss the components that determine how engagement in biodiversity citizen science initiatives map onto opportunities to foster health and wellbeing benefits. We considered aspects related to the duration and frequency of contact with nature, and the intensity of interactions with nature and between individuals to highlight the different health benefits across the variety of citizen science initiatives. To illustrate these aspects, we use a sample of 95 citizen science initiatives from seven English and non-English-speaking countries and show how careful project design can increase the potential to confer health and wellbeing benefits to participants. We conclude with considerations on how to enhance the health and wellbeing benefits from citizen science initiatives, and propose potential research avenues to assess synergies and trade-offs between benefits to biodiversity and human health from these initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening community engagement in stewardship can help to improve management of coastal and freshwater environments (blue spaces). Research suggests that recreational users of natural areas may be more willing to engage in stewardship. However, little research at a population scale has examine how recreation experiences shape psychological ingredients for stewardship.We surveyed 3271 residents of South East Queensland, Australia and quantified willingness to engage in blue space stewardship. We then quantified frequency of different types of blue space recreation, perceptions about threats to blue spaces (threat appraisal) and protective actions (coping appraisal), and satisfaction with blue spaces. We then examined pathways from recreation to stewardship intentions using mediation analysis.Results show that many types of recreation were associated with stewardship intentions. Specifically, higher frequency of social activities and nature‐appreciation activities were associated with greater intentions for individual stewardship (e.g. picking up litter, reducing use of household chemicals). Higher frequency of social activities, nature appreciation, exercise and fishing/boating was associated with stronger intentions for collective stewardship (e.g. attending a public meeting or riparian management event)Mediation analysis showed that most forms of recreation did not influence perceptions about severity of threats to blue spaces. Rather, the relationships between recreation and stewardship were mediated by greater place satisfaction, perceived vulnerability to blue space degradation, and feeling more able to contribute to waterway protection (efficacy).These findings indicate that many types of recreation (not just nature appreciation activities) can be a foundation for engaging in nature stewardship, and reinforce the importance of building efficacy when promoting stewardship. The finding that both place satisfaction and perceived vulnerability to environmental degradation suggests that there may be an optimal motivational window for stewardship: people need to connect a place with positive experiences, and have some recognition of a potential threat, but where the potential threat has not yet eroded the natural values of a place. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community mobilisation is essential to prevent further biodiversity loss and protect the natural environment. This includes engaging in public- and private-sphere behaviours, and community support of relevant government policies. This purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the factors associated with public- and private-sphere nature conservation behaviour and policy support. We utilised data from a survey of 4,048 Australians, representative for age, gender, and geographic location, which measured engagement in nature conservation behaviours and support for diverse conservation policies. Hierarchical Multiple Regressions were conducted to assess relationships between behaviour and policy support with the key independent variables of awareness (of biodiversity issues), connection (to nature), and concern (about biodiversity issues), and socio-demographic covariates. Overall, community support for nature conservation policies was high, not just for incentive measures but for regulations and penalties. Regression models explained 22.9% of the variance in public-sphere behaviour, 30.2% of the variance in private-sphere behaviour, and 43.5% of the variance in policy support. Concern made one of the strongest contributions for all outcomes, and was substantially stronger for policy support compared to behaviour. Awareness and connection also made independent contributions to all outcomes. Socio-demographic variables explained a smaller proportion of unique variance for policy support (1.0%) compared to behaviour (public-sphere: 9.6%, private-sphere: 6.3%). Notably, for public-sphere behaviour, younger age explained almost as much variance as concern. Implications for practitioners and policymakers seeking to engage the general population in conservation support are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of conservation management, many orangutan populations are on the brink of extinction. This is primarily due to habitat loss and direct killings. A study from 2008/2009 suggested that killing was impacting orangutan populations at a rate sufficient to cause local extinctions. As an illegal and taboo behavior that is difficult to measure, killing has been severely understudied since. We conducted 431 interviews in 79 villages across Kalimantan in 2020/2021. Ours is the first quantitative field study in more than 10 years to assess the state of killing of orangutans. We aimed to: (1) assess the current state of killing of orangutans in Kalimantan and compare this to the previous study; (2) determine whether conservation projects are affecting killing; and (3) explore drivers of killing. We examined killing of orangutans across villages with forest conservation projects, orangutan conservation projects, and no conservation projects. We assessed the existence of killing and used scenarios to examine perceived norms about illegal behavior relating to orangutans. We then used matching techniques to assess whether projects have any impact on these indicators. Overall, our findings suggest that killing has occurred in recent times, and our data does not indicate a clear attenuation of the behavior. As such, we argue that killing may still present a substantial threat to Bornean orangutan populations. We also found no statistically significant evidence that conservation projects are reducing killing. Conservation project managers could seek to understand the drivers of killing, and to invest in interventions that address these drivers. Research suggests that current allocation of conservation funding has been ineffective at abating orangutan population decline. We argue that a key part of improving Bornean orangutan conservation practice involves directly addressing killing of orangutans and the underlying drivers of killing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy instruments—such as regulation, financial incentives, and agricultural extension—are commonly applied by governments to promote sustainable agricultural practices and tackle ecosystem degradation. Despite substantial investment, little data are available to gauge the impact of evolving policy mixes. We constructed a Bayesian network model to explore relationships between policy instruments, contextual factors, and adoption. Applying a series of scenarios, we present examples of how different instruments influence adoption and how their effectiveness is shaped by contextual factors. Scenarios highlight that the effect of policy instruments is often modest, and constrained by diverse practice and population characteristics. These findings allow us to reflect on the role of policy instruments, and the conditions necessary to support practice change. For example, our findings raise questions about the role of financial benefits versus financial capacity, and highlight the potential importance of concepts such as mental bandwidth in shaping both motivation and capacity to adopt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water management increasingly focuses on tackling stormwater pollution to improve waterway health. Community members have a role in adopting pollution-reduction practices and supporting technologies such as water sensitive urban design. However, because communities are unfamiliar with these practices and technologies, little is known about how they make sense of these 'water sensitive innovations'. Drawing on Diffusion of Innovations theory, we conduct focus groups across different regions of Australia. Our findings indicate that key barriers to adoption included poor understanding of the relative advantage of these practices and technologies, and perceived poor compatibility with community members' lifestyle and local geography. In turn, appraisals of relative advantage were constrained by limited observability of stormwater pollution and the benefits that innovations generate for people and the environment. Our findings suggest engagement strategies should emphasize the relevance and advantages of water sensitive innovations, and help individuals visualize the intangible elements of stormwater pollution management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's biodiversity is facing a crisis due to factors such as habitat destruction, invasive species, disruption of Indigenous practices, and climate change. This has led to high extinction rates and significant implications for the economy, human health, and culture. To address this issue, the Biodiversity Council has been established, consisting of experts from various fields, including Indigenous knowledge. The Council aims to promote biodiversity conservation by enhancing public understanding, shaping public discourse, raising awareness of threats, and holding agencies accountable. They work in a politically neutral manner and collaborate with government officials, ecologists, First Peoples groups, and conservation practitioners to amplify their expertise and encourage action. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Forest restoration has been proposed as a scalable nature-based solution to achieve global environmental and socio-economic outcomes and is central to many policy initiatives, such as the Bonn Challenge. Restored forests contain appreciable biodiversity, improve habitat connectivity and sequester carbon. Incentive mechanisms (e.g. payments for ecosystem services and allocation of management rights) have been a focus of forest restoration efforts for decades. Yet, there is still little understanding of their role in promoting restoration success. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate how incentive mechanisms are used to promote forest restoration, outcomes, and the biophysical and socio-economic factors that influence implementation and program success. We found that socio-economic factors, such as governance, monitoring systems and the experience and beliefs of participants, dominate whether or not an incentive mechanism is successful. We found that approximately half of the studies report both positive ecological and socio-economic outcomes. However, reported adverse outcomes were more commonly socio-economic than ecological. Our results reveal that achieving forest restoration at a sufficient scale to meet international commitments will require stronger assessment and management of socio-economic factors that enable or constrain the success of incentive mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural soundscapes experienced in parks are increasingly recognised as a valuable ecosystem service, yet urban parks soundscapes also commonly contain anthropogenic noise.While studies show bird calls can promote psychological restoration, the factors that might influence actual experiences of these sounds by individuals in urban parks are less clear. Equally, continual exposure to anthropogenic noise, such as vehicle traffic, is associated with negative health outcomes, but determinants influencing negative experiences of such sounds within a park soundscape are poorly understood.To address this gap we used an ex situ survey of over 4000 Australian residents and examined a range of spatial and social factors in influencing perceptions towards noticing and pleasantness of bird sounds and traffic noise within urban parks.The results indicate older age, recent park use, and valuing parks for uses such as exercising, socialising and to hear nature, were positively associated with pleasant bird sound experiences in parks. For traffic sounds, we found indicators of disadvantage, such as renting a home were associated with a higher likelihood of unpleasant experiences of traffic noise within parks. Notably, individuals using parks for social activities were still positively associated with pleasant bird sound experiences and less likely to perceive traffic sounds as unpleasant. Conversely, whilst those with greater nature‐relatedness had a strong positive association with pleasant bird sound experiences, they were more likely to perceive traffic as unpleasant.Overall, these findings suggest that whilst many types of park users can potentially experience the beneficial effects from bird sounds, the detrimental effects of traffic noise may constrain these benefits in certain social groups, particularly those of greater socio‐economic disadvantage. We discuss strategies to promote greater equity of therapeutic experiences of bird sounds in parks, whilst outlining traffic mitigation measures within urban parks. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing human behaviour and social systems are key to reversing the global biodiversity crisis. Pro‐environmental behaviour is guided by values and connection with nature, but because they have mostly been studied separately, the interplay between values and nature connection in influencing pro‐environmental behaviour remains unclear.In particular, it is uncertain whether people who hold anthropocentric values have a less positive connection with nature than those who hold ecocentric values, and whether nature protection behaviours differ between people with different values or strengths of connection to nature.We used a stratified survey of 2100 respondents across Australia to measure orientation towards nature. We created segments based on individual values and connection with nature and characterised each segment based on demographics, nature‐exposure, pro‐environmental behaviours, support for environmental policies and political alignment.We discovered that a quarter of respondents had anthropocentric values alongside a strong connection with nature. Moreover, of those with a strong connection with nature, people with anthropocentric values more frequently undertook certain pro‐environmental behaviours than those with ecocentric values.Our findings indicate that the strong expression of pro‐environmental behaviour is not limited to people with ecocentric values. Rather, people with different values and strengths of connection to nature engage in different types of impactful nature protection behaviours, challenging stereotypes about those with anthropocentric values.These results further suggest that behavioural intervention strategies could be tailored to reach sectors of society with various combinations of values and strengths of connection to nature, thus maximising the expression of pro‐environmental behaviour across the entire population. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity crisis poses a real and present global threat to humanity. The acceleration of species and ecosystem decline coupled with climate change suggests that as it stands, nature cannot absorb the pressure humanity is placing on the planet. Bold new approaches to biodiversity conservation are needed.Promoting an engaged community is an important part of achieving conservation outcomes. Research shows that citizen science has the potential to elicit conservation engagement. However, research has not specifically explored how intensive citizen science expedition programs contribute to change.Here we use transformative learning theory as a tool to investigate how participation in citizen science programs influences conservation engagement. We analysed evaluation surveys of Earthwatch Institute citizen science participants (N = 608) and conducted in‐depth interviews (N = 11), to examine the links between citizen science experiences and engagement outcomes.We discovered that while nature‐based components of citizen science programs attract participants and create a salient environment for transformation, these are not objectively associated with engagement outcomes. Strengthened awareness was associated with learning, social interactions and cultural experiences, whereas intentions to engage in conservation action was only influenced by experiencing a sense of contribution.Rather than focusing only on learning and nature experiences, our results suggest that the elements of citizen science programs which support social change may require allowing participants to develop a sense of contribution amid an interactive social environment. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of a conservation scientist has never been more challenging. Amidst the rapid degradation occurring across Earth's natural ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, conservation scientists must learn new and effective ways to build trust and engage with the wider community. Here, we discuss the potential utility of a particular communication technique, Nonviolent Communication (also known as Compassionate Communication or Collaborative Communication), in conservation science. Nonviolent Communication is a structured form of communication, developed in the 1960s by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, that seeks to foster interpersonal understanding and connection through communication of judgment‐free observations, recognition of people's feelings, needs and values, and requests for specific actions to meet those needs. It has delivered positive outcomes in diverse fields such as prisoner reform, health science, and social work, and holds great promise for conservation applications. While there is no single communication strategy that resonates with all people, we argue that Nonviolent Communication could be used by conservation scientists and practitioners when communicating with colleagues, politicians, and the general public about important and sometimes contentious environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peri-urban areas, defined as the region between urban and rural settlements, are heterogeneous, dynamic regions experiencing rapid land use change in cities around the world. Ongoing development and land use change has resulted in the fragmentation, degradation and loss of natural assets, threatening biodiversity, and ecosystems within the peri-urban region. With much of this land privately owned, the actions of landholders have considerable opportunity to deliver environmental outcomes, yet an understanding of this diverse group of landholders is challenging. Through a survey of landholders (N = 184) in Australian peri-urban regions we sought to understand motivations and barriers to engagement in environmental management. Factors influencing willingness to engage in environmental management included perceived personal capacity to act, feeling that actions were helpful, and community participation. We discuss how engagement strategies could incorporate these findings by focussing on improving capacity and environmental knowledge with hands on, face-to-face extension activities, encouraging simple actions, and fostering greater community interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how private landholders make deforestation decisions is of paramount importance for conservation. Behavioural frameworks from the social sciences have a lot to offer researchers and practitioners, yet these insights remain underutilised in describing what drives landholders' deforestation intentions under important political, social, and management contexts. Using survey data of private landholders in Queensland, Australia, we compare the ability of two popular behavioural models to predict future deforestation intentions, and propose a more integrated behavioural model of deforestation intentions. We found that the integrated model outperformed other models, revealing the importance of threat perceptions, attitudes, and social norms for predicting landholders' deforestation intentions. Social capital, policy uncertainty, and years of experience are important contextual moderators of these psychological factors. We conclude with recommendations for promoting behaviour change in this deforestation hotspot and highlight how others can adopt similar approaches to illuminate more proximate drivers of environmental behaviours in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positive influence of urban green spaces on human health and well‐being is well known while the pathways are little understood. Past research has largely focused on visual stimuli, yet the auditory pathway is also an important means for contact with nature.The sonic environments of urban green spaces, however, are rarely entirely natural and many differ in their composition of natural sounds and anthropogenic noise. Few studies have investigated how these differences may impact the restorative potential of these soundscapes and, in particular, how the presence of traffic noise may constrain the benefits of natural sounds.To address this gap, we examined differences in the perceived restorativeness and perceived restorative outcomes across a gradient of eight park soundscapes that differed in bird and traffic sounds. In a laboratory setting, 162 participants listened to sound samples and reported on perceptions of the soundscapes and restorative potential and outcomes.The results strongly indicate that park soundscapes with a rich array of perceived bird sounds and minimal perceived traffic noise offer the greatest perceived restoration. Traffic noise was found to moderate the positive effect of bird sounds. The duration of time lived in the city and noise sensitivity were also positively associated with greater perceived restorative benefits while noise‐sensitive people were also more negatively affected by traffic noise.The promotion of highly natural soundscapes in urban green spaces and the reduction of traffic noise can provide nature‐based solutions to human health and well‐being in urban areas. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global food supply has substantial impacts on nature including environmental degradation from chemicals, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss through agricultural land conversion. Over the past decade, public demand for information on sustainable consumption choices has increased. Meanwhile, development and expansion of the life cycle assessment literature has improved scientific evidence on supply chain impacts on the environment. However, data gaps and biases lead to uncertainty and undermine development of effective impact mitigation actions or behavior change policies. This study evaluates whether scientific research into the nature-related impacts of agri-food systems aligns with the needs of the public, as indicated by patterns of information seeking. We compare the relative volume of public Google queries to scientific articles related to agri-food systems and three major impacts: chemical pollution, greenhouse gas emissions or biodiversity loss. We discover that biodiversity is systematically overlooked in scientific studies on agri-food system impacts in favor of research on emissions and to a lesser extent chemical impacts. In contrast, total relative volumes of public queries on agri-food systems and biodiversity equal those for emissions impacts at global and Australian scales. Public interest in biodiversity impacts of agri-food systems increased significantly between 2009 and 2019, despite no significant change in the relative volume of biodiversity-focused scientific articles. Global public attention on chemical impacts declined significantly over this time period, with no significant change in the relative representation of this topic in scientific outputs. We recommend strategic investment into the biodiversity impacts of agri-food systems to build a knowledge base that allows the public to learn about the impacts of their choices and be inspired to change to more sustainable behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is the most significant threat to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). While Australians express appreciation and concern for the GBR, it is not clear whether they connect climate‐related action with reef conservation. An online survey of 4,285 Australians asked "...what types of actions could people like you do that would be helpful for the GBR?" Only 4.1% mentioned a specific action related to mitigating climate change; another 3.8% mentioned climate change but no specific action. The most common responses related to reducing plastic pollution (25.6%). These findings demonstrate that most Australians have poor capacity to identify individual climate‐related actions as helpful for reef protection, and that generic calls to action—such as "protect the reef"—are unlikely to elicit climate‐related actions. As such, reef conservation initiatives must explicitly promote actions—in the home and in society—that reduce emissions and support the transition to a low carbon society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary private land conservation (PLC) is becoming an increasingly important complement to state protected areas around the world. PLC programs can serve as valuable strategies to increase biodiversity on agricultural lands, but their effectiveness depends on high participation rates. Amidst growing concerns regarding scalability and effectiveness of conservation strategies like national parks, researchers and practitioners are looking for new strategies to increase adoption of PLC. This study investigates the demographic, social, and psychological factors associated with participation in three classes of voluntary PLC programs—grant payments, land management agreements, and covenants—and how this relates to landholders' attitudes toward tree clearing. We compare participation rates between these programs in Queensland and identify the most frequently cited reasons why land managers have or have not participated. Land managers who are more involved in agricultural organizations and whose tree clearing decisions are more influenced by the aesthetic value of trees are more likely to have participated in one or more of these programs. Participation was highly biased toward once-off grant payments, and participation in covenants was lowest of all programs. Although 58% of land managers have never participated, nearly half expressed interest in one or more programs. A lack of program knowledge and perceived losses of autonomy were the most frequently cited barriers to participation. We conclude with recommendations for increasing participation rates and raise important questions that need to be answered in order to promote a PLC culture that effectively curbs ongoing habitat degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Behavioral spillover theory has potential for promoting meaningful behavior change. Spillover occurs when engagement in environmental behaviors affects the adoption of other environmental behaviors. By testing a new experimental model of spillover, this article is the first to concurrently investigate three predicted mechanisms of spillover—self-identity, self-efficacy, and contribution ethic—on different types of environmental behavior. The experimental spillover model examined how triggering self-perceptions (i.e., self-identity, self-efficacy, and contribution ethic) may influence the likelihood of spillover to occur from engagement in household behaviors to intentions for other environmental behaviors. Triggering self-identity was associated with increased private- and public-sphere intentions. Contrary to expectations, contribution ethic was not associated with decreased intentions, and instead was associated with increased public-sphere intentions. Self-efficacy did not uniquely influence intentions. These findings demonstrate that everyday behaviors can provide an "entry point" for other behaviors, strengthening self-perceptions and generating positive spillover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly believed that nature experiences lead to increased concern for nature, and ultimately, the expression of conservation behaviours. Captive and non-captive ecotourism experiences with charismatic megafauna have been associated with conservation support. However, there is little research examining experiences with non-mammalian wildlife, or familiar species in domestic settings. We conducted interviews (N = 427) at two ecotourism destinations in Australia (a conservation-focused zoological park and a rainforest national park), to determine whether these experiences are associated with conservation engagement and if so, the pathways through which these might operate. Interviews identified the elements of experience (site, duration, animal encounter, educational shows, and interpretive signs), the subjective aspects of their experience (positive and negative emotions, learning, connection, reflection), and engagement in conservation (environmental intentions, policy support and signing a conservation-focused pledge). Regression analyses examined the relationship between elements of experience and conservation engagement, while controlling for demographics and nature-relatedness. Participating in non-captive bird feeding at the rainforest site was associated with greater support for conservation policies, whereas visiting the zoological park was associated with greater intention to seek and share conservation information. Mediation analysis demonstrated that both of these relationships were mediated by feeling upset about environmental problems, indicating a role for negative emotions alongside ecotourism experiences in prompting conservation engagement. No element of the experience was associated with signing the pledge, highlighting the challenges of eliciting behaviour change. Overall, these findings suggest that different types of ecotourism experiences may generate different types of conservation engagement, and that that associated negative emotions about the plight of species can foster stronger engagement in conservation issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form an internationally-agreed agenda for development, and include a dedicated goal for water and sanitation (SDG 6). Yet, the presentation of the SDGs potentially invites appraisal and response ‘goal-by-goal’- to the possible neglect of the mutual influences between them.We applied a systems approach to understand the interrelationships in an Australian context. While there are multiple potential ‘readings’ of these interrelationships, our approach is intended to initiate debate around the SDG commitments. We found the SDGs for global partnerships (SDG 17) and climate action (SDG 13) are enabling influences for the other goals, and the SDG for health (SDG 3) is influenced by all the other goals. Within SDG 6, we found that integrated water resources management target (SDG 6.5) is key to achieving the other targets. Inter-sectoral collaboration by government agencies will be essential to progress achievement of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As approaches to water management begin to encompass broader social and environmental goals, new technical terms have entered the field of water management. Effective communication across professional disciplines, and with community stakeholders, is essential for sustainable urban water management. However, use of technical terminology has the potential to undermine effectiveness of communication. We surveyed professionals and community members to examine these issues. Findings indicate that water-related technical terms may not be well understood by the community. Professionals most likely to overestimate community understanding were influenced by their own understanding rather than experience with communities. For communities, individuals with poor topic knowledge or low education were less likely to seek information about terms, highlighting the importance of reducing reliance on technical terms when collaborating with diverse stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited resources for the in-depth processing of external stimuli make it necessary to select only relevant information from our surroundings and to ignore irrelevant stimuli. Attentional mechanisms facilitate this selection via top-down modulation of stimulus representations in the brain. Previous research has indicated that acetylcholine (ACh) modulates this influence of attention on stimulus processing. However, the role of muscarinic receptors as well as the specific mechanism of cholinergic modulation remains unclear. Here we investigated the influence of ACh on feature-based, top-down control of stimulus processing via muscarinic receptors by using a contingent capture paradigm which specifically tests attentional shifts toward uninformative cue stimuli which display one of the target defining features In a double-blind, placebo controlled study we measured the impact of the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine on behavioral and electrophysiological measures of contingent attentional capture. The results demonstrated all the signs of functional contingent capture, i.e., attentional shifts toward cued locations reflected in increased amplitudes of N1 and N2Pc components, under placebo conditions. However, scopolamine did not affect behavioral or electrophysiological measures of contingent capture. Instead, scopolamine reduced the amplitude of the distractor-evoked Pd component which has recently been associated with active suppression of irrelevant distractor information. The findings suggest a general cholinergic modulation of top-down control during distractor processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable approaches to water management require broad community acceptance of changes in policy, practice and technology, which in turn, requires an engaged community. A critical first step in building an engaged community is to identify community knowledge about water management, an issue rarely examined in research. To address this, we surveyed a representative sample of Australian adults (n = 5172). Knowledge was assessed using 15 questions about impact of household activities on waterways, the urban water cycle, and water management. This survey also examined demographics, psychosocial characteristics, exposure to water-related information, and water-related behaviors and policy support. Participants correctly answered a mean of 8.0 questions (Range 0–15). Most respondents knew that household actions can reduce water use and influence waterway health, whereas less than one third correctly identified that domestic wastewater is treated prior to entering waterways, urban stormwater is not treated, and that these are carried via different pipes. Higher water knowledge was associated with older age, higher education and living in non-urban areas. Poorer water knowledge was associated with speaking a language other than English in the home. Garden size, experience of water restrictions, satisfaction, waterway use for swimming, and certain information sources were also associated with knowledge. Greater water knowledge was associated with adoption of water-saving and pollution-reduction behaviors, and support for both alternative water sources and raingardens. These findings confirm the importance of community knowledge, and identify potential subgroups who may require additional targeting to build knowledge and support for water management initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become an increasingly polarizing issue in the United States and across the globe, a divide reflected in the sustainable behaviors of liberals and conservatives. Previous studies have investigated the psychological underpinnings of this polarization in the sustainability domain; however, findings have been fragmented across disciplines. The current work aims to integrate and synthesize academic research at the intersection of political ideology and sustainable behavior to propose a framework that explains polarized responses to climate change. This framework, represented by the acronym BREAK, suggests that several key factors can shed light on the underlying causes of the division regarding climate change. These factors include Balance, Reactance, Essence of the problem, Adherence to ingroup norms, and Knowledge. The author also employs this framework to propose strategies for reducing climate change polarization and outline potential avenues for future research. Overall, this review can help policy makers, practitioners, and academics in their endeavors to increase sustainable behavior across the political spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poaching crisis facing Africa's white rhinoceros is one of the continent's most pressing conservation challenges. The controversial proposal to legalize the international trade in rhino horn as a solution has led to a polarized conservation community. While a legal trade in rhino horn has been explored from an economic perspective, stakeholder values are yet to be adequately considered in addressing the issue. Exploring the role of stakeholder values in the rhino horn trade debate is crucial, as divergent stakeholder values and attitudes influence policy support and acceptability, creating conflict over appropriate management interventions. Using a survey of 285 participants, we show that people with stronger animal welfare values are less supportive of a legal rhino horn trade policy. We also demonstrate that people with stronger animal welfare values are less influenced by information provision, and that biospheric and altruistic value orientations do not significantly influence support for this policy. Our findings highlight the importance of considering stakeholder values when developing conservation actions, particularly concerning discussions about controversial policy actions. These findings can be extended beyond the illegal wildlife trade crisis to other challenges affecting iconic wildlife, such as trophy hunting, other sustainable use initiatives and invasive species management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water issues have become complex and interconnected with many factors and sectors, making them too large to be handled by one single institution. Water problems can no longer be resolved solely by water professionals, the water science they provide is essential to resolve the water crisis, but the effectiveness of the solutions depends on the capability of the scientists to provide new, logical and practical visions to improve water systems, governance and communication. As part of Integrated Water Resource Management and Public Participation the current research aimed to address the knowledge gap that exists between the General Public and the Scientists by using applied theater, particularly empatheater to improve how scientific information is communicated. R-Studio was used to evaluate the effectiveness applying theater to communicate and educate the community on water resource management. Results revealed that using art to convey science is an effective environmental communication tool highly recommended by the participants to promote public participation in the rehabilitation of the Kaalspruit River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community engagement and stewardship are important elements in urban water planning if we are to achieve the vision of water sensitive cities. The aim of this study was to explore how community members could participate in collaborative water planning processes that are adaptive, participatory and transdisciplinary. We conducted a case study of community participation in a water planning process in the regional town of Bendigo in Australia. Over a period of eight months, we worked with key stakeholders to generate integrated, collaborative and people-centred water planning. This involved a series of community champion workshops supplemented by focus groups with additional community members that ran alongside workshops with water and local planning professionals. The goal of the process was to bring together industry, government partners and community members to develop a 50-year vision for a water sensitive Bendigo and to identify the steps needed to achieve this vision. Key findings were that community champions were keen to learn and contribute to urban water planning in their local context. Given time and support, community champions were able to distil complex ideas and make compromises to contribute to a shared vision for the city. Our findings confirm that community champions can play the role of knowledge brokers between water managers and the general population. The research contributes knowledge regarding the value of engaging community champions in urban water planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments and policymakers play a crucial role in promoting consumer behaviors to mitigate climate change. The research on environmental policies over the past decades has not significantly increased knowledge regarding how effectively these policies help consumers embrace pro-environmental behaviors. Using the motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework, this systematic review reveals that regulatory policies that constrain opportunities are more likely to promote pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, economic policy instruments that facilitate opportunities are also more likely to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Despite being more commonly employed, informational policy instruments are less effective than regulatory and economic instruments. Although informational policy instruments that target opportunities instead of motivations and abilities can result in better outcomes, behavior change remains a challenge. This systematic review is significant because it clarifies mixed results in the literature regarding the effectiveness of environmental policies in promoting pro-environmental behaviors. Accordingly, a framework of MOA-based policy mix is proposed to help policymakers develop effective instruments that stimulate pro-environmental behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By researching traditional experiences of adaptations for natural disasters, especially regarding the cultural landscape in the Kone and Ha Thanh rivers of the Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam, this article explores the cultural behavior of people who prevented and adapted to floods and disasters. The value of cultural behavior for the natural environment and social awareness and community organization for flood adaptation have been demonstrated through practical applications of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the local community. The acknowledgment of values and behaviors in the cultural landscape will bring both opportunities and challenges for the organization of architectural spaces and landscapes that could enhance cultural identity while contributing to strategic planning for flood adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public administrators rely on written communications to send information to citizens and stakeholders, and they are among the heaviest users of the postal service. Behavioral science research has identified several techniques that public administrators can use to increase compliance with written requests and, in turn, increase effectiveness. Currently, however, many written communications from government bodies are not written in a manner that utilizes these techniques. It remains an ongoing challenge for public administrators to identify, understand, and use these techniques in the written communications sent by their organizations. This article presents a framework capturing seven prominent techniques in a simple mnemonic—INSPIRE—that is already being used by several government bodies in Australia. It also provides practical examples of how to use each technique and demonstrates that using these techniques could result in large aggregate improvements in effectiveness and socially desirable outcomes of public administrators' written communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports time-trend changes in self-reported mental health problems, smoking, and alcohol habits among Finnish adolescents over a 16-year period using three cross-sectional studies with similar designs, methodologies, and geographical recruitment areas. There were 4508 participants with a mean age of 14.4 years (range 13-18) in 1998 (n = 1449), 2008 (n = 1560), and 2014 (n = 1499). The information they provided on their mental health was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and they were also asked questions about their alcohol and smoking habits. The findings showed that from 1998 to 2014 females reported less hyperactivity and conduct problems and males reported fewer peer problems and better prosocial skills. The only mental health problem that showed a significant increase was emotional symptoms among females. Smoking and alcohol use consistently decreased in males and females during the 16-year period. Our findings suggest that overall adolescent’s self-reported mental health problems were either stable or falling, indicating increased well-being. The decreased smoking indicates that anti-smoking campaigns have been successfully changing teenagers’ attitudes towards smoking. The important finding is that self-reported emotional symptoms had increased in females. This may indicate an increase or earlier onset of affective disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]