Understanding social issues in conservation

A big part of conservation science is understanding why people act the way they do, the decisions they make, and how policies or interventions can change their behaviour. Economics, politics, social psychology, and education theory therefore all have a huge amount to contribute. In the Conservation@Bangor group, we welcome those from any disciplinary background who want to understand issues surrounding the threats, and possible responses to those threats, to biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Our current research includes investigating the role that education programmes have in influencing people’s knowledge about and attitudes towards conservation (in Snowdonia National Park, Madagascar and central America, the process by which scientific knowledge of ecosystem services feeds into environmental management decisions (in Morecame Bay and Essex Marshes in the UK), the costs and benefits of conservation from the perspective of local people (in Madagascar and Wales).