CEENRG: Understanding the barriers and enablers to overcoming the attitude-behaviour gap in conservation action and policy

Speaker: Arjun Kamdar, PhD Researcher, Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG), Department of Land Economy & El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy, University of Cambridge

Abstract: Biodiversity conservation is fundamentally about human behaviour. A persistent challenge is that attitudes toward conservation frequently fail to translate into behaviour. This attitude–behaviour gap (ABG) remains relatively understudied in conservation practice and policy. This study explores how experienced conservation academics and practitioners interpret the ABG and the proposed strategies to overcome it, also illustrating how they can be operationalised at individual and structural levels. Individual-level barriers include methodological difficulties in measuring attitudes accurately and social, cognitive, and political constraints. Organisational barriers include limited behavioural evidence and capacity, institutional inertia, and donor-driven metrics. Proposed solutions centre on choosing trusted messengers, building sustained academic-practitioner relationships, and targeting values and identity as levers of change. This paper underscores the need for transdisciplinary, behaviourally-informed approaches in conservation.

There is no need to register if you plan to attend the seminar in person. However, if you would like to join the seminar online via Zoom, please register via the link. Upon registering your interest in this form, you will receive an e-mail with the Zoom meeting link ON THE DAY OF THE SEMINAR. Entering your name and organisational affiliation is optional. Your details will only be used to send you the Zoom meeting link and will not be shared with any external parties.

Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG) series