Meta-analysis of human connection to nature and proenvironmental behavior

Eliciting diverse perspectives to prioritize community actions for biodiversity conservation

Communities have a strong role in protecting biodiversity. In addition to participation in restoration, a range of actions in the public or private sphere may support biodiversity. Despite this, there is a lack of clarity about what actions should be prioritized for behavior change campaigns. We developed and applied a method to prioritize community actions for biodiversity conservation that incorporates an expert-based assessment of impact and a community-informed measure of the likelihood of uptake. In stage 1, experts (n = 143) completed a survey that quantified the relative impact of actions based on best-worst scaling of perceived impact. In stage 2, surveyed community members (n = 3200) ranked the likelihood of adopting actions based on the ease or difficulty of performing each action, and the opportunity for change based on the proportion of respondents not yet engaging in each behavior. Experts gave the following actions the highest ranking for impact: voting for the environment (first), participating in restoration in ecological priority areas (second), and purchasing and protecting remnant bushland (third). When considering the disciplinary background and institutional background of experts, voting and participating in restoration activities remained in the upper ranked options. However, there was some divergence between these groups. For example, reducing beef consumption was ranked third by university-based experts but ranked 28th by experts based in state government. Overall, community members ranked the following behaviors as most likely to be adopted: following quarantine laws (first), reducing plastic use (second), and managing pets (third). Top likelihood ranking of actions was minimally affected by community characteristics (nature relatedness, gender, location). Integrating these findings, the action ranked most favorably for impact, likelihood, and opportunity was participating in restoration. Choosing actions for behavior change campaigns requires consideration of the entire social-ecological system-from social factors that enable or constrain adoption to the ecological impact of actions across relevant social and ecological contexts.

Impacts of ecosystem service message framing and dynamic social norms on public support for tropical forest restoration

The effectiveness of strategic psychology-based marketing techniques for increasing public support for conservation is poorly understood. We assessed how such techniques affect support for tropical rainforest restoration with a controlled online experiment with 1166 nationally representative residents of the United Kingdom. We tested whether support increased when adding ecosystem service (ES) framings to typical nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) biodiversity-focused messages that emphasize benefits to UK residents or people living near the tropical restoration site and a dynamic social norm nudge that emphasized increasing popularity of environmental restoration. We considered how respondents' psychological traits (nature connection, self-efficacy, psychological benefits of supporting charities, awareness of environmental degradation in the Global South, and climate change skepticism) influenced responses. Outcomes included respondents' reported advertisement sufficiency, sympathetic attitudes, behavioral support, and financial support. The study population typically found advertisements sufficient and exhibited sympathetic attitudes and financial, but not behavioral, support. Younger people exhibited greater conservation support than older respondents. Messages framed solely on biodiversity conservation were as effective as those highlighting additional ES benefits received by UK residents and people near the tropical restoration site. This suggests that framing around ESs, rather than nature's intrinsic value, may not strengthen public support for conservation. The dynamic social norm nudge had perverse effects. It reduced perceived social norms and most outcome variables. Alternative dynamic norm nudges warrant testing, but our results support research suggesting dynamic norm nudges can be ineffective when associated with activism, challenging their use by conservation NGOs. Psychological benefits of supporting charities and perceived self-efficacy increased support for advertisements, highlighting the benefits of including impact statements relating respondents' support to specific outcomes. Climate change skepticism decreased support, whereas nature connection and perceived static social norms increased it, highlighting the need to increase nature connection and pro-environmental social norms to elevate public support for conservation.

Embodied earth kinship: interoceptive awareness and relational attachment personal factors predict nature connectedness in a structural model of nature connection

Previous research has found that nature connectedness, an experiential close connection to nature with cognitive, affective and physical benefits, profoundly impacts individual wellbeing and subsequently increases pro-environmental behaviors. However, little is known about the personal and contextual factors that predict nature connectedness. Testing theory derived from a qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis study, this research addresses the lacuna in the literature. A structural equation model analysis finds that interoceptive awareness significantly predicts nature connection, that secure attachment to nature significantly explains this relationship, and that these inter-related constructs predict both pro-environmental behavior and wellbeing. This revised model of nature connection indicates important antecedents for the human-nature bond, illuminating in particular that the interpersonal relational processes foundational for close bonding with humans also occur in bonding with nature. Structural equation modeling indicates that emotional awareness is the dimension of interoceptive awareness that most significantly predicts nature connection, suggesting that the more aware a person is of the connection between inner bodily sensations and emotions, the more likely they can bond with nature. Given that interoceptive awareness indicates a coherent relationship with the self, including effective communication between body, mind and feelings, this process is therefore implicated in the capacity for humans to bond with nature. In sum, this present research points to the efficacy of an embodied, secure attachment with nature to help close both the human-nature disconnection chasm, and the environmental value-action gap. Theoretical and methodological implications for research and policy are discussed.

A framework for understanding the human experience of nature through cognitive mapping

Human behavior is a key driver of the biodiversity crisis, and addressing it requires changing individual choices and actions. Yet, the same processes that imperil biodiversity (e.g., urbanization) also alienate people from the experience of nature, eroding care for the natural world. Although averting this extinction of experience is increasingly recognized as a major contemporary conservation challenge, understanding of what constitutes nature experience remains elusive and few empirical studies have explored it directly. Most researchers have used nature interactions as a stand-in for experience, even though experience extends beyond interactions. We aimed to determine what constitutes the experience of nature and to propose a holistic, empirically derived framework that incorporates the multiple dimensions and components of the experience of nature. Using a mixed-method approach across 3 countries (the United States, Switzerland, and Israel), we conducted a multistage, conceptual content, cognitive mapping (3CM) exercise with 106 participants. This methodology included developing a prompt to capture participants' perceptions of nature experiences and subsequently refining and organizing their input into distinct components and underlying dimensions through an iterative engagement process. Beyond multisensory interactions with nature, experience of nature consisted of 2 dimensions: the circumstances in which interactions occur and the internal responses that encompass various cognitive, affective, and restorative benefits associated with nature interactions. These 3 dimensions had 33 components that occurred consistently across participants in the 3 countries. Frequently mentioned components included seeing animals, landscapes, or scenery; lack of human influence; weather conditions; relaxing, recharging; feeling good; and awe for nature. Fear and nature experienced at home were the least mentioned components. Together, our results showed that nature experience is a combination of nature interactions, circumstances, and internal responses. The emphasized components underscore the significance of offering access to extensive, less human-influenced natural spaces. This in turn can foster a profound nature experience, cultivating feelings of connectedness and care for nature.

Nature-based social prescribing programmes: opportunities, challenges, and facilitators for implementation

BACKGROUND

Evidence on the health benefits of spending time in nature has highlighted the importance of provision of blue and green spaces where people live. The potential for health benefits offered by nature exposure, however, extends beyond health promotion to health treatment. Social prescribing links people with health or social care needs to community-based, non-clinical health and social care interventions to improve health and wellbeing. Nature-based social prescribing (NBSP) is a variant that uses the health-promoting benefits of activities carried out in natural environments, such as gardening and walking. Much current NBSP practice has been developed in the UK, and there is increasing global interest in its implementation. This requires interventions to be adapted for different contexts, considering the needs of populations and the structure of healthcare systems.

METHODS

This paper presents results from an expert group participatory workshop involving 29 practitioners, researchers, and policymakers from the UK and Germany's health and environmental sectors. Using the UK and Germany, two countries with different healthcare systems and in different developmental stages of NBSP practice, as case studies, we analysed opportunities, challenges, and facilitators for the development and implementation of NBSP.

RESULTS

We identified five overarching themes for developing, implementing, and evaluating NBSP: Capacity Building; Accessibility and Acceptability; Networks and Collaborations; Standardised Implementation and Evaluation; and Sustainability. We also discuss key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each overarching theme to understand how they could be developed to support NBSP implementation.

CONCLUSIONS

NBSP could offer significant public health benefits using available blue and green spaces. We offer guidance on how NBSP implementation, from wider policy support to the design and evaluation of individual programmes, could be adapted to different contexts. This research could help inform the development and evaluation of NBSP programmes to support planetary health from local and global scales.

Nature is resource, playground, and gift: What artificial intelligence reveals about human-Nature relationships

This paper demonstrates how artificial-intelligence language analysis can inform understanding of human-nature relationships and other social phenomena. We demonstrate three techniques by investigating relationships within the popular word2vec word embedding, which is trained on a sample from over 50,000 worldwide news sources. Our first technique investigates what theory-generated analogies are most similar to nature:people. The resource:user analogy is most similar, followed by the playground:child and gift:receiver analogies. Our second technique explores whether nature-related words are affiliated with words that denote race, class, or gender. Nature words tend slightly toward associations with femininity and wealth. Our third technique demonstrates how the relationship between nature and wellbeing compares to other concepts' relationships to wellbeing-e.g., spirituality-wellbeing, social relations-wellbeing. Nature is more semantically connected to wellbeing than money, social relations, and multiple other wellbeing correlates. Findings are consistent with previous social science and humanities research on human-nature relationships, but do not duplicate them exactly; our results thus offer insight into dominant trends and prevalence of associations. Our analysis also offers a model for using word embeddings to investigate a wide variety of topics.

Nature relatedness, flow experience, and environmental behaviors in nature-based leisure activities

Introduction

Through nature-based leisure activities, spending time in nature offers opportunities to reduce stress, relax the mind, and enhance feelings of well-being. Being aware of the benefits provided by these activities increases the nature relatedness, and during the time spent in nature, it enables experiencing positive and satisfying moments by entering into a state of flow. The concepts of nature-relatedness and flow experience represent psychological experiences and characteristics that play an important role in enhancing psychological well-being and life quality.

Methods

Based on structural equation models, the relationships among nature-relatedness, flow experience, and environmental behaviors were investigated. Data were collected from 379 individuals (212 male, 167 female) who regularly engage in nature-based leisure activities such as cycling, hiking, and fishing. The participants were predominantly male (55.9%) and aged 45  years and over (53.3%).

Results

The nature-relatedness significantly influences flow experience (R 2 = 0.505, p < 0.01), environmental behavior (R 2 = 0.108, p < 0.01), environmental sensitivity (R 2 = 0.137, p < 0.01), and communication with nature (R 2 = 0.200, p < 0.01). Specifically, nature-relatedness directly enhanced environmental sensitivity (0.494 total effect), environmental behavior (0.604 total effect), and communication with nature (0.599 total effect) and did so both directly and indirectly through the mediation of flow experience.

Discussion

A higher level of nature-relatedness can lead to a stronger flow experience, which in turn can increase positive. environmental behavior, environmental sensitivity, and communication with nature.

Human-object interaction, connectedness with nature, and life satisfaction: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between interactions with everyday objects (e.g., stationery, clothing, and tools) and one's connectedness with nature, environmentally conscious behavior, and life satisfaction. While previous research has predominantly explored the link between awareness of and behavior toward nature with direct education and experience related to the natural environment, we focused on the origins of the objects that surround us, which are inherently derived from nature.

Methods

We conducted an online survey with 1,102 Japanese participants, who completed an object-interaction measure assessing the two dimensions of care and learning, and measures of connectedness with nature, pro-environmental behavior, and life satisfaction.

Results

Interactions with everyday objects involving care and learning were significantly associated with a sense of connectedness with nature, pro-environmental behavior, and life satisfaction.

Discussion

The study highlights that interactions with everyday artifacts are not isolated experiences but are related to broader awareness of and behavior toward the natural world, and with individual life satisfaction. Hence, environmental awareness and actions can extend beyond direct environmental experiences and encompass daily interactions with objects. Future research could examine how cultural factors shape the relationship between human-object interactions, connection with nature, environmentally conscious behavior, and life satisfaction.

Trait emotional intelligence and ecological outcomes: the role of connectedness to nature

BACKGROUND

Global climate change is recognized as a major and irreversible challenge for humanity, requiring people's responsible and sustainable behaviors toward the environment. So far, the literature has widely investigated the role of cognitive determinants of ecological outcomes (e.g., pro-environmental behaviors and climate change perception), while less attention has been devoted to emotional processes, such as trait emotional intelligence (TEI). The current double study investigates whether TEI is directly and indirectly associated with climate change perception (CCP, Study 1) and pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs, Study 2) among young adults. Furthermore, the mediating role of connectedness to nature (CN), both as cognitive and emotional factors, was also analyzed. We hypothesized that CN (i.e., cognitive mediator) would positively mediate the relationship between TEI and CCP (H1), and Love and Care for Nature (LCN, i.e., emotional mediator) would positively mediate the relationship between TEI and PEBs (H2).

METHODS

The study involved 342 young adults (F = 60.7%; age 19-40; Mage=22.99; SD = 2.66) in Study 1 and 365 young adults (F = 71.2%; age 17-35; Mage=22.2; SD = 3.98) in Study 2. Data were collected through an online tool shared by the snowball method. We administered the following self-reports: Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire- Short Form (TEIQue- SF), Global Climate Change (GCC), and Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) (Study 1); Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire- Short Form (TEIQue-SF), General Environmental Behaviors Scale (GEB), and Love and Care for Nature (LCN) (Study 2).

RESULTS

Findings from Study 1 showed that higher TEI levels enhance CN (i.e., cognitive mediator), positively influencing CCP (estimate = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.07 to 0.23). Findings from Study 2 showed that higher TEI levels are associated with higher LCN levels (i.e., emotional mediator), influencing people's engagement in PEBs (estimate = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.03 to 0.11).

CONCLUSION

It is crucial to design environmental education programs that promote greater emotional intelligence ability and encourage individuals' involvement in ecological outcomes.

3 Months without the car in Bielefeld, Germany- a mixed-method study exploring individual motivation to participate in a municipal intervention

BACKGROUND

Climate change is a major public health issue worldwide. To achieve climate targets and reduce morbidity, a paradigm shift in individual behavior e.g., in mobility, is needed. Municipal interventions can motivate individuals to engage in climate-friendly behavior through different psychological mechanisms. In order for successful interventions, it is necessary to gain better insight from study participants and their reasons for participating in mobility projects (e.g., motivational aspects).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A mixed-methods design was used to evaluate reasons and characteristics of people for participating in an municipal mobility intervention. The quantitative sub-study assesses socioeconomic characteristics, environmental awareness and perceived stress. The qualitative sub-study explores motivation for participation and change, perspectives on car replacement and reasons for car use.

RESULTS

Results show that participants (n = 42) are rather high educated and show medium environmental awareness. Participants of the qualitative study part (n = 15) were motiviated to reduce car use already before the intervention and used the intervention as starting point or trial phase.

CONCLUSIONS

Urban intervention projects with fitted recruitment strategies and better insights from study participants with the aim to motivate individuals to engage in climate-friendly behavior can help to strengthen sustainability and public health.

Pro-environmental behavior, personality and emotional intelligence in adolescents: a systematic review

Introduction

Human behavior significantly contributes to environmental problems, making the study of pro-environmental behavior an important task for psychology. In this context, it is crucial to understand the pro-environmental behavior of adolescents, as young people play a fundamental role in facilitating long-term changes in environmental consciousness and encouraging decision-makers to take action. However, little is currently known about the pro-environmental behavior of adolescents. Recently, there has been growing interest in examining the influence of personality traits and emotional intelligence on pro-environmental behavior.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review to enhance our understanding of adolescent pro-environmental behavior. Thus, this systematic review was designed to enhance understanding of adolescent's pro-environmental behavior by summarizing existing evidence on how it relates to personality and emotional intelligence.

Results

Our findings suggest associations between specific personality traits and dimensions of emotional intelligence with adolescent pro-environmental behavior, aligning with similar studies conducted on adults.

Discussion

While our findings offer valuable insights, further research is needed to establish causality and deepen our understanding of the interplay between multiple variables influencing pro-environmental behavior among adolescents.

Systematic review registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023387836], identifier [CRD42023387836].

A meta-analysis of the effect of visiting zoos and aquariums on visitors' conservation knowledge, beliefs, and behavior

Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity globally and many deliver interventions that seek to influence visitors' beliefs and behaviors with respect to conservation. However, despite primary studies evaluating the effect of such interventions, the overall effect of engaging with zoos and the factors that influence this effect remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effect of zoo-led interventions on knowledge, beliefs (attitudes, intentions, self-efficacy, and social norms), and behavior among zoo visitors. These outcomes were identified using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens. We identified and described the nature of zoo-led interventions in 56 studies and used the behavior change technique (BCT) taxonomy to identify 6 specific BCTs used in interventions to date. Multilevel meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive effect of engaging with zoo-led interventions on outcomes (d+  = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.28-0.51). Specifically, visitors were more knowledgeable about conservation issues, held more favorable attitudes toward conservation, and reported being more likely to act for the benefit of biodiversity. No evidence of publication bias was present. Effect sizes were, however, heterogeneous and subgroup analyses revealed that the nature of the intervention or type of outcome did not explain this variance. Larger effects were, however, found in studies conducted at a single institution relative to research at multiple institutions and studies that used within-participant designs relative to between-participant designs. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how behavior change frameworks can be used to describe zoo-led interventions and supports the assertion that zoos and aquariums can promote changes in beliefs and behaviors that may help protect biodiversity.

Agency in the Anthropocene: education for planetary health

Collective action is essential to address planetary health as current and future environmental challenges are socioecological and require coordinated, informed, and sustained action from all societal sectors. Education that engages intergenerational communities is a crucial means of building collective action as it provides opportunities to develop an informed citizenry capable of making the necessary decisions to work towards planetary health. Schools are valuable sites of community learning and action, and will benefit from a new orientation towards and commitment to educator training, curriculum development, and youth agency. This orientation is supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment's (PISA) 2025 Science Framework, which measures the competence (skills and knowledge) of 15-year-old students. This Personal View describes a new concept, Agency in the Anthropocene, a contributing element of the 2025 Science Framework that defines the way science education could develop agency and hope in this era of socioecological challenges that are impacting planetary health.

The relationship between the aspects of connectedness and sustainable consumption

Internal transformative qualities are essential contributing factors to sustainable behavior. Besides awareness, insight, purpose, and agency, connectedness is one of those inner qualities. In this study, we investigated the relationship between connectedness to oneself (self-love), towards the environment (connectedness to nature), towards other human beings (pro-socialness), and sustainable behavior towards clothes and food. One hundred thirty-nine mostly students participated. The results showed that self-love, connectedness to nature, and pro-socialness correlate. Sustainability behavior towards food was predicted by pro-socialness, the choice of diet, and environmental and ethical reasons for nutrition. Sustainable behavior towards clothes was predicted by connectedness to nature. This study hints that the factors of inner transformative qualities and the type of sustainable behavior must be investigated differently. It strengthens the multi-facet dimensions of sustainable behavior.

Honesty-humility predicts humanitarian prosocial behavior via social connectedness: A parallel mediation examining connectedness to community, nation, humanity, and nature

Abundant psychological research demonstrates bivariate relationships between individual prosocial propensity, intrinsic connectedness to various social domains, and the enactment of prosocial behavior. More recently, "connectedness" has been positioned as a necessary domain-specific motivator for enacting prosocial propensity in relevant domains of concern. Our study offers novel contributions to this theory by examining the role of connectedness in driving prosocial behavior within a humanitarian domain in which behavior is enacted in the interest of the global community. Additionally, our research uniquely considers connectedness to multiple social domains concurrently, in order to disentangle any covariance that may be impacting research findings. A parallel mediation model with four mediators (connectedness to community, nation, humanity, and nature) was applied to better understand the effect of prosocial propensity (honesty-humility) on humanitarian prosocial behavior. The cross-sectional survey was completed by 715 Australian adults, and support was found for mediation via each of the mediators. Specifically, connectedness to community, to humanity, and to nature each positively affected the relationship between prosocial propensity and prosocial behavior, with the largest effect via connectedness to humanity. Contrastingly, connectedness to nation negatively mediated this relationship, despite being positively correlated with these constructs. These findings highlight the individual difference underpinnings of humanitarian prosocial behaviors and the role of connection to relevant domains in behavior actualization. Fostering connectedness to humanity remains desirable to promote global prosocial outcomes, with future research needed on the interplay between these related levels of connectedness and between connectedness to one's nation and global humanitarian engagement.

The relationships among nature connectedness, climate anxiety, climate action, climate knowledge, and mental health

Introduction

Climate change is a source of global concern that has both direct and general impacts on mental health. A recent study conducted following severe bushfires in Australia demonstrated relationships among nature connectedness, climate action, climate worry, and mental health; for example, nature connectedness was associated with climate worry, which in turn was associated with psychological distress.

Methods

The present study sought to replicate those findings while building on them in two important ways: on those findings in two ways: first, test similar relationships in a different geographical context that has been mostly spared from direct impacts by acute climate events; second, we take into consideration an additional factor, climate knowledge, which has been linked to relevant factors such as climate anxiety.

Results

The results of a survey completed by 327 adults revealed a similar relationship between nature connectedness and climate anxiety, and between that and psychological distress. Further mirroring those previous findings, nature connectedness was associated with both individual and collective climate action, but the relationships between them and psychological distress differed.

Discussion

The proposed model was a better fit to the collected data among those with high levels of climate change knowledge than those with low levels, suggesting that such knowledge influences how the above factors relate to each other.

Nature-based biopsychosocial resilience: An integrative theoretical framework for research on nature and health

Nature-based solutions including urban forests and wetlands can help communities cope better with climate change and other environmental stressors by enhancing social-ecological resilience. Natural ecosystems, settings, elements and affordances can also help individuals become more personally resilient to a variety of stressors, although the mechanisms underpinning individual-level nature-based resilience, and their relations to social-ecological resilience, are not well articulated. We propose 'nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory' (NBRT) to address these gaps. Our framework begins by suggesting that individual-level resilience can refer to both: a) a person's set of adaptive resources; and b) the processes by which these resources are deployed. Drawing on existing nature-health perspectives, we argue that nature contact can support individuals build and maintain biological, psychological, and social (i.e. biopsychosocial) resilience-related resources. Together with nature-based social-ecological resilience, these biopsychosocial resilience resources can: i) reduce the risk of various stressors (preventive resilience); ii) enhance adaptive reactions to stressful circumstances (response resilience), and/or iii) facilitate more rapid and/or complete recovery from stress (recovery resilience). Reference to these three resilience processes supports integration across more familiar pathways involving harm reduction, capacity building, and restoration. Evidence in support of the theory, potential interventions to promote nature-based biopsychosocial resilience, and issues that require further consideration are discussed.

Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context

Environmental issues are at the center of the political and cultural debate, representing one of the greatest challenges of our century. Sustainability and pro-environmental conducts are recognized as increasingly urgent to address the decay of ecosystems. To support the acquisition of attitudes that give greater consideration to environmental issues, experiencing a sense of connection with nature has been acknowledged in psychology as a particularly relevant individual component. Among the most commonly used scales in Anglo-Saxon context to analyses this feeling is the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) assessing the emotional and experiential bond between humans and nature. To examine the reliability and validity of this scale in the Italian context, a study including 271 Italian adults (44,3% female; 55% males; Mean age = 34.70; SD = 13.584; age-range = 18-65 years) was conducted to establish evidence supporting the internal consistency of the CNS, as well as its ability to measure convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that CNS in Italian has a single-factor structure as reported in the original version by Mayer and Frantz. Furthermore, as expected, positive correlations were observed between the CNS and pro-environmental attitudes and negative correlations with civic moral disengagement. Finally, as assumed, the CNS positively correlated with mental well-being. A broad vision of this study concerns the idea that individuals who have a stronger connection with nature are likely to exhibit reduced tendencies to cause harm to it.

The Association of Classic Serotonergic Psychedelic Use and Intention of Future Use with Nature Relatedness

This study sought to investigate the effects of different substances on nature relatedness (NR) in the general population. An online cross-sectional survey done in Brazil investigated use of ayahuasca/DMT, psilocybe mushrooms, LSD, MDMA/ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol. NR was assessed using the short-form version of the nature related scale (NR-6). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess group differences between substance naïve-individuals, past users, and current users of each substance. Regression models were used including all the substances and subsequently, sociodemographic variables. ANOVAs with substances which showed significantly higher NR-6 scores in the regression model were used in order to assess the effect of intention of future use on NR. ANOVAs indicated higher NR in users of classic serotonergic psychedelics (ayahuasca/DMT, psilocybe mushrooms, LSD), cannabis, and MDMA/ecstasy. Regression models showed that current use of ayahuasca/DMT and psilocybe mushrooms, and past use of LSD had a positive association with NR. When sociodemographic variables were added, only ayahuasca/DMT past and current use were positively associated with NR. Intention of future use was only significantly associated with NR in individuals who reported intention of future use of psilocybe mushrooms.

Measuring adolescents' level of interest in nature: a promising psychological factor facilitating nature protection

Studies indicate that young people are more prepared to engage in pro-environmental behavior if they are interested in nature and recognize it as worthy of protection. However, a reliable instrument to measure adolescents' interest in nature is still lacking. Therefore, we developed a new metric, the Scale of Interest in Nature (SIN). It consists of 18 items, is based on Item-Response-Theory and was validated using the known group approach (N = 351 adolescents). Results indicate that adolescents' interest in nature correlates positively with their connection with nature, their intention to preserve nature and engagement in pro-environmental activities in their free time. Bivariate Pearson correlations between the SIN and the Connectedness to Nature Scale (INS), as well as the Environmental Values model (2-MEV) demonstrated the scale's construct validity. Hence, the SIN scale provides an economical way to measure adolescents' interest in nature in research contexts or environmental and sustainability education settings.

The Beyond-Human Natural World: Providing Meaning and Making Meaning

Much academic and media attention has been focused on how nature contributes to psychological health, yet, most of this focus has been on happiness or hedonic well-being. Although numerous writers and researchers have linked connecting with nature as a pathway to meaning in life, an integrated overview has not yet (to our knowledge) been offered. Our manuscript is thus of both theoretical and practical importance with respect to finding meaning in life. In this hybrid commentary/review paper, we examine the link between meaning in life and relating to the beyond-human natural world. Through presenting supportive empirical research and interdisciplinary insights, we make the case that connecting with the natural world provides us with meaning in various ways. We discuss how nature is a common source of meaning in people's lives and how connecting with nature helps to provide meaning by addressing our need to find coherence, significance/mattering, and purpose (the three aspects comprising the tripartite model of meaning life). We also consider how connecting with nature enhances our experiential appreciation for life, a fourth aspect of meaning in life recently proposed. Our discussion then expands to examining nature as a place of attachment. Going beyond how nature provides us with meaning, we consider how engaging in nature-based activities provides an avenue for many people to build meaningful lives. We close by considering how threats to nature are a threat to meaning in life.

Broadening our understanding of what drives stewardship engagement: Relationships between social capital and willingness to engage in nature stewardship

Diverse solutions are needed to reduce human impacts on nature. Fostering individual stewardship behaviours that protect, restore, and encourage sustainable use of nature will need to be part of this mix of solutions. A key challenge then is how to increase the uptake of such behaviours. Social capital provides a framework to explore the diverse types of social influences on nature stewardship. We surveyed a representative sample of residents of New South Wales, Australia (n = 3220) to explore how facets of social capital influenced individual willingness to adopt diverse types of stewardship behaviours. Analysis confirmed that parts of social capital differentially influence distinct types of stewardship behaviours including lifestyle, social, on-ground, and citizenship behaviours. All behaviours were positively influenced by perceptions of shared values within social network, and past participation in environmental groups. Yet some components of social capital exhibited mixed associations with each type of stewardship behaviour. For example, collective agency was associated with greater willingness to engage in social, on-ground, and citizenship behaviours, whereas institutional trust was negatively associated with willingness to engage in lifestyle, on-ground and citizenship behaviours. These findings show that social context provides an important foundation for building stewardship engagement.

The primary drivers of private-sphere pro-environmental behaviour in five European countries during the Covid-19 pandemic

Nowadays, when fighting climate change and other global environmental issues is of utmost urgency, the understanding of what drives pro-environmental behaviour has become a hot topic in both academic and practical circles. Some earlier studies unravelled the complexity of the underlying factors of pro-environmental conduct, yet more studies are needed to understand the socio-cultural premises of such behaviour in different countries. The main aim of this paper is to offer a comprehensive analysis of the importance of pro-environmental behaviour drivers across five countries in Europe, namely Greece, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The survey using computer-assisted web interviews (N = 2502) was implemented in July 2020, the first summer of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hierarchical linear models were employed to analyse individuals' behaviour, defined as self-perceived declaration of the willingness to contribute to environmental conservation. The results showed that attitudinal and value-related factors are more significant than demographics. Biospheric values and relationship to nature generally affect pro-environmental behaviour positively. Similarly, the experience of Covid-19 exerted a positive influence. In terms of country-level predictors, greenhouse gas emissions were found to have affected pro-environmental behaviour negatively, while the share of renewable energy sources influenced it positively. The cumulative country Covid-19-related mortality at the time of investigation did not have discernible impact. Based on the results it is suggested that, in order to foster PEB, a stronger emphasis on environmental education and attitudes towards nature should be employed.

Evaluating the influence of nature connection and values on conservation attitudes at a tropical deforestation frontier

Inner phenomena, such as personal motivations for pursuing sustainability, may be critical levers for improving conservation outcomes. Most conservation research and policies, however, focus on external phenomena (e.g., ecological change or economic processes). We explored the factors shaping 9 conservation attitudes toward forest and wildlife protection among colonist farmers around an Amazonian deforestation frontier. Our data comprised 241 face-to-face quantitative surveys, complemented with qualitative insights from open-ended questionnaire responses and opportunistic semistructured interviews. To account for the full spectrum of possible inner motivations, we employed measures of nature connection (indicating biospheric motivation) and personal values organized around the traditionalism (traditionalist through to high openness to change) and universalism dimensions (egoistic through to altruistic motivations). We used averaged beta-binomial generalized linear models to assess the role of external factors (socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and environmental) and personal (inner) motivations on the variation in attitudes. Each attitude was modeled separately. The relative importance of each predictor was judged by the proportion of models where it appeared as significant. Proconservation views were expressed by the majority (at least 65%) of the respondents in 7 out of the 9 attitude models. The most consistent predictors were emotional nature connection and personal values (significant in 4-6 out of 9 models), rather than external phenomena (significant in 0-5 models). However, the poorest farmers had lower scores on the agreement with prioritizing nature over development (𝛽 = -0.52, 95% CI: -0.96 to -0.07). Qualitative data also indicated that economic barriers hinder forest conservation on farms. These results suggest that biospheric, traditionalistic, and altruistic motivations promote people's proconservation attitudes, but nurturing these latent motivations is unlikely to improve conservation outcomes if material poverty remains unaddressed. Integrating the inner-outer perspective into conservation thinking and practical interventions could foster environmental stewardship and increase human well-being.

The Trajectory of Anthropomorphism and Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Serial Mediation Model

Anthropomorphism of nature can promote pro-environmental behavior (PEB). However, its underlying mechanism and these age-related changes are unclear. We propose that connectedness to nature and environmental guilt mediate the relationship between anthropomorphism of nature and PEB. The present study tests the hypotheses based on a cross-sectional sample of 1364 residents aged 15-76 years, using structural equation modeling. We found that: (1) environmental guilt decreases, but PEB increases, with age; (2) anthropomorphism of nature decreases in early adulthood and increases in old age; (3) connectedness to nature decreases in mid-late adolescence and increases in early adulthood. Connectedness to nature and environmental guilt have a serial mediating effect in the relationship between anthropomorphism of nature and PEB, with cross-age stability. These findings contribute to enriching the understanding of PEB from the human and nature perspective, and enhancing anthropomorphism of nature that could promote PEB in residents at different ages, through connectedness to nature and environmental guilt.

Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Relationship With Nature Visits, Connectedness to Nature and Physical Activity

PURPOSE

Examine the association of visits to the natural environment, connectedness to nature, physical activity, and the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in individuals aged 18 years or older.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

City of Vila Real, located in the north of Portugal.

SUBJECTS

We recruited 194 individuals (61 men and 133 women) aged 18-75 years.

MESURES

A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure nature visits, connectedness to nature, PEBs, and demographic characteristics. Neighborhood green space was appreciated through a Simplified Land Occupation Map and physical activity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers (wGT3X-BT).

ANALYSIS

Correlations and nonlinear canonical correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The coefficients of canonical and multiple correlations were calculated.

RESULTS

Nature visits were associated with involvement in environmental volunteering (V = .317, P ≤ .05) among men. In these, higher levels of moderate-vigorous PA were associated with green travel behavior (η² = .325, P ≤ .05). Connectedness with nature was related (P ≤ .05) to private sphere behaviors, such as purchase of eco-products (η2 = .191) and local/seasonal products (η2 = .186) in females and encouraging care and protection of natural environment (η2 = .336, P ≤ .01) in males.

CONCLUSIONS

Nature visits, connection to nature, and physical activity levels were related to the adoption of PEBs in the private and public sphere, and these relationships differed between men and women.

Among psychedelic-experienced users, only past use of psilocybin reliably predicts nature relatedness

BACKGROUND

Past research reports a positive relationship between experience with classic serotonergic psychedelics and nature relatedness (NR). However, these studies typically do not distinguish between different psychedelic compounds, which have a unique psychopharmacology and may be used in specific contexts and with different intentions. Likewise, it is not clear whether these findings can be attributed to substance use per se or unrelated variables that differentiate psychedelic users from nonusers.

AIMS

The present study was designed to determine the relative degree to which lifetime experience with different psychedelic substances is predictive of self-reported NR among psychedelic-experienced users.

METHODS

We conducted a combined reanalysis of five independent datasets (N = 3817). Using standard and regularized regression analyses, we tested the relationship between degree of experience with various psychedelic substances (binary and continuous) and NR, both within a subsample of psychedelic-experienced participants as well as the complete sample including psychedelic-naïve participants.

RESULTS/OUTCOMES

Among people experienced with psychedelics, only past use of psilocybin (versus LSD, mescaline, Salvia divinorum, ketamine, and ibogaine) was a reliable predictor of NR and its subdimensions. Weaker, less reliable results were obtained for the pharmacologically similar N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Results replicate when including psychedelic-naïve participants. In addition, among people exclusively experience with psilocybin, use frequency positively predicted NR.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Results suggest that experience with psilocybin is the only reliable (and strongest) predictor of NR. Future research should focus on psilocybin when investigating effects of psychedelic on NR and determine whether pharmacological attributes or differences in user expectations/use settings are responsible for this observation.

A Study on the Characteristics of Children's Natural Activities in the Neighborhood and Their Influencing Factors: Evidence from Hangzhou, China

In the process of urbanization, children are becoming increasingly estranged from nature. The phenomenon has received widespread attention in developed countries because of its many negative effects on children's health and pro-nature behaviors. However, the existing studies lack the exploration of this issue in developing countries, especially with regard to China. In order to understand the characteristics of neighborhood natural activities and their influencing factors among children in China, we conducted a systematic questionnaire survey of 900 children (10-12 years old from Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, Eastern China) about their natural activities in the neighborhood. Children were asked to provide basic information on their neighborhood natural activities situation (frequency, duration and location), nature connectedness and environmental knowledge. The results showed that the frequency of children's neighborhood natural activities in rural areas was less than that of children in urban areas, but the naturalness of the neighborhood natural activity sites of rural children was higher than that of urban children. Boys spent more time engaging in neighborhood natural activities than girls. Only children outlasted non-only children in terms of the duration of neighborhood natural activities. Regarding Influencing Factors, children's nature connectedness and environmental knowledge significantly and positively predicted the frequency and location of children's natural activities in the neighborhood, which indicates a new approach to the promotion of children's neighborhood natural activities. Overall, how to encourage children to engage in natural activities in the neighborhood is a complex issue that needs to be studied in more regions and with more samples.

Childhood trauma and other formative life experiences predict environmental engagement

Environmental problems continue to intensify. Yet, despite scientific consensus on threats such as climate change, broadscale public engagement with the issue is elusive. In this paper, we focus on childhood formative experiences and the extent to which they are correlated with environmental engagement. We consider two forms of environmental engagement: civic engagement, measured in hours per month devoted to an environmental protection cause, and private-sphere green behavior. Past studies about significant life experiences have shown that formative experiences, especially in childhood, correlate with environmentally sensitive attitudes and vocations in later life. However, we know less about the formative life events experienced by contemporary environmentally engaged persons. Looking at a nationally representative sample of American adults (n = 449), we find that childhood trauma predicts both civic engagement and green behavior. We also find that childhood experiences in nature and childhood travel experiences predict green behavior but not civic engagement.

Green supply chain management/green finance: a bibliometric analysis of the last twenty years by using the Scopus database

Mostly, the product manufacturer and activities related to transportation have a greater influence on the supply chain and the environment. Hence, the green investment in water, biodiversity protection, waste treatment, resources, and climate change alleviation help in enhancing industrial production. Thus, for the enhancement of green growth, the industries must adopt green financing by making investments in ecology, climate change, and carbon reduction. Despite having the greatest growth in green supply chain management, still, the implementations of greening the product and processes have not been seen properly in many industries. A bibliometric analysis was conducted through VOS viewer version 1.6.7. of last twenty years (2001-2021). A total of 2385 articles were retrieved from the Scopus database. The results revealed that China, India, Iran, and Taiwan have a vast collection of articles and have very strong international collaborations. The most cited authors were Sarkis, J., Zhu, Q., and Khan, S.A.R. The results also suggest that green supply chain management research was related to the field of engineering, environmental science, energy sciences, social sciences, and business management. Some new areas are discovered like green innovation, green information technology, green productivity, corporate environmental responsibility, green investments, green credit, and green credit policy. As evidenced from our bibliographic database search, it is observed that integrated work on green supply chain management and green finance is limited, and this makes this research work to be novel. This study is beneficial for credit managers and policymakers.

Self-transcendent experiences as promoters of ecological wellbeing? Exploration of the evidence and hypotheses to be tested

In recent years, much has been written on the role of different mental states and their potential to influence our way of thinking and, perhaps more importantly, the way we act. With the recent acceleration of environmental and mental health issues, alongside the limited effectiveness of existing interventions, an exploration of new approaches to deliver transformative change is required. We therefore explore the emerging potential of a type of mental state known as self-transcendent experiences (STEs) as a driver of ecological wellbeing. We focus on four types of STEs: those facilitated by experiences of flow, awe, and mindfulness, as well as by psychedelic-induced experiences. Some of these experiences can occur naturally, through sometimes unexpected encounters with nature or during immersion in every-day activities that one intrinsically enjoys, as well as through more intentional practices such as meditation or the administration of psychedelics in controlled, legal settings. We explore the evidence base linking each of the four types of STE to ecological wellbeing before proposing potential hypotheses to be tested to understand why STEs can have such beneficial effects. We end by looking at the factors that might need to be considered if STEs are going to be practically implemented as a means of achieving ecological wellbeing.

The impact of nature video exposure on pro-environmental behavior: An experimental investigation

We analyze whether exposure to a nature documentary increases pro-environmental behavior (PEB). We test this causal link in an experiment where subjects viewed a video featuring either an urban (control treatment) or a nature setting (nature treatment). We consider two types of behavior: a monetary donation to an environmental non-governmental organization (ENGO) that we call an eco-donation, and subsequently, a non-monetary decision (i.e., recycle or not recycle headphone protectors) that we call an eco-action. We find that virtual exposure to nature boosts both eco-donation and eco-action. Interestingly, the increase in PEB only occurs for individuals who express low environmental values. We did not find any negative or positive spillover effects on the eco-action. We finally provide robustness checks and discuss policy implications.

A safe and just operating space for human identity: a systems perspective

A safe and just operating space for socioecological systems is a powerful bridging concept in sustainability science. It integrates biophysical earth-system tipping points (ie, thresholds at which small changes can lead to amplifying effects) with social science considerations of distributional equity and justice. Often neglected, however, are the multiple feedback loops between self-identity and planetary boundaries. Environmental degradation can reduce self-identification with nature, leading to decreased pro-environmental behaviours and decreased cooperation with out-groups, further increasing the likelihood of transgressing planetary boundaries. This vicious cycle competes with a virtuous one, where improving environmental quality enhances the integration of nature into self-identity and improves health, thereby facilitating prosocial and pro-environmental behaviour. These behavioural changes can also cascade up to influence social and economic institutions. Given a possible minimum degree of individual self-care to maintain health and prosperity, there would seem to exist an analogous safe and just operating space for self-identity, for which system stewardship for planetary health is crucial.

Public perception of urban wildlife during a COVID-19 stay-at-home quarantine order in Chicago

Reduced human activity to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by reports of unusual wildlife sightings in highly developed areas. Such experiences with urban nature may have helped residents cope with the stress of the pandemic and increased public interest in urban wildlife; however, this may depend on the species residents encountered. In this study, we surveyed Chicago, Illinois, USA residents during a stay-at-home order to understand if residents in more affluent or greener neighborhoods saw more wildlife species. We also evaluated whether encounters with pest and non-pest species were associated with residents' values about wildlife. Of 593 responses included in our analyses, respondents in higher-income and greener neighborhoods were more likely to perceive increased wildlife sightings and respondents in higher-income areas reported observing a higher number common birds and mammals. Support for seeing wildlife in residential areas was associated with seeing passerine birds and not seeing rats during the stay-at-home order. Our results suggest that perceived increases in wildlife sightings were common during a stay-at-home order, especially for affluent residents, and that residents' perceptions depended on the species encountered. Understanding how changes in human behavior modifies human-wildlife interactions can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict and foster positive engagement with local wildlife.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11252-022-01284-x.

Using the Multidimensional AIMES to Estimate Connection-to-Nature in an Australian Population: A Latent Class Approach to Segmentation

Individuals can interact and develop multiple connections to nature (CN) which have different meanings and reflect different beliefs, emotions, and values. Human population are not homogenous groups and often generalised approaches are not effective in increasing connectedness to nature. Instead, target-group specific approaches focusing on different segments of the population can offer a promising approach for engaging the public in pro-environmental behaviours. This research employed latent class analysis to identify subgroups of individuals in a large, representative sample (n = 3090) of an Australian region. Three groups were identified using the AIMES measure of CN with its focus on five types of connection to nature. The high CN group comprised about one-third (35.4%) of participants while the group with the lowest profile of scores contained around a fifth (18.6%) of participants. The majority (46.0%) of participants registered CN levels between the high and low groups. These classes were then regressed on predictor variables to further understand differences between the groups. The largest, consistent predictors of class membership were biocentric and social-altruistic value orientations, stronger intentions to perform pro-environmental behaviours in public (e.g., travel on public transport), the amount of time spent in nature, and the age of participants.

Implications of disparities in social and built environment antecedents to adult nature engagement

Antecedent factors which influence adult engagement with nature are underexplored given the human health benefits strongly associated with nature exposure. Formative pathways and impediments to nature contact merit understanding as they may contribute to later-life health disparities. We probed experiential pathways and attitudes toward nature engagement among adults purposefully sampled across U.S. regions, age, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity through semi-structured focus group discussions. The research aims were to explore entryways and barriers to experiencing nature and learn how natured and built environments compete in influencing human-nature relationships. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s phases of thematic analysis. Qualitative content analysis of discussions identified three principal themes: 1) formative influences promoting adult nature engagement (i.e., persons/organizations and places of origin), 2) detractors from nature engagement (i.e., perceptual, material, and physical barriers), and 3) role of current setting (i.e., natural and built environments) shaping nature-seeking relationships. We found experiential factors that included early life exposures outdoors, personal mentorship, and organizational affiliation to be highly influential in socializing individuals to nature and in soldering attachment to nature which manifests into adulthood. In contrast, changing demographics and childhood, inequity, social dynamics, metropolitan growth, urban renewal explained alienation from nature. These findings emphasize the importance of efforts to expand opportunities for nature contact, especially for youth living in economically challenged urban areas, which go beyond increasing greenspace to encompass mentoring partnerships for gaining skills and comfort outdoors and redesign of safe natured spaces within cities for hands-on learning and discovery.

Seeding hope: restoring nature to restore ourselves. Nature restoration as an essential mental health intervention

This commentary offers stories of hope and regeneration in the face of the interconnected crises we face. Those of us in the health sector have the opportunity to undo the false separation that has arisen between the care we offer ourselves and the care we offer our natural spaces. Access to a healthy environment offers myriad health benefits and has been declared a human right. Beyond this, cultivating a sense of kinship with the natural world unlocks further mental health benefits and promotes a deep sense of meaning and vitality. Widespread restoration of nature, combined with the equitable reconnection of people to these restored environments, must become one of the most important aspects of public health in this century. This paper, written from a UK perspective, describes examples where people are already weaving these strands together and offers practical suggestions for healthcare professionals who want to know how this relates to their role and their everyday practice.

The Relationship Between Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experiences, and Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Expanding on the work of Forstmann and Sagioglou, this study investigated the differences in personality and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) as a function of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences. A sample of 240 participants with prior psychedelic experience completed an online survey. Data were collected on participants’ psychedelic-occasioned mystical states, personality, and self-reported PEB. A measure of behavioral PEB was also included (Charity Task). The mean scores on self-reported PEB, openness and agreeableness of participants who met the criteria for a “complete” mystical state, were significantly higher than those who did not. Specifically, those who experienced a mystical state scored higher on the PEB types “eco-shopping and eating” and “one-off domestic conservation actions.” Participants who demonstrated PEB in the Charity Task scored higher on self-reported PEB than those who did not, supporting the task’s validity. Findings suggest that mystical experiences influence PEB. Future research with experimental designs could further illuminate potential causal relationships.

How Often Do You Think About Your Relationship With Nature? The Measurement of Environmental Identity Salience and Its Relationship With Proenvironmental Behaviors

Extant research finds that environmental identity is an important motivational factor for proenvironmental behavior. However, studies typically focus on investigating the effects of the strength of this identity. Based on insights from identity research, we theorize that the influence of individuals' environmental identity on their proenvironmental behavior may depend on other identity dimensions as well. We argue that the frequency of activation of environmental identity in relevant life domains-environmental identity salience-may predict proenvironmental behavior beyond what environmental identity strength can explain. To test our theorizing, we propose a parsimonious measure of environmental identity salience. In four empirical studies, we establish that the new measure has sound psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and discriminant validity with regard to measures of environmental identity strength. Importantly, our measure of environmental identity salience reliably predicts a range of self-reported and actual proenvironmental behaviors beyond the effects of environmental identity strength. In line with theoretical predictions, our data suggests that environmental identity salience and strength are related but distinct constructs. We conclude that investigating the nature and effects of environmental identity salience leads to a fruitful path to a more comprehensive understanding of proenvironmental behavior. The proposed new measure may serve as a helpful tool in this endeavor.

Disconnected: What Can We Learn from Individuals with Very Low Nature Connection?

While nature connection, which describes a positive relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world, has been a focus of numerous research studies in the last few decades, relatively little attention has been paid to nature disconnection. While the majority of the populations reported in most studies tend to be highly connected, there is a small percentage of those who feel they have no connection to the natural world. In this paper, we examine this novel construct of nature disconnection through secondary analysis of existing data from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment survey (MENE) by Natural England. From our analysis of this disconnected population, we can see that they are more likely to be young (16–24 years old), male, not employed and living in rented accommodation. We also observe that they have lower levels of life satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviours. We go on to present an initial theoretical discussion as to the origins of disconnection and propose further research directions to tackle the under-theorisation of this construct.

Projecting biodiversity benefits of conservation behavior-change programs

Biodiversity loss is driven by human behavior, but there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of behavior-change programs in delivering benefits to biodiversity. To demonstrate their value, the biodiversity benefits and cost-effectiveness of behavior changes that directly or indirectly affect biodiversity need to be quantified. We adapted a structured decision-making prioritization tool to determine the potential biodiversity benefits of behavior changes. As a case study, we examined two hypothetical behavior-change programs--wildlife gardening and cat containment--by asking experts to consider the behaviors associated with these programs that directly and indirectly affect biodiversity. We assessed benefits to southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) and superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) by eliciting from experts estimates of the probability of each species persisting in the landscape given a range of behavior-change scenarios in which uptake of the behaviors varied. We then compared these estimates to a business-as-usual scenario to determine the relative biodiversity benefit and cost-effectiveness of each scenario. Experts projected that the behavior-change programs would benefit biodiversity and that benefits would rise with increasing uptake of the target behaviors. Biodiversity benefits were also predicted to accrue through indirect behaviors, although experts disagreed about the magnitude of additional benefit provided. Scenarios that combined the two behavior-change programs were estimated to provide the greatest benefits to species and be most cost-effective. Our method could be used in other contexts and potentially at different scales and advances the use of prioritization tools to guide conservation behavior-change programs.

Cross-Cultural Awareness and Attitudes Toward Threatened Animal Species

The preservation of our planet’s decreasing biodiversity is a global challenge. Human attitudes and preferences toward animals have profound impacts on conservation policies and decisions. To date, the vast majority of studies about human attitudes and concern toward animals have focused largely on western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (i.e., WEIRD) populations. In order to mitigate biodiversity loss globally, an understanding of how humans make decisions about animals from multicultural perspectives is needed. The present study examines familiarity, liking and endorsement of government protection amongst six broad cultural groups living in Qatar for five threatened animal species indigenous to the Arabian Gulf. Our findings highlight similarities and differences across cultures toward animals. Overall, familiarity did not predict endorsement for government protection after liking was accounted for. Liking, however, emerged as an important predictor of endorsement for government protection across cultures, although the degree of animal liking varied culturally. WEIRD and South East Asian participants showed similar and more positive attitudes toward animals compared to the other groups. Participants from the Arabian Gulf, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia responded similarly toward the animals. Interestingly, the Arabian Gulf group demonstrated significantly less liking and protection endorsement for animals, including those animals which play an important role in their culture. This research highlights intriguing avenues for future research and points to liking as a possible universal human attitude toward animals that influences decision making about conservation across all cultures while suggesting applications for improving education.

Examining the Relationships between Religious Affiliation, External and Internal Behavioural Factors, and Personal Carbon Footprint

Different studies have shown that daily consumption is responsible for a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions. Since consumption is closely linked to individuals’ preferences, motivations, and beliefs, the personal carbon footprint should be a good indicator of actual consumers’ commitments towards climate change mitigation. Previous research has shown the importance of considering individual-level religion as an antecedent of mitigation outcomes, although the evidence is inconclusive in this regard. This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and personal carbon footprint, following socio-psychological models that consider behaviour to depend on external or situational factors, and internal or intrinsic ones. A questionnaire was carried out on a random sample of the Spanish population (N = 845) to determine the main drivers of carbon footprint for different religious groups. External factors (i.e., socioeconomic) and internal ones related to climate change knowledge, commitment, and intractability, on the one hand, and value orientation, nature-relatedness, and the main motivation to conserve nature on the other hand, were analysed. Intergroup differences in the personal carbon footprint were found, especially based on sex, age group, and type of work among external factors and value orientation, the main motivation for conserving nature and climate change perceived commitment within the internals. Intragroup differences for food carbon footprint were also observed, as follows: the main motivation to conserve nature and the level of commitment implied differences among Catholic believers, whereas value orientation and the level of commitment implied differences among non-believers. Our conclusions suggest, on the one hand, the importance of examining the religion-mitigation link in a socio-psychological framework and, on the other, the need for further study within groups to promote better behavioural responses to climate change.

Forest 404: Using a BBC drama series to explore the impact of nature's changing soundscapes on human wellbeing and behavior

Extensive ecosystem degradation and increasing urbanization are altering human relationships with nature. To explore these trends, we created a transdisciplinary, narrative-led podcast series produced by the BBC, called Forest 404. The series explored the implications of a world without nature. An online experimental component mobilized audience participation (n = 7,596) to assess responses to natural soundscapes with and without abiotic, biotic, and poetic elements across five biomes. Conditions featuring the sounds of wildlife, such as bird song, were perceived to be more psychologically restorative than those without. Participants' personal lived experiences were strongly related to these outcomes; those who had memories triggered by the sounds were more likely to find them psychologically restorative and exhibited a greater motivation to preserve them. Moreover, the effects of both soundscape composition and memories on preservation behavior were partially mediated by restorative potential; respondents were more likely to want to protect the sounds they heard if they thought they might offer therapeutic outcomes. Our findings highlight the value of art-science collaborations and demonstrate how maintaining contact with the natural world can promote wellbeing and foster behaviors that protect planetary health.