A systematic review of motivational values and conservation success in and around protected areas

Abstract

In conservation projects in and around protected areas (PAs), a suite of policy instruments are used to promote conservation behavior in local people. Few studies have related psychological research on motivational values to conservation in PAs. We conducted a systematic review of 120 peer-reviewed articles to assess the relative frequencies of policy instruments that aimed to foster intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations to conserve. We examined how the type of motivation engendered by the instrument (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic motivation and based on the description of how the project was designed and implemented) influenced the ecological, economic, and social success of the project. We assessed the success of the project in only the case studies that included a quantitative or qualitative analysis of success. Projects designed to foster at least one intrinsically motivating instrument were 3 times more likely to meet socioeconomic or ecological goals. Although certain types of instruments such as payments or fines tended to be based on extrinsic motivators more often than education or monitoring programs, several successful projects involving payments or fines were linked to intrinsic motivation in the local community. Thus, our results suggest that rather than debating the relative merits of specific types of policy instruments, conservationists may have more success by focusing on how different motivators, suited to specific contexts, can better empower local communities to conserve. Broadly, our results suggest the current emphasis on social justice and well-being of local communities is a positive step toward protecting the world's remaining biodiversity.

Well-being and conservation: diversity and change in visions of a good life among the Maasai of northern Tanzania

“…There are both instrumental and ethical reasons for this shift. There is evidence that attention to social justice can improve local legitimacy and the effectiveness of conservation interventions (Martin et al 2014, Cetas andYasué 2016), but research also suggests that conservation interventions that focus on enforcement can meet ecological goals despite negative social costs (Brockington 2004). The moral basis for advancing equity and human well-being is clearer, and aligns with international policy such as the commitment of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) to address "poverty in all its forms" and promote equity.…”

Environmental Stewardship: A Conceptual Review and Analytical Framework

“…The literature on motivations and stewardship is vast. For our purposes, it is useful to engage with two broad analytical categories- intrinsic and extrinsic motivations-under which the array of previously discussed motivations for stewardship might be subsumed (Ryan and Deci 2000a;Cetas and Yasué 2017) (Table 2). Intrinsic motivations are associated with actions that are expected to bring personal pleasure or satisfaction, through the achievement of psychological needs such as selfacceptance, feelings of competence or self-efficacy, sense of autonomy or wellbeing, and the need for belonging or affiliation with a group (Ryan and Deci 2000a;Tabernero and Hernández 2011).…”

“…Second, stewardship actions can also be intrinsically motivated by the desire for autonomy, relatedness, and competence-which correspond with the three universal psychological needs of self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci 2000b;Cetas and Yasué 2017)-and the higher order need for self-actualization (Maslow 1943). Autonomy refers to the desire to be able to affect one's own future, relatedness is about feeling connected or belonging to a group, and competence refers to the feeling of being able to act and to achieve one's goals.…”

“…For example, Asah and Blahna (2012); Asah et al (2014) show how personal and social motivations are stronger predictors of people's participation in volunteer urban stewardship activities than environmental rationales. Furthermore, intrinsic motivations might be more durable than extrinsic ones for promoting environmental action (Ryan et al 2003;Cecere et al 2014;Cetas and Yasué 2017). Motivational crowding out can occur when extrinsic incentives (e.g., monetary payments for stewardship, payments for ecosystem services) are applied in contexts where strong intrinsic motivations for stewardship already exist (Rode et al 2015;Sorice and Donlan 2015).…”

Local perpectives on drivers of deforestation and degradation and effectiveness of financial incentive mechanisms in Bach Ma National Park

“…The literature to date on PA effectiveness has highlighted an important yet understudied factor: how to design a suite of policy instruments to enhance local participation and promote conservation behavior in local people (Cetas and Yasué 2017). As PAs often have a strong impact on local livelihoods (Karki 2013;Bennett and Dearden 2014), understanding local people's perceptions of their living conditions is important to understanding local acceptance of NPs (Puntscher et al 2017).…”