Implicit Measures Help Demonstrate the Value of Conservation Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Biodiversity is being lost at unprecedented rates. Limited conservation resources must be prioritized strategically to maximize impact. Here we introduce novel methods to assess a small-scale conservation education program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only sanctuary for one of humans' two closest living relatives, bonobos, orphaned by the illegal trade in bushmeat and exotic pets. The sanctuary is situated on the edge of the country's capital, Kinshasa, its most densely populated region and a hub for the illegal wildlife trade that is imperiling bonobos and other endangered species. Lola ya Bonobo implements an education program specifically designed to combat this trade. Previous evaluation demonstrated the program's efficacy in transmitting conservation knowledge to children. In Study 1, we use novel implicit tests to measure conservation attitudes before and after an educational visit and document a significant increase in children's pro-conservation attitudes following direct exposure to bonobos and the education program. In Study 2, we show that adults exhibit high levels of conservation knowledge even before visiting the sanctuary, likely due to the sanctuary's longstanding education efforts in Kinshasa. In Study 3, we explored adults' empathetic attitudes toward bonobos before and after the sanctuary tour. Our results support the conservation education hypothesis that conservation education has improved relevant knowledge and attitudes in Kinshasa. Crucially, the present study validates new methods for implicitly assessing attitudes about environmental and social issues. These methods overcome typical biases in survey sampling and can be employed in diverse populations, including those with low literacy rates.

Assessing conservation attitudes and behaviors of Congolese children neighboring the world's first bonobo (Pan paniscus) release site

“…Response to these incentives and practices like hunting and eating great ape bushmeat have to be taken into account when creating and implementing conservation education programs in more rural regions of the DRC (Merode & Cowlishaw, 2006 toward great apes and their conservation (Bowie et al, 2020).…”

“…Environmental education has long been considered to encourage positive attitudes toward great apes by fostering environmentally conscious behaviors, greater support and respect for environmental regulations, and a decrease in illegal hunting (Farmer, 2011; Jacobson, 2010). A recent review demonstrates that the long‐term presence of the Lola Ya Bonobo's education efforts have likely contributed to widespread knowledge about bonobos and the threats against them among the general population in Kinshasa (Bowie et al, 2020).…”

“…Participants may have been more willing to discuss the habits of others instead of themselves. For future surveys, avoiding overly specific questions about individuals' attitudes and behaviors and using more implicit measures may elicit more accurate representations of participants' internal attitudes toward great apes and their conservation (Bowie et al, 2020).…”

“…Remaining questions (3, 6, 9, 10, 11) reflect the participants' cultural perception of great apes and their conservation (perceptions potentially influenced by encounters with “pet” bonobos; Bowie et al, 2020). Additionally, the survey also included basic demographic information including age, class year, and gender.…”

Extrinsic motivators drive children’s cooperation to conserve forests

“…School aged children and adolescents have long been regarded as a critical audience for this type of education. Positive exposure to wildlife and forests in zoos and parks has commonly been hypothesized to translate into pro-environmental behavior in adulthood (Bowie et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2019). However, it remains unclear what type of educational experiences might encourage pro-conservation behavior toward forests across diverse populations (Saylan & Blumstein, 2011).…”