The world of conservation is moving so quickly; it is hard to believe that it is only ten years since many countries adopted the Paris Agreement to limit climate change to ‘well below two degrees above pre-industrial levels’. Almost all the other major reports and agreements that shape our current conservation worldview have happened since then. In our world, those of us who studied many years ago must work hard to keep up with rapid change, sometimes un-learning and re-learning as we go.
It is no wonder, then, that some conservation initiatives struggle to reflect this rapid change. Some of the strategies we see still approach conservation as a practice based purely on natural science, working locally, or regionally at best, on animals and habitats, usually in other countries. In such cases, engaging with global challenges and with people are mostly ignored.
Of course, direct species and habitat conservation are still vitally important. Even in the more industrialised parts of the world there are ongoing efforts to protect the intact ecosystems that remain, and to re-wild and re-introduce healthy and resilient ecosystems where possible. These efforts are important and worthy of all support.
But the greatest environmental challenges in heavily industrialised countries are too much burning of fossil fuels and unsustainable levels of consumption by people. In these countries, the most impactful approaches to protecting and restoring healthy ecosystems worldwide involve significant changes in human behaviour.
Even in those countries still aspiring to greater economic development, there is a need not to repeat the mistakes of the last century, not to pursue short-term economic development at the expense of long-term health and sustainability. Here too, human behaviour change is a significant conservation goal.
Air conditioning units line the walls of a street in Singapore. (Image credit: Rym DeCoster/Wikimedia Commons)
In countries with autocratic regimes, it may be possible to achieve large-scale behaviour change through diktat. But in democracies, the main tools we have for changing attitudes and refocussing values are communication and persuasion. Conservationists will not achieve this goal through reports and graphs, but by mastering the ancient art of understanding and moving an audience, hopefully aided by a modern understanding of how humans react to messaging and communication.
Conservation has become, and perhaps always was, at least as much a social science as a natural science. That is not always welcome news to those who wish to work only in the natural world because of their love of wildlife and nature. But it is a necessary realisation for conservationists who want to see a diverse and resilient planet at the heart of a healthy and sustainable future for people everywhere.
Strategic communication is therefore at the heart of the conservation effort in much of the world, and it is a vital component of all conservation initiatives. We need to understand who our audiences are; where they are, in terms of values and attitudes; where we need them to be, to achieve a sustainable future; and how to move them on that journey. We need to understand the powerful tools of communication, and how and in which circumstances they work effectively.
And, given the understandable desire of many conservation practitioners and academics to concentrate on the science rather than becoming seasoned orators, scientists need to work very closely with their communication colleagues in order to not only forge the conservation message, but also to deliver it effectively.
It is difficult to overstress this last point. Scientists – conservation practitioners and academics – often use a particular style of communication that can be complex and use highly technical language.
This mode of communication may or may not be effective between scientists; it will definitely not be effective when communicating with politicians, policymakers or public audiences. Scientists, in both conservation research and practice, need to recognise that communication is a complex area of knowledge that sits alongside the science; it is not an afterthought or an add-on. Communicating the message is as challenging as forging it, sometimes more so.
In 2025, Conservation Optimism not only uses its skills in strategic communications and communication tools to reframe and rebalance the climate and biodiversity discourses, but we share these skills with others as vital tools to achieve conservation goals. We work with some amazing organisations, and we always need to work with more. If this great work inspires you, come and talk to us, work with us, and work alongside us and many other people to help guide our wonderful and very damaged world to a healthier, safer, and more sustainable future.
