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    Ethical considerations for conservation messaging research and practice
    Gregg, EA ; Kidd, LR ; Bekessy, SA ; Martin, JK ; Robinson, JA ; Garrard, GE (Wiley, 2022-10-01)
    Abstract Conservation professionals are familiar with value‐driven research and practice. However, recent efforts to use strategic communication, specifically conservation messaging, to affect targeted behaviour change or influence values and attitudes towards conservation introduce new ethical dilemmas that conservation professionals may not have considered or are ill‐equipped to deal with. Drawing from strategic communication theory and professional guidelines, including from public relations, social marketing, advocacy, and the social sciences more broadly, we provide a framework and discuss important ethical considerations for conservation messaging. The considerations discussed include those that apply across all stages of conservation messaging (be reflexive, engage responsibly, and consider power), as well as those that apply when defining the problem (ensure fairness in audience targeting), designing the solution (use equitable messages and calls to action and use truthful messaging and authentic messengers), and considering outcomes (consider intended and unintended consequences). We present these considerations not as a fail‐safe checklist to prevent unethical conduct in conservation messaging, but rather as points of reflection to consider in the design of ethical conservation messages and campaigns. We present a series of prompting questions to guide this process. We believe taking the time to reflect in this way paves the way for more effective and ethical strategies for conservation messaging, leading to more open, trusting, and sustainable relationships with our audiences. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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    Choosing the right nature-based solutions to meet diverse urban challenges
    Croeser, T ; Garrard, G ; Sharma, R ; Ossola, A ; Bekessy, S (ELSEVIER GMBH, 2021-11)
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    Diagnosing delivery capabilities on a large international nature-based solutions project
    Croeser, T ; Garrard, GE ; Thomas, FM ; Tran, TD ; Mell, I ; Clement, S ; Sánchez, R ; Bekessy, S (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021-12-01)
    Abstract Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly at the centre of urban strategies to mitigate heatwaves and flooding, improve public health and restore biodiversity. However, on-ground implementation has been slow, inconsistent and often limited to demonstration sites. A broad literature consistently highlights institutional barriers as a major reason for the observed implementation gap. In this study, we developed and deployed an assessment tool to identify barriers to NBS delivery on a European Commission Horizon 2020 project spanning seven cities. We found that practitioners were effectively navigating challenges in the areas where they had significant control, including community engagement, strategy development and technical skills. The greatest barriers were outside the influence of project teams: understaffing, a lack of intra-organisational processes, and risk-averse organisational cultures. These findings emphasise that after cities embrace NBS at the strategic and political level, it is vital that executives follow through with the necessary pragmatic reforms to enable delivery.
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    Biodiversity conservation cannot afford COVID-19 communication bungles
    Gregg, EA ; Kusmanoff, AM ; Garrard, GE ; Kidd, LR ; Bekessy, SA (CELL PRESS, 2021-10)
    With COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) dominating headlines, highlighting links between the pandemic and biodiversity may increase public awareness of the biodiversity crisis. However, ill-considered messages that frame nature as the problem rather than the solution could inadvertently propagate problematic narratives and undermine motivations and individual self-efficacy to conserve nature.
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    Building biodiversity into the urban fabric: A case study in applying Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD)
    Kirk, H ; Garrard, GE ; Croeser, T ; Backstrom, A ; Berthon, K ; Furlong, C ; Hurley, J ; Thomas, F ; Webb, A ; Bekessy, SA (Elsevier, 2021-07-01)
    Biodiversity within cities is fundamental for human health and well-being, and delivers a wide range of critical ecosystem services. However, biodiversity is often viewed as an afterthought or final addition once an urban development nears completion. As such, provisions for biodiversity are typically tokenistic and do not achieve the experience of everyday nature that people need. Considering biodiversity requirements at the start of an urban development allows for strategic, intentional design with biodiversity enhancement in mind. Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD) is a protocol that aims to create urban areas that deliver on-site benefit to native species and ecosystems through the provision of essential habitat and food resources. Here we present a case study demonstrating how BSUD methods can be used to (a) encourage successful outcomes for nature, (b) improve the aesthetics and liveability of the urban form, and (c) engage stakeholders in a process that supports other aspects of urban design including park and streetscape design. Fishermans Bend (Melbourne) is the largest urban renewal project in Australia, and one of the first of this scale to explicitly include biodiversity targets. We outline the methods used to co-create biodiversity objectives with diverse stakeholders, and how these, combined with a quantitative analysis of their potential biodiversity impact, were translated into clear design and planning recommendations. We critically reflect on the success of this method for 1) communicating and facilitating provisions for biodiversity across different stakeholders and 2) providing clear messaging around biodiversity across different planning disciplines.
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    Consequences of information suppression in ecological and conservation sciences
    Driscoll, DA ; Garrard, GE ; Kusmanoff, AM ; Dovers, S ; Maron, M ; Preece, N ; Pressey, RL ; Ritchie, EG (Wiley, 2021-01-01)
    Abstract Suppressing expert knowledge can hide environmentally damaging practices and policies from public scrutiny. We surveyed ecologists and conservation scientists from universities, government, and industry across Australia to understand the prevalence and consequences of suppressing science communication. Government (34%) and industry (30%) respondents reported higher rates of undue interference by employers than did university respondents (5%). Internal communications (29%) and media (28%) were curtailed most, followed by journal articles (11%), and presentations (12%). When university and industry researchers avoided public commentary, this was mainly for fear of media misrepresentation, while government employees were most often constrained by senior management and workplace policy. One third of respondents reported personal suffering related to suppression, including job losses and deteriorating mental health. Substantial reforms are needed, including to codes of practice, and governance of environmental assessments and research, so that scientific advice can be reported openly, in a timely manner and free from interference.
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    Identifying and prioritizing human behaviors that benefit biodiversity
    Selinske, MJ ; Garrard, GE ; Gregg, EA ; Kusmanoff, AM ; Kidd, LR ; Cullen, MT ; Cooper, M ; Geary, WL ; Hatty, MA ; Hames, F ; Kneebone, S ; McLeod, EM ; Ritchie, EG ; Squires, ZE ; Thomas, J ; Willcock, MAW ; Blair, S ; Bekessy, SA (WILEY, 2020-09)
    The conservation profession is increasingly seeking effective ways to reduce societal impact on biodiversity, including through targeted behavior change interventions. Multiple conservation behavior change programs exist, but there is also great uncertainty regarding which behaviors are most strategic to target. Behavioral prioritization is a tool that has been used effectively to support behavior change decision‐making in other environmental disciplines and more recently for a small sub‐set of biodiversity behavior change challenges. Here, we use behavioral prioritization to identify individual behaviors that could be modified to achieve biodiversity benefits in the state of Victoria, Australia. We use an adapted nominal group technique method to identify potential biodiversity behaviors and, for each behavior, estimate the corresponding plasticity (or capacity for change) and positive impact on biodiversity outcomes. We elicited 27 behaviors that individuals could undertake to benefit or reduce their negative impact on biodiversity. This list was then used to prioritize 10 behaviors as determined by their likely effect(s) on biodiversity, plasticity, and current prevalence in Victoria. We take a first step in outlining a list of behaviors that can direct Victorian decision‐makers toward increasing positive and reducing negative impacts of society on biodiversity, guide motivated individuals to reduce their own biodiversity footprint, and more broadly, develop a behavior change research agenda for behaviors most likely to benefit biodiversity.