Massingham, Emily, Wilson, Kerrie A., Meijaard, Erik, Ancrenaz, Marc, Santika, Truly ORCID: 0000-0002-3125-9467, Friedman, Rachel, Possingham, Hugh and Dean, Angela (2023) Public opinion on protecting iconic species depends on individual wellbeing: perceptions about orangutan conservation in Indonesia and Malaysia. Environmental Science and Policy, 150:103588. ISSN 1462-9011 (Print), 1873-6416 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103588)

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Abstract

Public opinion has the potential to shape conservation policy-making and implementation. At a local scale, it is argued that human wellbeing is important for conservation success. However, little research has explored how social factors like wellbeing shape public opinion at cross-national scales. Here, we focus on orangutan conservation, where an iconic species near extinction exists amidst complex social issues. We surveyed 2073 Indonesian and Malaysian residents and assessed three indicators of conservation support: policy support, willingness to act for the environment, and willingness to act for orangutans. We then examined how diverse indicators of wellbeing shaped support for orangutan conservation. Our results show that diverse indicators of wellbeing are related to public opinions supportive of conservation in Indonesian and Malaysian citizens. Consistent with our hypotheses, both physical (having basic needs met) and psychological (being free from worry, feeling safe, a sense of agency) wellbeing were positively associated with all three indicators of conservation support. Contrary to common assumptions, not all wellbeing indicators were related to conservation support; we found no evidence that subjective health was positively associated with conservation support. Overall, these findings indicate that social factors such as wellbeing might have an important influence on public opinion about conservation issues, and subsequently, environmental policy-making. Our findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between wellbeing and public opinion, alongside the need to consider multi-dimensional aspects of wellbeing across diverse social and geographic settings.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	great apes; public opinion‬; behaviour ‬change; ‬policy support; basic needs; social-ecological
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) Q Science > QL Zoology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Ecosystem Services Research Group
Last Modified:	16 Oct 2023 08:36
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/44465

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