Wildlife and political values survey
Finding ways to increase support for wildlife conservation: the role of political and wildlife values in voter intention
Australia has one of the worst species extinction rates anywhere in the world. We urgently need new ways of fostering community support for wildlife conservation. We know that people’s willingness to respond to environmental crises, such as climate change, can be influenced by their political beliefs, but we know almost nothing about what affects commitment to action on addressing the biodiversity crisis. Specifically, we know nothing about the relationship between people’s political values (e.g. holding the view that civil liberty is of paramount importance) and support for wildlife conservation policy. The University of Newcastle’s Conservation Science Research Group seeks to address this knowledge gap using a large-scale survey study. The survey was advertised on the research platform Prolific where 350 Australian citizens consented to participation and successfully completed a questionnaire.
Our current interpretation of the data is that the relationship between political values and wildlife conservation is far from straightforward. For instance, our preliminary analysis hints at a connection between political values concerning open markets and equality and an inclination to protect both native and non-native wildlife. Early findings also indicate that values specifically related to wildlife, like those about hunting, are closely tied to people’s wildlife policy preferences.
The analysis is ongoing. The research team aims to submit their final findings to a peer-review, open access journal later in 2024 so that the full results and conclusions will be freely available to the public.
The research was conducted by PhD student Jacob Jones as part of his thesis titled “The Politics of Biodiversity Conservation” and was supported by Professor Matt Hayward, Associate Professor Andrea Griffin, and Professor Frank Agbola.
Contact
- Matthew Hayward
- Phone: (02) 49217472
- Email: matthew.hayward@newcastle.edu.au
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The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.