Human behavior is responsible for many of our greatest environmental challenges. The accumulated effects of many individual and household decisions have major negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem health. Human behavioral science blends psychology and economics to understand how people respond to the context in which they make decisions (eg who presents the information and how it is framed). Behavioral insights have informed new strategies to improve personal health and financial choices. However, less is known about whether and how these insights can encourage choices that are better for the environment. We review 160 experimental interventions that attempt to alter behavior in six domains in which decisions have major environmental impacts: family planning, land management, meat consumption, transportation choices, waste production, and water use. The evidence suggests that social influence and simple adjustments to decision settings can influence pro‐environmental decisions. We identify four important gaps in the evidence that provide opportunities for future research. To address these gaps, we encourage collaborations between researchers and practitioners that look at the effects of embedding tests of behavior‐change interventions within environmental programs.

Human activities are degrading ecosystems worldwide, posing existential threats for biodiversity and humankind. Slowing and reversing this degradation will require profound and widespread changes to human behaviour. Behavioural scientists are therefore well placed to contribute intellectual leadership in this area. This Perspective aims to stimulate a marked increase in the amount and breadth of behavioural research addressing this challenge. First, we describe the importance of the biodiversity crisis for human and non-human prosperity and the central role of human behaviour in reversing this decline. Next, we discuss key gaps in our understanding of how to achieve behaviour change for biodiversity conservation and suggest how to identify key behaviour changes and actors capable of improving biodiversity outcomes. Finally, we outline the core components for building a robust evidence base and suggest priority research questions for behavioural scientists to explore in opening a new frontier of behavioural science for the benefit of nature and human wellbeing.

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Working landscapes can provide biodiversity and ecosystem services. Many voluntary conservation programs ask those who manage working lands-farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners-to steward their resources in ways that maintain or increase these benefits. While research on landowners suggests the importance of social influence in management decisions, few studies have tested whether providing information about the behavior and opinions of others affects decisions related to private land and forest management, stewardship, or conservation. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we mailed three versions of a solicitation letter for a bird habitat conservation program to 967 individuals who manage forests to produce maple syrup. Maple producers who were messaged about recognition for participation were as likely to ask for more information about the program as those who received only a control message that described the program. Providing information about the participation of others had a negative effect on the number of producers requesting information compared to the control. These results highlight the importance of context in using social influence to change land manager behavior. Findings are relevant to conservation researchers and practitioners, offering applications of behavioral science to improve biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes on private lands. K E Y W O R D Sbehavioral science, biodiversity conservation, field experiment, forest management, nudge, private lands, social influence, working landscapes

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