Groundwork for effective conservation education: an example of in situ and ex situ collaboration in South East Asia

Abstract

Zoos and aquariums can play an important role in raising awareness of biodiversity and conservation. By collaborating with field‐based organizations, zoos and aquariums can more effectively implement conservation interventions to secure populations of species in natural ecosystems and habitats over the long term. Here, we present the collaborative efforts of San Diego Zoo Global, USA, and Free the Bears to design innovative surveys aimed at improving our understanding of public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards bears and bear‐part consumption in South East Asia. Over 1500 surveys were completed in Cambodia and Lao PDR. Preliminary analysis of the Lao PDR surveys shows that there are significant differences between Lao and Western responses across most questions, indicating differing world views in terms of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards wildlife and wildlife trade. The results of these surveys will be used to identify key messages that should be delivered and key groups that should be targeted, in order to promote sustainable behaviours effectively and ensure stable wild populations of bears in South East Asia.

Using video and theater to increase knowledge and change attitudes—Why are gorillas important to the world and to Congo?

“…Our short‐term education program used new communication styles and was successful in raising knowledge, particularly to an audience with relatively little exposure to education programs. Developing this joint program allowed us to combine the professional communication skills of zoo educators to put into the local context by the in situ team to improve our program efficiency (Crudge, O'Connor, Hunt, Davis, & Browne‐Nuñez, ; Jacobson, ). The same approach can be applied to other villages that are not regularly reached by our education campaigns and in logging towns as residents of these settlements have shown to have less knowledge and less favorable attitudes toward wildlife conservation (Nsonsi et al, ).…”

Editorial: Future Perspectives in Conservation Education

“…However, in this introduction, the complexity and scope of education needs to be acknowledged and explored. These can be on-site at an institution (Hughes & Allan, 2016), as part of an outreach programme in the local community (Jacobson et al, 2006;Cureg et al, 2016) or at a conservation field site (Crudge et al, 2016;Squires et al, 2016). In zoos and aquariums it is used to reflect education and learning in its broadest sense.…”

“…It is widely acknowledged that the social sciences play a key role in conservation (Mascia, 2003;Adams, 2007;Manfredo, 2008;Newing, 2011), and yet there is much to learn around applying different socialsciences lenses to research and practice in conservation-education programmes for maximizing success. In this volume, an example is given of a zoo working together with external partners to design, deliver and evaluate a sophisticated programme (Crudge et al, 2016). However, zoological institutions should ensure that they do not over claim, naively thinking that there is only one model or approach that fits all audiences and all conservation education .…”

“…Conservation education can be thought of as an umbrella term for a whole host of educational programmes that contribute to biodiversity conservation. These can be on-site at an institution (Hughes & Allan, 2016), as part of an outreach programme in the local community (Jacobson et al, 2006;Cureg et al, 2016) or at a conservation field site (Crudge et al, 2016;Squires et al, 2016). Conservation education includes both formal and informal approaches to learning (Falk & Dierking, 1992), structured and free-choice programmes (Tofield et al, 2003), elements of exhibit design (Coe, 1987) and collection planning (Moss & Esson, 2010), public-engagement and science-communication activities and events (Bickford et al, 2012), biological, science and environmental education (Ballantyne & Packer, 1996;Falk & Storksdieck, 2010;Offord-Woolley et al, 2016), education for sustainable development (Packer & Ballantyne, 2010) and practical skills-based programmes (Lopes & Salovey, 2004).…”

“…To assist with this endeavour, zoos and aquariums should aspire to create and maintain strong partnerships with academic institutions and other organizations focused on conservation education (Brewer, 2002). In this volume, an example is given of a zoo working together with external partners to design, deliver and evaluate a sophisticated programme (Crudge et al, 2016). The use of novel approaches is another key component for the future of conservation education; for example, the use of an innovative evaluation approach that transcends the boundaries of culture, language and literacy (Esson & Moss, 2016), the use of bioinspiration to promote learning, not only about nature but also from nature, as a novel yet effective way of engaging zoo audiences (Topaz, 2016), and the use of technology to complement and enable learning in zoological institutions (Costa & Carrilho, 2016).…”