Predictors of the Behavioral Intention to Participate in Saiga Antelope Conservation among Chinese Young Residents

Abstract

Promoting public participation is a practical move to strengthen wildlife conservation. This study focuses on saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), an endangered species which has received international concern. Based on an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior and a sample of 536 Chinese residents aged 16–40 collected through an online survey, we applied Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to explore the predictors of the behavioral intention to participate in saiga antelope conservation. The results show that perceived behavioral control is the most influential predictor that contributes to the value of the behavioral intention, followed by injunctive norm, attitude to participation, knowledge of saiga antelope, experience of wildlife conservation, and attitude to saiga antelope, altogether explaining 48.4% of the variance of the behavioral intention. To promote public participation in saiga antelope conservation, strengthening science popularization and broadening the channels of participation are suggested.