After learning much about how laws, education, and community management can contribute to resolving the Javan Rhino crisis, you might be wondering what can you do then? Well, one can abide in the laws, actively participate in acquiring Javan Rhino related education, and participate in community activities that support the Javan Rhinos cause.

For those that are rhino products supporters or even poachers that want to change, i would suggest the below strategy for you to try and successfully curtail or eliminate the behavior such as poaching or acquiring or consuming rhino related products.

This can be achieved by engaging in a 4 step process which is also known as the Applied Behavioral Analysis Method (Clayton & Myers, 2015).

The 4 steps consist of:

Defining the behavior you want to change (Consider the effectiveness and feasibility of behavioral change). For example identifying that you consuming rhino related products because you believe in its healing properties. In another case, you could be collecting rhino related products for its ‘esteemed’ social status. In another case, you could be poaching rhinos for a livelihood.

Observe your behavior under normal circumstances (Note down any existing barriers or reinforcers that are preventing you from behavioral change). For example, through conscious effort, try to observe what is it in the environment that is causing the false beliefs in the healing properties of rhino horns, which could be incorrect social beliefs that have being circulating among your neighbours. In the case of collecting rhino products, you could be collecting rhino related products due to the believed social status it provides you, this could be due to the class of people you are constantly interacting with on a weekly basis that agrees with the same world view that exotic products are good. In the case of poaching, are you also surrounded by others who would rather break the law and poach rather than finding a alternative job that earns less but is legal?

Intervene would be the attempts at changing one’s behavior (such as the use of education, prompts, rewards, feedback from others or information sources, commiting to change, or other environmental designs, social influence or norms … etc). For example, you could either correct yourself by seeking official scientific medicinal reports instead of believing social information from not so credible sources. In case of collecting rhino products, you could start joining a organisation that protects Rhinos, and get acculturated with their world views that rhinos should not be exploited and should be protected. In the case of poaching, you could surround yourself with job opportunites by being more proactive in job searching and also others that would be more supportive of you to have a legal job.

Test would be checking whether is there a stable behavior change after the intervention. For example, if you successfully stop the behavior of consuming or collecting rhino related products or poaching, the 4 step process is effective for you.

Remember to take small steps and also track your progress, and hopefully, each step will help to to get you closer to success!

In the instance that the testing phase revealed that there is not much change in your behavior, one would have to undergo through the 4 steps process again to identify other complicating factors that are also influencing your’s consumption or collecting behaviors or habit.

 

As a reminder to future parents and also parents, it would be crucial to inclucate in your child or children with the right biospheric & altruistic & egocentric values with when they are young, as this can contribute to their beliefs towards nature, and lead to their perceived sense of responsibility & personal norms, which might in turn determine whether their behaviors are pro-Javan-Rhinos or anti-Javan-Rhinos based on the Value-Belief-Norm model:

 

For those that have grown to love the Javan Rhinos, you can always try directly donating to a conservation organisation to support the cause!

For a start, for more information you can check out this site: World Wildlife Fund

Do remember to search for other credible and official organisations on google if the interest or passion in you for Javan Rhinos is intense! Or even travel over to the national park and join as a volunteer if you are feeling adventurous!

 

You may be wondering, how would the controlling of one’s actions eventually lead to the recovery of the species? Well you are on the right track! The population of the Javan Rhinos will continue to grow in numbers as long as they are not threaten by further human threats. Want to know more? Click below!