Tools for Communication

The success of conservation, as with many other complex issues that require global effort, lies in the communication of the issue to the public. Environmental degradation, as well as the biodiversity crisis, has been widely studied and understood for 30 years now, and yet, the required international and wide-scale protection efforts have yet to be established. We continue to deteriorate our environment, bringing the earth closer to its tipping point each day. The fact that international effort has largely failed is found to be mainly due to vested corporate interests and government resistance, which is where the public can make a difference.

The influence that the public has on pressurising cooperations and governments into implementing concrete changes to prevent the extinction of species and collapse of ecosystems that we are heading towards, cannot be dismissed, especially in the face of the rapidly worsening health of the environment and biodiversity. Without public concern and pressure, top-down change from the governments and cooperations required for rapid and large-scale action is highly improbable.

However, for the public to be motivated enough to want to act collectively and rally change, the first step is to convey the matter of conservation in a way that raises their concern. The way scientists and activists communicate conservation and engage the general public is crucial in effectively rallying support for the cause, through conveying the urgency of the issue and the potential loss we will face, should we not have radical change in our attitudes and actions. This is where charismatic megafauna comes in as an effective tool for communication. 

Charismatic megafauna help to get the general public get interested in conservation and environmental issues. A study by Gunnthorsdottir (2015) found that public support for preservation efforts increased with attractiveness of the species and human resemblance. Hence, the use of these animals in conservation campaigns leverages on their lovability and charm to attract people to care, and could even be a strategy to establish ecological concern in people, eventually leading to more support for environmental issues in general. Even if this change is not achieved due to other external factors, changing attitudes towards conservation issues through the help of charismatic megafauna can be crucial in kicking off the process towards positive behavioural change. Hence, using these species to attract people can potentially be useful for the conservation as a whole.