Education

It is justifiable to say that the main driver of the problem is the high demand for Pangolin meat and body parts. Education could make a big difference in understanding and reducing consumer demand because some Chinese demand seem to be rooted in a lack of awareness about Asian pangolins’ endangered status as well as the actual medicinal benefits it may or may not confer.

Tapping on Local Communities’ Knowledge

Many research and conservation efforts are hampered by a lack of data on pangolin populations because of the secretive and nocturnal nature of the mammal. Rural communities that co-exist with the pangolins exhibit a wealth of knowledge and experience, especially those of local hunters. By learning more about the pangolins’ behaviour, tracks, and along with common hunting methods used to capture them, better protective and preventive measures could be put into place such as the confiscation of hunting dogs, removal of snare lines or regulation of access to the forests.

Community Management of the Commons

The allocation of land tenure to local communities, allowing them to manage and use Asian pangolin species within the boundaries sustainably could be viable in reversing the tragedy of the commons. Combining community management with incentives and education is promising because such information are more easily dispersed when spread through word of mouth and informal social networks. Local communities could be educated on the status of the Asian pangolin and the consequences of its extinction, and at the same time instilling a sense of pride and identity in them, that is associated with living in harmony with a critically endangered species.

It also allows for individuals to see how self-interest and group interest can reinforce each other (limiting their poaching of the Asian pangolin, giving it time to reproduce its numbers, thereby creating a stable supply for the community to sustain itself upon). With shared internalised norms and faith in the community’s informal management institutions, people may be willing to comply with the rules and help enforce them to maintain the resource and the group’s collective well-being.

Values Inform Behaviour

Values can affect behaviour indirectly, and this is mediated by behaviour-specific beliefs, attitudes and norms. Strongly endorsed values can also direct attention to value-congruent information, which then affects beliefs and norms related to pro-environmental intention and action. Three types of values are particularly relevant to understanding pro-environmental beliefs, norms, intentions and actions: Egoistic, altruistic and biospheric.

Egoistic values reflect key concern with individual outcomes, where individuals consider costs and benefits of environmental actions for them personally and act pro-environmentally when the perceived benefits of such actions exceed the perceived costs. Altruistic values reflect concern with the welfare of others, for instance, individuals who engage in pro-environmental behaviours when it affects the health of their children. Biospheric values reflect a concern with nature and the environment and individuals act based on perceived costs and benefits of actions for nature and the environment. It is possible to make full use of all those values, e.g. frame the problem such that it caters to people’s values. If someone has strong egoistic values, then put it in such a way that the extinction of pangolins would lead to a personal loss of profits.