Raise awareness amongst the general public through campaigns and public information

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

45%
Certainty

48%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

This intervention involves general information and awareness campaigns in response to a range of threats. Studies describing educational campaigns in response to specific threats are described in the chapter on that threat category (e.g. ‘Threat: Biological Resource Use - Use education programmes and local engagement to help reduce persecution or exploitation of species’).

Study locations

Key messages

A review of programmes in the USA and Canada argues that education was not sufficient to change behaviour, although it was necessary as a catalytic factor for economic incentives and law enforcement.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A review of 16 case studies (six of which were directly related to birds) using before-and-after analyses in the USA and Canada (Byers 2003) found that education and awareness initiatives were necessary but insufficient in effective conservation projects. Of the six case studies concerning birds, education and awareness decreased the hunting of American black duck Anas rubripes (USA and Canada) and threatened geese through more stringent regulations; did not decrease lead poisoning of common loons Gavia immer in New England, three years after pamphlet distribution; decreased oil contamination in Colorado and Wyoming pits (USA) by 67%; increased hatching rates of snowy plovers Charadrius nivosus in California (USA) by 18% in 5 years; and doubled seabird populations in a region in Quebec (Canada). Overall, education and awareness was almost never a sufficient factor in changing behaviour, although it was necessary as a catalytic factor for economic incentives and law enforcement.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Byers B.A. (2003) Education, communication and outreach (ECO) success stories: solving conservation problems by changing behavior. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center Division of Education Outreach report.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Raise awareness amongst the general public through campaigns and public information Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	1	Synopsis Link
Provide bird feeding materials to families with young children Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Enhance bird taxonomy skills through higher education and training Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link