Igniting public engagement with biodiversity conservation: exploring the communication of Predator Free 2050 in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This study explored the communication of Predator Free 2050 (PF2050), a biodiversity conservation programme promoted by the New Zealand government. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and an online survey, the study found that the information about PF2050 was made available by diverse contributing agencies but ineffectively disseminated to the public who believed PF2050 provided insufficient or unclear communication. These were experienced as barriers to public engagement with PF2050. A coordinated approach is judged vital to communicate PF2050 to the public. A key to this coordination is effective engagement with Māori as Treaty partners to ensure the success of PF2050. This study provides valuable insights into the features provoking and sustaining public engagement with biodiversity preservation in Aotearoa New Zealand and highlights the need for environmental movements worldwide to improve communication publicity and visibility. It contributes to our understanding of prioritising both inclusiveness and cultural sensitivity if communication strategies are to inspire collaborative actions of the public.

KEYWORDS:

• Public engagement
• Predator Free 2050
• communication campaign
• biodiversity conservation

Acknowledgement

This study is approved by the Research and Ethics Committee at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology with ethics reference number 2020-B02.

Thanks to Markus Gronwald for his insights when scoping this study. Thanks to the feedback of Dr Bradley Hannigan on the early draft of this paper. Special thanks to the late Professor Colleen Mills for her valuable discussion of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This study received two grants at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, New Zealand in 2020. The first was $2000.00 NZD from the research office at NMIT, the funding number was 200-200001-4260-R2018. The second was $1000.00 from the Department of Applied Business at NMIT with the reference code 112631.