Evaluating global interest in biodiversity and conservation |
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Authors: | Gabriel Henrique de Oliveira Caetano Reut Vardi Ivan Jari? Ricardo A Correia Uri Roll Diogo Veríssimo |
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Institution: | 1. Jacob Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel;2. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel;3. Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, ?eské Budějovice, Czech Republic;4. Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (HELICS), Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;5. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK |
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Abstract: | The first target of the Convention for Biological Diversity (Aichi target 1) was to increase public awareness of the values of biodiversity and actions needed to conserve it—a key prerequisite for other conservation targets. Monitoring success in achieving this target at a global scale has been difficult; however, increased digitization of human life in recent decades has made it easier to measure people's interests at an unprecedented scale and allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of Aichi target 1 than previously attempted. We used Google search volume data for over a thousand search terms related to different aspects of biodiversity and conservation to evaluate global interest in biodiversity and its conservation. We also investigated the correlation of interest in biodiversity and conservation across countries to variables related to biodiversity, economy, demography, research, education, internet use, and presence of environmental organizations. From 2013 to 2020, global searches for biodiversity components increased, driven mostly by searches for charismatic fauna (59% of searches were for mammal species). Searches for conservation actions, driven mostly by searches for national parks, decreased since 2019, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic inequality was negatively correlated with interest in biodiversity and conservation, whereas purchasing power was indirectly positively correlated with higher levels of education and research. Our results suggest partial success toward achieving Aichi target 1 in that interest in biodiversity increased widely, but not for conservation. We suggest that increased outreach and education efforts aimed at neglected aspects of biodiversity and conservation are still needed. Popular topics in biodiversity and conservation could be leveraged to increase awareness of other topics with attention to local socioeconomic contexts. |
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Keywords: | Aichi targets conservation outreach convention on biological diversity culturomics google trends interest in biodiversity interest in conservation socioeconomic variables alcance de la conservación culturomía Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica interés en la biodiversidad interés en la conservación metas de Aichi tendencias de Google variables socioeconómicas 蜜蜂 爱知目标 保护宣传 《生物多样性公约》 文化组学 谷歌趋势 对生物多样性的兴趣 对保护的兴趣 社会经济变量 |
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