6 Questions with Martha Stokes: Bringing Behaviour Change Into Global Environmental Policy

Martha Stokes is an interdisciplinary behaviour change practitioner from Scotland with a background spanning environment, sustainability, and human behaviour. Now based in Nairobi, she works at the science-to-policy interface on the seventh edition of UNEP’s flagship Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) report, where she leads the GEO-7 Behavioural, Social and Cultural (BSC) Task Group, due December 2025. Academically trained in both natural sciences and social sciences, Martha is passionate about impact-driven projects that put people at the centre of their design.

1) We always like to start by asking how you got into your field. Can you share what inspired your journey into conservation and human behaviour?

I’m originally from Scotland, and I’ve always been fascinated by both the natural world and human psychology. I studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where I focused on conservation, behavioural ecology, and psychology. For a while, I wondered how to bring those interests together; was it through communication? Was it research? The turning point came during an internship with TRAFFIC International, a world-leading NGO focusing on the global wildlife trade. I worked on projects around the rhino horn trade, where I saw firsthand how behaviour change strategies could be used to understand consumer profiles and design targeted messaging. It just made so much sense to me, and I remember thinking, this is it, this is how my interests come together. That early experience set me on a winding path, but one that has always centred on behaviour change in conservation.

2) Can you share a bit about your involvement with the IUCN Behaviour Change Task Force and projects you've contributed to?

I first connected with the Task Force after presenting at UN Behavioural Science Week in 2024. I spoke about the work we were doing at UNEP with the seventh Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) and the task group I coordinate on behavioural, social, and cultural insights. After that session, Diogo Veríssimo reached out, and not long after we met again at a conference in Cambridge, where, by chance, I also reconnected with Gail Burgess, who had first introduced me to behaviour change years before at TRAFFIC International. It felt like things had come full circle. Since then, I’ve been really pleased to contribute to the Task Force and join such a dynamic group of practitioners who bring such diverse expertise.

3) Could you tell us about any exciting projects or research you’re currently working on?

My full-time role is with UNEP as part of the Global Environment Outlook secretariat, now working on our 7th edition (GEO-7), which will be published in December. GEO is UNEP’s flagship report, and it has been exciting to contribute to such a collaborative effort with hundreds of authors worldwide. The report looks both at the state and trends of the environment and how they are impacted by the crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, desertification, pollution, and waste, and at what we can do to address these. We focus on transforming key interconnected systems, including economics and finance, circularity and waste, energy, food, and environmental management. While behaviour change isn’t the central focus of GEO-7 (it is primarily an environmental report), I’ve been able to help ensure that behavioural, social, and cultural insights are included throughout the text. I’ve also enjoyed experimenting with how to present information more effectively, working with groups like the Tyndall Centre of Climate Change Research to apply cognitive insights into how visuals and data are designed for policymakers. It’s been a fascinating process and one where I’ve learned a huge amount.

4) In your opinion, what is one of the biggest challenges the world faces in driving meaningful behaviour change toward conservation?

One concept I keep coming back to is psychological proximity. Many environmental issues can feel distant or intangible; you can’t always see the air getting more polluted, or soil degrading in real time. If something doesn’t feel immediate or directly relevant, it’s harder for people to connect to it emotionally and act. That’s a huge challenge for behaviour change in conservation. What helps is making these issues more tangible, relatable, and close to people’s everyday lives. I love the example of a campaign on air pollution in major cities where a glass of dirty water was used to illustrate: “You wouldn’t drink this, so why breathe it?” Suddenly, something invisible became visible, familiar, and urgent. Creativity and communications have a big role to play in closing that psychological distance—whether for the public or for policymakers.

5) Who is someone in the conservation world (or beyond) that you look up to or that has influenced your career?

I’ve been fortunate to have many people influence my journey. My parents, who are social workers, really shaped how I think about people’s experiences and the importance of empathy and social context. Gail Burgess and my colleagues at TRAFFIC introduced me to the world of behaviour change in conservation, which has been foundational. More recently, I’ve learned so much from Mary McLennan, who leads behavioural science at the UN. She’s been an incredible mentor, particularly in showing how powerful networks can be in growing the field. I’ve also been inspired by the people I’ve worked with through GEO, researchers and policymakers who’ve helped shape global agreements. For example, Sir Bob Watson, one of the GEO-7 co-chairs, was instrumental in the Montreal Protocol, the international environmental treaty that has helped the ozone layer recover. Being able to work alongside people who have literally helped change the world is both humbling and motivating.

6) As you look ahead, what are your goals or hopes for the future of conservation and behaviour change?

Looking forward, I’d love to see behavioural science continue to be integrated into conservation practice, not as an add-on, but as a core element. Understanding how people make decisions and what motivates them is critical if we want a lasting impact. More broadly, I hope conservation is increasingly recognised not as a “nice to have,” but as fundamental to human well-being and survival. Conservation underpins so many of the systems and services we rely on, whether it’s clean air, water, food security, or even medical advances that sometimes come from the most unexpected species. We need to do a better job of helping people see that connection and value. My hope is that as a community, we can continue to build that understanding and drive meaningful action at every level, from individuals to global policy.

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