Foundations of Social Science in Conservation: A Literature Review

Emily Robertson
17 minutes ago
3 min read

For conservationists on the front lines, it's clear: biodiversity loss is a human-driven crisis. We've seen how everyday choices, like habitat destruction or overconsumption, threaten species survival. Knowing this, how can modern conservation practices best adapt to ensure the most optimal outcomes? Social sciences and behaviour change offer untapped capabilities to shift these patterns. Recent IUCN SSC CEC Behaviour Change Task Force (BCTF) publications and key studies highlight this potential, detailing how to bridge knowledge gaps to achieve real impact.

Brief overview of the papers

In “Conservation and the Social Sciences Revisited,” the Society of Conservation Biology examines the evolving role of the social sciences in conservation, with particular attention to the Social Science Working Group. This article reinforces the idea that successful conservation requires a deep understanding of human behaviour and social systems, making the integration of social sciences a critical component of future conservation efforts.

The comprehensive review "Changing Human Behavior to Conserve Biodiversity," published in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, by the IUCN SSC CEC Behaviour Change Task Force, explores how behavioural science can be applied to address biodiversity loss.

“Use of Theories of Human Action in Recent Conservation Research,” published in Conservation Biology, analyses the use of social science theory within top conservation journals and calls for the adoption of theoretical frameworks to unlock the social sciences' full potential in conservation.

Conservation and the Social Sciences Revisited

Key Insights:

The Role of Social Sciences: The article stresses the importance of integrating social sciences into conservation planning to address the human dimensions of biodiversity loss.
Cultural and Contextual Understanding: It emphasises the need for culturally sensitive approaches that incorporate local knowledge, values, and practices, ensuring conservation strategies are both effective and equitable.
Challenges and Opportunities: The review identifies challenges in applying social sciences to conservation, such as bridging the gap between research and practice, and highlights opportunities for collaboration between social scientists and conservation practitioners.
Future Directions: The article calls for a more integrated approach that combines social sciences with ecological research to develop holistic conservation strategies that address both environmental and social challenges.

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Changing Human Behavior to Conserve Biodiversity

Key Insights:

Threat Mitigation: The article examines how changing human behaviours can effectively reduce major threats to biodiversity, including pollution, climate change, invasive species, and habitat destruction.
Targeted Strategies: It identifies effective strategies for influencing different stakeholder groups, from policymakers to local communities, to adopt conservation-friendly behaviours.
Gaps in Implementation: The article highlights key gaps in the design and execution of behaviour change interventions, offering a roadmap for more effective conservation efforts.
Equity and Collaboration: The review emphasises the importance of addressing social justice and fostering collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and communities to ensure equitable and sustainable conservation outcomes.

Use of Theories of Human Action in Recent Conservation Research

Key Insights:

Limited Theory Use: There is limited theory utilised among publications. Only 1 in 3 papers used social science, and of those, only a quarter applied explicit theories, like the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
Individual-Focused Bias: The existing research tends to focus on individual traits rather than how people interact and influence each other in complex ways.
Pathways Forward: The authors encourage researchers to report which theories they use and mix different social science theories to avoid repetition and create more meaningful insights. Promoting theory application via incentives and crediting research when applied innovatively.

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Why this research is critical:

Together, these articles detail how biodiversity conservation efforts are mitigated by knowledge of real-world contexts, enhanced by a thorough application of theory, and supported by the greater conservation community. This was most eloquently stated by Dietsch et al., "The future of conservation... depends not only on the inclusion of social sciences, but also on the recognition that a plurality of theories, methods, and perspectives is needed to bring about effective and just solutions to ongoing and emergent challenges."

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References:

Dietsch, A. M., Selinske, M. J., vanEeden, L. M., Blount-Hill, K.-L., Hauptfeld, R. S., Banerjee, S., Brittain, S., Gelves-Gómez, F., Kaushik, A., Fischer, P. M., Uddin, M. K., & Wallen, K. E. (2025). Conservation and the social sciences revisited. Conservation Biology, 39, e14462. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14462
Eyster, H. N., Gould, R. K., Chan, K. M. A., & Satterfield, T. (2025). Use of theories of human action in recent conservation research. Conservation Biology, 39, e14461. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14461
Veríssimo, D., Blake, K., Byerly Flint, H., Doughty, H., Espelosin, D., Gregg, E. A., Kubo, T., Mann-Lang, J., Perry, L. R., Selinske, M. J., Shreedhar, G., & Thomas-Walters, L. (2024). Changing human behavior to conserve biodiversity. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 49, 419–448. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-111522-103028