Community motivations to engage in conservation behaviour to conserve the Sumatran orangutan

Abstract

Community-based conservation programs in developing countries often assume that heteronomous motivation (e.g. extrinsic incentives such as economic rewards and pressure or coercion to act) will motivate local communities to adopt conservation behaviors. However, this may not be as effective or sustainable as autonomous motivations (e.g. an intrinsic desire to act due to inherent enjoyment or self-identification with a behavior and through freedom of choice). This paper analyses the comparative effectiveness of heteronomous versus autonomous approaches to community-based conservation programs, using the example of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) conservation in Indonesia. Comparing three case study villages employing differing program designs, we found that heteronomous motivations (e.g. income from tourism) led to a change in self-reported behavior towards orangutan protection. However, they were ineffective in changing self reported behavior towards forest (i.e. orangutan habitat) protection. The most effective approach to creating self-reported behavior change throughout the community was with a combination of autonomous and heteronomous motivations. Individuals who were heteronomously motivated to protect the orangutan were found to be more likely to have changed attitudes than their self-reported behavior. These findings demonstrate that the current paradigm of motivating communities in developing countries to adopt conservation behaviors primarily through monetary incentives and rewards should also consider integrating autonomous motivational techniques which promote the intrinsic values of conservation. Such a combination will have a greater potential to achieve sustainable and cost-effective conservation outcomes. Our results highlight the importance of in-depth socio psychological analyses to assist the design and implementation of community-based conservation programs