THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE CONSERVATION MARKETING FOR RELATIONSHIP MARKETING BETWEEN CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS AND BUSINESSES

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, marketing for online conservation was increasingly used by conservationists to appeal for funds from businesses and to improve public awareness on the need to reduce the loss of biodiversity. Yet, uncertainty remains in the academic literature about the effectiveness of online conservation marketing. Given that the potential impact of online conservation marketing in the corporate sector is evident (i.e., with a clear reduction in management and maintenance costs, and an increase fund collection), knowledge of online conservation marketing is important for building and maintaining a conservation group -to-business relationship. This study serves as an exploratory inquiry and aims to understand whether Environmental Education Centers (EECs) in Malaysia use electronic platforms for conservation marketing purposes. Based on an extensive literature search on conservation marketing and a search for EEC background information, from 2015 to 2020 many EECs in Malaysia have either used, or are using (i.e., WWF Malaysia) or will soon be using (i.e., Taman Hidupan Liar Gua Musang) online conservation marketing as one of their marketing strategies. The findings hold true even for the EECs with poor Internet connections (i.e., National Elephant Conservation Centre Kuala Gandah). This exploratory study underscores the need for more research in this area, especially with regard to the effectiveness of online conservation marketing among EECs since many of the EECs are situated in locations with poor Internet connectivity. Without an understanding of electronic marketing strategy used by the EECs, the conservationists’ role will likely be limited to that of conservation research, improving the standards of animal welfare and describing the loss of biodiversity.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE USAGE OF ELECTRONIC PLATFORM FOR CONSERVATION MARKETING AMONG EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRES (EEC) IN MALAYSIA

With limited funding, conservationists are far from able to assist all threatened species. Even though online marketing has been increasingly used by conservationists to raise funds and awareness on the need to reduce biodiversity loss, the major issue is reaching the target audience and influencing their behaviour, especially if the target audience is a profit-making entity. To date, a comprehensive theoretical investigation on online conservation marketing pertaining business expectation, preferences, experience and satisfaction is still in its infancy and remains unanswered. Therefore, to fulfil this gap, this qualitative study is executed, in which 19 in-depth interviews was adopted until data saturation is achieved. The participants are those who worked in relationship marketing field and have experienced online conservation marketing activities. The study explores and profiles the experiences and satisfaction of businesses based on their previous online conservation marketing and the expectation and preferences of businesses for future online conservation marketing. Based on the research findings, even before the first Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia, many businesses in the country were involved in at least one online conservation marketing strategy with an Environmental Education Centre (EEC) and many were satisfied with the EEC online marketing strategies and services. However, most businesses have less expectations and low preferences towards the future online conservation marketing by the EEC. This study assists conservation organisations in retaining the financial support from businesses and enhancing public conservation awareness through businesses. This study is aligned with Malaysia National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) no 4, under Entry Point Project 4 (EPP 4) and also NKEA no 6, under EPP 12.

Information About Zoonotic Disease Risks Reduces Desire to Own Exotic Pets Among Global Consumers

Demand for exotic pets is a substantial driver of the illegal wildlife trade. Previous work has suggested that this demand could be reduced by conservation marketing messaging highlighting the potential consequences to individual purchasers, in the form of zoonotic disease risks, or legal ramifications. Such work, however, has been limited only to respondents from culturally Western countries, and has not accounted for how underlying attitudes to the keeping of exotic pets may influence desire to own one, or affect the effectiveness of demand reduction messaging. We surveyed 1,000 respondents in each of Brazil, China, USA and Vietnam, showing each five mammal, bird, and reptile pets in random order. Each pet was accompanied with either a “control” statement, describing the species' diet, or one of four types of “treatment” statement describing zoonotic disease, animal welfare, legal or species conservation consequences. Respondents were asked to rate how much they would like to own the pet on a 1–10 scale. All respondents demonstrated decreased desire to own a given exotic when shown any of the types of treatment information, but disease information provoked the greatest decrease, relative to controls (a mean decrease of 26.9%, compared with 16.2, 17.9, and 18.9% for legality, welfare and conservation information, respectively). We also found that respondents with the highest stated likelihood of purchasing pets possessed a series of beliefs that could facilitate this purchase while maintaining an ethical self-image: in particular they believed that shops were well-regulated, and that they were able to distinguish captively-bred from wild caught animals. In summary all respondents of any nationality were motivated particularly to avoid the risk of zoonotic disease, and we recommend that demand reduction campaigns leverage this desire, particularly in the new context of COVID-19.

The Pandemic as a Conservation Marketing Intervention: Could COVID-19 Lower Global Demand for Wildlife Products?

We wished to assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic, thought to have a zoonotic origin, may lead to a reduction in consumer demand for wildlife products. In 2018, we surveyed the effect of demand reduction messaging on consumers' desire to own exotic pets with 1,000 respondents in each of Brazil, China, the USA, and Vietnam. In July 2020, during the pandemic, we repeated the survey with 100 new respondents in each country. Mean desire to own a given exotic pet was 40–60% lower in 2020 during the pandemic, but only for respondents from Brazil, China, and the USA, and only for the group of respondents who had high a priori purchase likelihoods: those who had already owned an exotic pet. The stated desire to own of non-owners was no different in 2020, but this group already had extremely low purchase likelihoods. Vietnamese pet owners, in contrast to those in other countries, exhibited higher purchase desire during the pandemic than previously. We speculate that this arose because Vietnam has a long history of dealing with epidemic disease, had no COVID-19 related deaths by the time of survey, and so population uncertainty about the consequences of exotic pet ownership may have decreased. While limited, our initial evidence indicates that the global pandemic is unlikely to permanently curb demand for wildlife products.

Etude de l’effet de Cercospora oryzae Miyake sur la qualite des grains du riz et le developpement de la ternissure

La cercosporiose due à Cercospora oryzae est un champignon pouvant causer des pertes allant jusqu'à 60%. Elle est de plus en plus fréquente en Afrique de l'Ouest. Les premières prospections réalisées au sud du Bénin ont indiqué que Cercospora oryzae a une contribution large puisqu’elle a affectée 85% des champs de riz des trois zones agroécologiques du sud Bénin. Cette étude vise principalement à contribuer à la connaissance détaillée des effets de Cercospora oryzae sur les grains afin d’optimiser la conservation, la commercialisation et la production. Elle a consistée a : i) évaluer les effets de Cercospora oryzae sur le pouvoir germinatif des grains, ii) évaluer les effets de Cercospora oryzae sur le développement de la ternissure. L’étude a combiné des outils physiologiques et phytiatriques. Au terme des travaux, les variétés testées ont enregistré une bonne teneur en eau pour un minimum de 6%, ainsi qu’un bon taux de germination. A la fin de l’étude nous avons pu constater que Cerocpora oryzae entrainait une baisse du pouvoir germinatif des grains, une altération de la graine blanche et une décoloration de l’enveloppe. Ces résultats constituent une étape d’un travail de recherche approfondi sur la caractérisation (agronomique et génétique) de Cercospora oryzae afin de proposer des méthodes de luttes. Mots clés : Pouvoir germinatif, décoloration, altération, Cercospora oryzae, riz. English Title: Study of the effect of Cercospora oryzae Miyake on the quality of rice grains and the development of tarnishSigatoka caused by Cercospora oryzae is a fungus that can cause losses up to 60%. It is more and more frequent in West Africa. The first surveys carried out in the south of Benin indicated that Cercospora oryzae has a large contribution since affected 85% of the rice fields of the three agroecological zones of southern Benin. The main objective of this study is to contribute to detailed knowledge of the effects of Cercospora oryzae on grains in order to optimize conservation, marketing and production. It consisted in: i) evaluating the effects of Cercospora oryzae on the germination power of the grains, ii) evaluating the effects of Cercospora oryzae on the development of tarnish. The study combined physiological and phytiatric tools. At the end of the work, the varieties tested recorded a good water content for a minimum of 6%, as well as a good germination rate. At the end of the study we could see that Cerocpora oryzae did not cause a drop in the germinative power of the grains but rather resulted in an alteration of the white seed and a discoloration of the envelope. These results constitute a stage of an in-depth research work on the characterization (agronomic and genetic) of Cercospora oryzae in order to propose methods of struggle.Keywords: Germination, discoloration, deterioration, Cercospora oryzae, rice.

A SWOT Analysis of Indigenous Language Use in Agricultural Radio Programming in Nigeria

This chapter investigates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of indigenous language use in agricultural radio programming in Nigeria within the theoretical frame of diffusion of innovations as well as the theory of planned behaviour. This discourse affirms existing assertions that using indigenous languages in agricultural radio programming can guarantee farmers' access to information on issues of agro materials, utility applications, support accessories, funding, technology, conservation, marketing, and pedagogy. The study concludes that indigenous language use in agricultural radio programming engages agricultural programme producers and farmers through their opinion leaders. It recommends that the use of indigenous languages in agricultural radio programming in Nigeria should continue. However, the country's agro policy should protect all farmers irrespective of cultural or ethnic divides; and specifically cater to the needs of minority ethnic groups of farmers.

Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Addressing the biodiversity crisis requires renewed collaborative approaches. Large carnivores are ambassador species, and as such they can aid the protection of a wide range of species, including evolutionarily distinct and threatened ones, while being popular for conservation marketing. However, conflicts between carnivores and people present a considerable challenge to biodiversity conservation. Our cross disciplinary essay brings together original research to discuss key issues in the conservation of large carnivores as keystone species for biodiversity rich, healthy ecosystems. Our findings suggest the need to promote coexistence through challenging ‘wilderness’ myths; to consider coexistence/conflict as a continuum; to include varied interest groups in decision making; to address fear through positive mediated experiences, and to explore further partnerships with zoos. As wide-reaching institutions visited by over 700 million people/year worldwide, zoos combine knowledge, emotion and social context creating ideal conditions for the development of care towards nature, pro-environmental behaviors and long-term connections between visitors and carnivores. Based on current research, we provide evidence that large carnivores and zoos are both powerful catalysts for public engagement with biodiversity conservation, recognizing barriers and suggesting future ways to collaborate to address biodiversity loss.

Community Engagement: An Appreciative Inquiry Case Study with Theodore Roosevelt National Park Gateway Communities

Appreciative Inquiry was employed to understand the mutual impact of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and nearby communities’ relationships with tourism. Specifically, the goals of this study were to: understand the role of Theodore Roosevelt National Park related to stimulating regional tourism; to ascertain gateway community resident perceptions of benefits from tourism as it relates to economic development and quality of; and, to explore nearby communities’ relationships with the park and how those communities may help influence quality visitor experiences, advance park goals, and develop and leverage partnerships. Results include a collection of emergent themes from the community inquiry related to resource access and tourism management, citizen and community engagement, conservation, marketing, and communication between the park and neighboring residents. These findings illuminate the need to understand nearby communities’ relationship to public lands and regional sustainability support between public land managers and these communities.