No bats, no gain: educational intervention increases farmers perception of ecosystem services

Abstract

Brazil’s network of public Protected Areas (PAs) occupy 28.9% of its territory, and large remnants of native vegetation are also found on private lands, therefore landowners play central roles in any conservation debate: they are required to protect native vegetation on their lands and are neighbours of PAs. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that an educational activity focused on ecosystem services (ESs) and the ecological processes underpinning them could improve landowners’ perception of public and private PAs. We designed a classic experiment by applying a pretest and posttest to control and intervention groups. The intervention was a workshop for Brazilian landowners to educate them about a public PA and to demonstrate how ESs provided by native areas positively impact rural activities. We used a questionnaire and a series of images to conduct face-to-face interviews. Our results revealed that landowners who participated in the workshop identified more activities developed in the public PA, were more aware of pollination, and recognized more ESs during the interviews. Conservation initiatives should promote educational events for landowners. In particular, practical activities and demonstrations involving emblematic species help rural people to understand the links between native biodiversity, ESs and well-being.