Work

Envisioning eco-friendly futures: investigating the psychological determinants of biodiversity conservation behaviours in French urban and peri-urban areas

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: As urbanisation continues to expand globally, having negative impacts on ecosystems, the significance of urban green spaces (private gardens, balconies and terraces, and in general green spaces in cities) increases as they are integral components of urban ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity conservation. It is thus important that citizens integrate wildlife gardening practices in their gardens or balconies. To achieve this, it is fundamental to understand the psychological correlates of wildlife gardening, pro-biodiversity behaviours and more generally biodiversity conservation policy support. In a vast field of research analysing how perceived risk is the main motivator for general pro-environmental behaviours, we argue that a fundamental determinant of specific biodiversity conservation behaviours (such as wildlife gardening) is individuals' ability to imagine positive eco-friendly future societies, and their beliefs about the solutions to achieve it successfully. This is the first research investigating how this is linked to biodiversity conservation behaviours. A correlational study with French participants (N = 266) thus analysed how this is associated to self-declared (a) wildlife gardening practices, (b) gardens’ feature richness, (c) general behaviours in favour of urban biodiversity conservation, (d) support for public policies targeting biodiversity conservation. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that envisioning the future - together with nature connectedness - is indeed a fundamental correlate of biodiversity conservation behaviours in general, and wildlife gardening more specifically. In fact, it is a stronger correlate than the perceived psychological distance of biodiversity loss (as a measure of perceived risk, which is instead fundamental for policy support). Although these findings can only be considered as preliminary (considering methodological limitations), this study is the first one to investigate how the fact that individuals can imagine a positive future when humans live in harmony with nature is a factor motivating them to act in favour of nature. This work paves the way to further studies on the effectiveness of presenting, in communication and education campaigns, a positive vision of the future, rather than focusing solely on the risks and negative consequences of actual behaviours. • Exploring the socio-cognitive correlates of biodiversity conservation behaviours. • Envisioning positive futures motivates biodiversity conservation behaviours. • Public policy support correlates with future envisioning and psychological distance. • Envisioning positive futures is strongly linked to nature connectedness. • Importance for education and communication campaigns to focus on positive scenarios.

Source: Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.147474

Authors: Lucia Bosone, Aurore Grandin

Institutions: Université Paris Cité, Université Gustave Eiffel, Laboratoire de Psychologie et d’Ergonomie Appliquées, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, École Normale Supérieure - PSL

Language: English

Topic: Environmental Education and Sustainability

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,660