Work

Insights for conservation from the Ecological Knowledge Games project

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Environmental conservation research requires robust methods for collecting large-scale behavioral data and engaging diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes. We (Y.P., A.B.D., and N.B.) created EcoKnowGames (Ecological Knowledge Games), a transdisciplinary project that develops knowledge games for conservation science and data collection. We explored two existing knowledge games created by ecologists for the project: Power Up!, which collected over 57,000 player decisions on energy-biodiversity trade-offs, and RESTORE, focused on ecosystem restoration scenarios. Building on these examples, EcoKnowGames integrates game development with ecological modeling to establish pathways from player decision-making data to predictive socioecological models. We developed EcoKnowGames open-source game builder tool in partnership with an established game studio, which allowed researchers to create custom knowledge games without extensive technical expertise. EcoKnowGames addresses key challenges in game-based research, including privacy protection, participant consent, community engagement, and policy applications. This novel approach contributes to conservation research by providing empirically tested tools for integrating human behavior data into socioecological models and offers a complementary approach to traditional stakeholder engagement methods in decision-making processes.

Source: Conservation Biology

DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70308

Authors: Yuan Pan, A. Bradley Duthie, Isabel Jones, Daksha Patel, Nils Bunnefeld

Institutions: King's College London, University of Stirling, Northumbria University

Language: English

Topic: Educational Games and Gamification

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400