A habitat stronghold on the precipice: A call-to-action for supporting lemur conservation in northeast Madagascar.

The northeast of Madagascar is as diverse as it is threatened. The area bordering the Analanjirofo and SAVA regions contains six protected areas and at least 22 lemur species. Many applied research and conservation programs have been established in the region with the aim of ensuring both wildlife and people thrive in the long term. While most of the remaining humid evergreen forest of northeast Madagascar is formally protected, the local human population depends heavily on the land, and unsustainable natural resource use threatens this biodiversity hotspot. Drawing from our collective experiences managing conservation activities and research programs in northeast Madagascar, we discuss the major threats to the region and advocate for eight conservation activities that help reduce threats and protect the environment, providing specific examples from our own programs. These include (1) empowering local conservation actors, (2) ensuring effectively protected habitat, (3) expanding reforestation, (4) establishing and continuing long-term research and monitoring, (5) reducing food insecurity, (6) supporting environmental education, (7) promoting sustainable livelihoods, and (8) expanding community health initiatives. Lastly, we provide a list of actions that individuals can take to join us in supporting and promoting lemur conservation.

A call-to-action to assist in efforts to protect owl monkeys (Aotus spp.).

The majority of the 11 species of owl monkeys (Aotus spp.) have declining populations or are listed as data deficient. Deforestation due to agriculture, development, or logging poses threats to owl monkeys throughout their range. In some areas, Aotus are hunted for bushmeat or trapped for the wildlife trade. In Colombia, the country with the greatest number of Aotus species, owl monkeys are also threatened by civil unrest. To help combat these challenges, nonprofit organizations and field researchers in habitat countries have successfully implemented a variety of conservation projects such as censusing and monitoring owl monkey populations, establishing protected areas, reforesting degraded areas, filing lawsuits to protect wild populations, helping law enforcement with environmental regulation, and promoting environmental education. We highlight some of the conservation successes and suggest actions people around the world can take to contribute to these important efforts.

Researchers join forces to conserve red colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) in West Africa.

The recent development of the Red Colobus Conservation Action Plan has spurred momentum to promote site-based conservation of red colobus while forging partnerships among researchers and building local capacity. Communities for Red Colobus (C4RC) is a community-centered conservation organization in The Gambia, West Africa, that aims to protect Temminck's red colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) while advancing opportunities for local people. We highlight the inception and initial development of C4RC with its educational and ranger teams and describe how local and international collaborations have positively impacted the organization through training and mentoring programs. This conservation program has the potential to become sustainable with plans for continued ecological monitoring, reforestation efforts, use of alternative methods of cooking, and the expansion of ecotourism. We hope that the dissemination of project information through Gambian broadcast and social media channels and wider community outreach activities will improve perceptions and conservation of primates and inspire the development of other red colobus initiatives at suitable forest sites based on the C4RC model of community-based conservation.

The Effects of Environmental Education on Residents' Ecological Security Behavior: The Mediating Role of Nature's Psychological Ownership Perspective and The Moderating Role of Visual Fluency.

Residents are one of the most significant stakeholder groups in ecologically vulnerable regions, and the local ecological environmental governance efforts require their active cooperation and participation. To this end, this study leverages the sampled survey data from residents across 14 cities in Guangxi, China, and uses a structural equation modeling analysis to explore the impact of environmental education perception on residents' ecological security behavior. The results indicate that psychological ownership of nature plays a positive mediating role between environmental education perception and residents' ecological security behavior, as well as between ecological consciousness and residents' ecological security behavior, thereby supporting the idea that a sense of stewardship in protecting ecological security is a key factor in residents' conversion of their ecological protection cognition into practical actions. Further research finds that visual fluency has a moderating effect on the relationship between environmental education perception and psychological ownership of nature. This study provides new insights into the theoretical understanding of the formation mechanism of residents' ecological security behavior, enriches the theory of psychological ownership, and offers policy recommendations for governments implementing ecological environmental propaganda programs.

Effect of environmental education on the knowledge and attitude of some West African students in Northern Cyprus towards environmental health.

This study examines the relationship between environmental health and education by assessing how environmental education programs influence the attitude and knowledge of International university students in Northern Cyprus towards environmental health. The study employed a qualitative research method and utilized 45 international students from West Africa to grasp their perceptions of environmental challenges on campus, attitude-relevant elements, and their relationship to an academic program. The findings of the study show that most students were aware of the concept of environmental science and highlight that while the curriculum has a significant influence on students' ecological consciousness, teaching methods have an impact on students' attitudes toward the environment. The study also presented the complex nature of environmental programs, lack of exciting teaching strategies, and interdisciplinary approaches as major challenges hindering better student attitudes towards environmental science. The study suggests integrating environmental health into the curriculum to assess educational impacts on student attitudes.

Comparing the effectiveness of flagship species in zoo interpretation videos involving dialogic-based narrative approaches.

Zoological institutions frequently engage in indirect conservation activities as global conservation targets suggest a need for raising public awareness and engagement in biodiversity conservation. However, research suggests that while members of the public are typically aware of general conservation issues, they are often uncertain of simple and practical actions they take that will be impactful. In light of current conservation goals and targets, and the need for social science research to address the environmental learning and behavior change gap, this study builds upon prior action-based environmental education research and tests the efficacy of ex situ environmental education in supporting in situ conservation. Zoos typically employ flagship species to center their conservation messaging due to the purported draw of charismatic species. Using outreach videos with a dialogic-based narrative approach, we evaluated the efficacy of different flagships for conservation, comparing both species-focused versus generic conservation messaging and charismatic versus less charismatic species ambassadors. We found that zoo conservation outreach videos using dialogic-based narrative approaches were equally impactful regardless of the level of focus (i.e., species vs. broader biodiversity) or charisma level of the focal taxa.

Municipal solid waste management instruments that influence the use of the refuse as fuel in developing countries: A critical review.

Landfills are the destination of most of the refuse generated whereas composting, material recycling, and Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies are not commonly employed in developing countries. However, the destination for energy purposes could be supplied with this refuse, improving the viability of energy use. Thus, this article raises some questions to identify aspects that could encourage its use as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in these countries. Among them, does environmental education affect the municipal solid waste (MSW) source separation with emphasis on a destination? Can selective collection and extended producer responsibility (EPR) affect the MSW for energy recovery? Is there competition between the recycling market and the energy market for RDF? A systematic review of the literature was conducted to gather data and provide answers to such questions. This enabled to observe that EPR, selective collect expansion and source separation influence the quantity and quality of waste sent for energy use. Both internal and external factors impact on source separation. Additionally, there is evidence to support that despite several studies showing their technical, economic, environmental and social viability, the methods of energy usage of the refuse still need to improve their deployment in developing countries. In addition to identifying the main research gaps to be filled in future studies, the article also identified the instruments of MSW management that are to be applied in developing countries to divert recyclable and organic waste from landfill.

Sustainable-psycho-nutritional intervention programme for a sustainable diet (the 'NutriSOS' study) and its effects on eating behaviour, diet quality, nutritional status, physical activity, metabolic biomarkers, gut microbiota and water and carbon footprints in Mexican population: study protocol of an mHealth randomised controlled trial.

Mexico is going through an environmental and nutritional crisis related to unsustainable dietary behaviours. Sustainable diets could solve both problems together. This study protocol aims to develop a three-stage, 15-week mHealth randomised controlled trial of a sustainable-psycho-nutritional intervention programme to promote Mexican population adherence to a sustainable diet and to evaluate its effects on health and environmental outcomes. In stage 1, the programme will be designed using the sustainable diets, behaviour change wheel and capability, opportunity, motivation, and behaviour (COM-B) models. A sustainable food guide, recipes, meal plans and a mobile application will be developed. In stage 2, the intervention will be implemented for 7 weeks, and a 7-week follow-up period in a young Mexican adults (18-35 years) sample, randomly divided (1:1 ratio) into a control group (n 50) and an experimental group (n 50), will be divided into two arms at week 8. Outcomes will include health, nutrition, environment, behaviour and nutritional-sustainable knowledge. Additionally, socio-economics and culture will be considered. Thirteen behavioural objectives will be included using successive approaches in online workshops twice a week. The population will be monitored using the mobile application consisting of behavioural change techniques. In stage 3, the effects of the intervention will be assessed using mixed-effects models on dietary intake and quality, nutritional status, physical activity, metabolic biomarkers (serum glucose and lipid profile), gut microbiota composition and dietary water and carbon footprints of the evaluated population. Improvements in health outcomes and a decrease in dietary water and carbon footprints are expected.

Learning outcomes measured in zoo and aquarium conservation education.

Communicating the topic of conservation to the public and encouraging proenvironmental behaviors can mitigate loss of biodiversity. Thus, the evaluation of educational efforts is important to ascertain the educational effects and provide high-quality conservation education. The learning outcomes of conservation education are diverse (e.g., attitudes, knowledge, and behavior). Considering the specific characteristics of these different outcomes and the factors that influence them is crucial to delivering successful conservation education. We reviewed 29 peer-reviewed articles published in English from January 2011 to April 2020 on empirical studies of learning outcomes of on-site conservation education in zoos and aquaria, institutions that seek to educate the public about conservation. We examined the range of learning outcomes, their definitions, and factors that influenced them. Cognitive outcomes were most frequently investigated (37%) in comparison with other outcomes (e.g., affective outcomes, 31%). The articles did not use explicit definitions for learning outcomes, and implicit or explorative definitions provided were inconsistent. Outcomes were influenced by various factors (e.g., prior experiences, staff interaction, animal behavior). Our results suggest the agenda of conservation education research should be broadened by examining all learning outcomes relevant to behavior change. Educational and behavior change theories should be used as a background for conservation education research to ensure clear and consistent definitions, derive appropriate instruments to measure learning outcomes, and relate learning outcomes to influencing factors. We recommend conservation education researchers and practitioners to treat conservation education holistically and acknowledge its learning outcomes' full complexity.

Resultados del Aprendizaje Medidos en la Educación para la Conservación en Zoológicos y Acuarios Resumen La comunicación del tema de conservación y el fomento de las conductas proambientales entre el público puede mitigar la pérdida de la biodiversidad. Así, la evaluación de los esfuerzos educativos es importante para determinar sus efectos y proporcionar una educación para la conservación de gran calidad. Los resultados del aprendizaje de la educación para la conservación son diversos (p.ej.: actitudes, conocimiento y comportamiento). Es importante considerar las características específicas de estos diferentes resultados y los factores que les influyen para proporcionar una educación para la conservación exitosa. Analizamos 29 artículos, revisados por pares y publicados en inglés entre enero de 2011 y abril de 2020, sobre los estudios empíricos de los resultados del aprendizaje de la educación para la conservación in situ en zoológicos y acuarios, instituciones que educan al público sobre la conservación. Analizamos la variedad de resultados del aprendizaje, sus definiciones y los factores que les influyen. Los resultados cognitivos fueron los que se investigaron con mayor frecuencia (37%) en comparación con otros resultados (p.ej.: resultados afectivos, 31%). Los artículos no usaron definiciones explícitas para los resultados del aprendizaje, y las definiciones implícitas o exploratorias que se proporcionaron fueron incoherentes. Los resultados estuvieron influenciados por diversos factores (p.ej.: experiencias previas, interacción con el personal, comportamiento animal). Nuestros resultados sugieren que la agenda de la investigación sobre la educación para la conservación debería extenderse mediante la examinación de los resultados del aprendizaje relevantes para el cambio en el comportamiento. Las teorías del cambio educativo y conductual deberían usarse como trasfondo para la investigación sobre la educación para la conservación para garantizar definiciones claras y concisas, derivar instrumentos adecuados para medir los resultados del aprendizaje y relacionar los resultados del aprendizaje con los factores influyentes. Recomendamos que los investigadores y los practicantes de la educación para la conservación la manejen de forma holística y reconozcan toda la complejidad de sus resultados de aprendizaje.

Nine years of the Red Book Challenge conservation education in Southern Madagascar: What we have learned.

Red Book Challenge Conservation Education Madagascar is a small-scale, arts-based, conservation education initiative founded in 2012 by two Lemur catta researchers working in the Berenty Reserve and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2022. The target demographic is children and adults living in Southern Madagascar. The Red Book Challenge program initially consisted of providing supplementary conservation education through classroom visits at the elementary schools in Berenty village. The school children created small conservation booklets with red covers, giving the project its name. Today, the program has expanded to include the village of Besakoa Ambany and the city of Fort Dauphin, while remaining a small-scale program. To date, the Red Book Challenge has completed seven outreach projects aimed at generating goodwill in the local community, community development, and conservation education. This retrospective analysis functions as a formative evaluation of the feasibility of future projects. This paper will focus on four projects that fall under the category of conservation education: (1) Using films to promote conservation topics (2) field trips to observe lemurs (3) a Malagasy-run conservation club, and (4) a coloring book. These projects have been funded through small grants from the International Conservation Fund of Canada, and private donations. This paper includes the Red Book Challenge's history, results from the participant surveys, and the successes and failures in each stage of our work. Six shifts in thinking occurred: (1) use of Malagasy talent to create educational conservation films (2) more formal assessment before and after field trips (3) improvement of recruitment, training and supervision of staff to keep the conservation club self-sufficient (4) enlistment of Malagasy illustrators and adaptation of environmentally friendly printing practices for the coloring books (5) disseminate study outcomes to international community though publication (6) reframe the program from spare-time volunteer work to full-time research work.

Evaluating the impact of environmental education around Ranomafana National Park.

A total of 94% of lemur species are currently threatened with extinction and more than 17 species of giant lemur are already extinct. To help prevent the extinction of Madagascar's remaining lemurs, Dr. Patricia Wright initiated conservation programs in the Ranomafana region of southern Madagascar in the 1990s. These continued and expanded, and in 2003 were consolidated with Dr. Wright's research activities when Center ValBio ("CVB") was founded in 2003. CVB believes in the "One Health" approach in understanding the relationship between humans and the environment, and one of their core principles is that effective conservation is science-based. CVB's environmental education (EE) programs (discussed herein) operate in various primary schools surrounding Ranomafana national park (RNP). The all-Malagasy team consists of long-term conservation educators as well as young intern teachers, who together address the issues of valuing lemurs and the forests that they require to survive. In this paper, we will describe three of CVB's EE programs and evaluate their impact. The primary tool used to assess impact was an analysis of pre- and post -intervention test scores evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test. We show that these programs (1) are popular, (2) produce concrete outputs that can change rural villages, and (3) improve local knowledge on the importance of biodiversity and sustainable development.

The Use of Mobile Sensors by Children: A Review of Two Decades of Environmental Education Projects.

Over the past twenty years, the use of electronic mobile sensors by children and youngsters has played a significant role in environmental education projects in Portugal. This paper describes a research synthesis of a set of case studies (environmental education projects) on the use of sensors as epistemic mediators, evidencing the technological, environmental, social, and didactical dimensions of environmental education projects over the last two decades in Portugal. The triggers of the identified changes include: (i) the evolution of sensors, information and communication platforms, and mobile devices; (ii) the increasing relevance of environmental citizenship and participation; (iii) the recognition of the role of multisensory situated information and quantitative information in environmental citizenship; (iv) the cause-effect relation between didactical strategies and environmental education goals; (v) the potential of sensory and epistemic learners' practices in the environment to produce learning outcomes and new knowledge. To support the use of senses and sensors in environmental education projects, the SEAM model was created based on the developed research synthesis.

Improvement impact of nudges incorporated in environmental education on students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

This study conducted randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of an environmental education class and the impacts of nudges and boosts implemented in this program on high school students' basic knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding environmental issues in Japan. This environmental education class consisted of a lecture on reducing the use of plastic products for energy conservation in daily life, a board game for learning how to reduce plastic waste, and a worksheet for reflection. Four types of worksheets were randomly distributed: nudges, in which students were asked to set a goal regarding their level of effort in not throwing away plastic products such as plastic bags, wet wipes, and plastic bottles; boosts, in which participants were asked to write an essay to help increase their empathy for the parties impacted by environmental issues; both nudges and boosts; and none (neither nudges nor boosts). After environmental education, an end-line survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this class. This study found that the environmental education class significantly improved students' basic environmental knowledge and promoted their concerns about plastic waste. Although there was no evidence that nudges and boosts amplify the effects of the environmental education class on the students' knowledge, nudges were successful in making them more concerned about plastic waste. The results showed that students who received nudges or boosts were more likely to refuse free wet wipes offered at convenience stores but were not more likely to refuse plastic bottles. These results also indicated that interventions through environmental education can change students' pro-environmental behaviors only if the cost of behavioral change is low. The environmental education class not only increased students' environmental knowledge and attitudes, but the use of worksheets in administering nudges and boosts ensured the effectiveness of environmental education.

Reducing SDG complexity and informing environmental management education via an empirical six-dimensional model of sustainable development.

Effective environmental management higher education programs are essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet SDG complexity means many educators focus on environment and avoid critical but challenging social, economic and governance aspects. This undermines the calls for comprehensive environmental management education that effectively integrates all key sustainability dimensions. Various sustainability models, mostly founded on the pillars of sustainability, have consequently evolved. They are generally conceptual and/or involve subjective categorization of the SDGs, which has led to demands for more empirically based models. This study has consequently used a mixed-method approach to model Australian university students' SDG perceptions. The qualitative research identified three items (on average) for each SDG, and a quantitative survey then measured their perceived importance. Factor analysis generated a robust six-dimensional sustainable development model comprised of 37 SDG items, which validates environment and governance aspects of some traditional pillar-based sustainability models. It has also uncovered new social and economic dimensions: social harmony and equality; sustainable consumption and socioeconomic behaviors; sustainable production, industry and infrastructure; and acute poverty reduction. These findings can help educators, organizations and citizens to categorize and integrate SDGs via better understanding of their key dimensions and impacts.

Designing "Tiny Forests" as a lesson for transdisciplinary urban ecology learning.

The sustainability and livability of urban areas call for the next generation of scientists, practitioners and policy makers to understand the benefits, implementation and management of urban greenspaces. We harnessed the concept of "Tiny Forests©" - a restoration strategy for small wooded areas (~100-400 m2) - to create a transdisciplinary and experiential project for university forestry students that follows an ecology-with-cities framework. We worked with 16 students and a local municipality in the Munich, Germany metropolitan region to survey a community about its needs and desires and then used this information alongside urban environmental features and data collected by students (e.g., about soil conditions) to design a Tiny Forest. In this article, we describe the teaching concept, learning outcomes and activities, methodological approach, and instructor preparation and materials needed to adapt this project. Designing Tiny Forests provides benefits to students by having them approach authentic tasks in urban greening while experiencing the challenges and benefits of transdisciplinary communication and engagement with community members. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11252-023-01371-7.

Computational Thinking to Learn Environmental Sustainability: A Learning Progression.

Current environmental problems are the primary focus for environmental science students and researchers. Sustainable environmental solutions require interdisciplinary thought processes, which pose difficulty to both students and the public. Computational thinking is an emerging term emphasized by progressive science curricula. Computational thinking and environmental science are both interdisciplinary by nature. Learning about sustainable environmental solutions requires students to partake in computational thinking. These ideas lend toward an expansive learning progression that encourages scaffolded and differentiated student progress in both computational knowledge and environmental knowledge. The learning progression, which emerges from the conceptual framework, emphasizes the spheres of sustainability, research, education, and economic perspectives to support environmental science learning through computational thinking. Computational thinking emphasized by the computational components (input, integration, output, and feedback) support learning about environmental solutions within the learning progression. The learning progression promotes application and implications for educators, students, researchers, and environmental scientists.

Typifying conservation practitioners' views on the role of education.

Education is an established tool to enhance human-environment relationships, despite the lack of empirical evidence to support its use. We used theories of change to unpack assumptions about the role of education in conservation. We interviewed practitioners from 15 conservation organizations in Madagascar to typify implicit pathways of change and assess whether emerging pathways echo theoretical advances. Five pathways were drivers of change: increasing knowledge, changing emotional connection and changing traditional cultural practices, fostering leaders, diversifying outcomes, and influencing community and society. These pathways reflect existing sociopsychological theories on learning and behavioral change. Most interviewees' organizations had a predominant pathway that was often combined with elements from other pathways. Most pathways lacked culturally grounded approaches. Our research reveals assumptions about the role of education in conservation and indicates that organizations had different ideas of how change happens. The diversity of practices reflects the complexity of factors that influence behavior. Whether this diversity is driven by local sociocultural context, interaction with other conservation approaches, or contingencies remains unclear. Yet, typifying the pathways of change and reflecting on them is the first step towards comprehensive evaluation of when and which pathways and interactions to promote.

Caracterización de la Visión de los Profesionales de la Conservación sobre el Papel de la Educación Resumen La educación es una herramienta consolidada para mejorar las relaciones entre la humanidad y el medio ambiente, a pesar de la falta de evidencia empírica que respalde su uso. Usamos teorías del cambio para desentrañar las suposiciones sobre el papel de la educación en la conservación. Entrevistamos a profesionales de 15 organizaciones de conservación en Madagascar para caracterizar las vías implícitas de cambio y para analizar si las vías emergentes reflejan los avances teóricos. Cinco vías fueron impulsoras del cambio: el incremento del conocimiento, el cambio de la conexión emocional y el cambio de las prácticas culturales tradicionales, el fomento al liderazgo, la diversificación de resultados, y la influencia sobre la comunidad y la sociedad. Estas vías reflejan las teorías socio-psicológicas existentes sobre el aprendizaje y el cambio de comportamiento. La mayoría de las organizaciones de los entrevistados tuvo una vía predominante que con frecuencia estuvo combinada con los elementos de otras vías. La mayoría de las vías careció de estrategias fundamentadas culturalmente. Nuestra investigación reveló las suposiciones sobre el papel de la educación en la conservación e indica que las organizaciones tenían ideas diferentes sobre cómo ocurren los cambios. La diversidad de prácticas refleja la complejidad de los factores que influyen en el comportamiento. Todavía no está claro si esta diversidad es causada por el contexto sociocultural local, la interacción con otras estrategias de conservación o con las eventualidades. Aun así, caracterizar las vías de cambio y reflexionar sobre ellas es el primer paso hacia la evaluación integral de cuándo y cuáles vías e interacciones se deben promover.

Predicting the protective behavioral intentions for parents with young children that possess different levels of education in Hong Kong using the theory of planned behavior for air polluted with PM2.5.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution has fast become an issue with great environmental and human health problems that can be attributed to rapid global industrialization and urbanization that has strong negative impacts on human health. Children are particularly vulnerable. While studies on the effects and toxicology of particulate matter pollutants that are 2.5 microns or smaller in size (PM2.5) are abundant, understanding the factors that influence human behaviors against or the avoidance of exposure/contact to air polluted with high levels of PM2.5 is lacking. In this study, this gap was narrowed by used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the effects of Attitudes (AT), Subjective Norms (SN), and Perceived Behavioral Controls (PBC) on the Behavioral Intentions (BI) of parents with young children with different levels of education against or avoiding contact/exposure to air polluted with high levels of PM2.5. METHODS: The TPB model was used to predict the BI of parents with young children with different levels of education that live in Hong Kong using the results collected from 410 online questionnaires. Aspects of the BI influencing parents with young children that earned undergraduate group and post-graduate group were analysed using Smart Partial Least Squares 2.0 software. RESULTS: Our results revealed there were substantial differences in the AT of parents with young children that earned undergraduate and post-graduate degrees with respect to exposure to air with PM2.5 pollution. CONCLUSIONS: In this study we assessed the factors that influence the air pollution prevention and avoidance behaviors of parents of the undergraduate and post-graduate groups that were exposed to air polluted with PM2.5. Our results show the AT, SN, PBC, and BI used in the air pollution protection model for the parents of both groups are connected by separate pathways. The undergraduate group has a higher PBC compared to the post-graduate group because the SN associated with their social ecosystems contribute to their BI. Using path analysis, we revealed that the undergraduate and post-graduate groups had different BI paths. The BI path of the undergraduate group is purer and simpler when compared with the path of the post-graduate group.

Perceptions on the effectiveness of environmental education programs as environmental licensing tools for port-related enterprise in Brazil.

Environmental Education Programs (EEPs) are considered environmental management tools in Brazilian environmental licensing processes, within the scope of mitigatory and compensatory measures to the social, environmental, and economic impacts caused by development projects or new enterprises. Here, we assess the perceptions and expectations regarding environmental education programs of three groups of actors (communities, environmental managers, and environmental agency technicians) involved in the licensing processes of port activities in the region of Paranaguá, in the State of Paraná, Brazil. Paranaguá is the largest coastal municipality of the state of Paraná, in the southern region of Brazil, and is home to Brazil`s second largest port. Since this is environmental conservation area, the conflicts between the port activities, environmental protection and needs of the local communities require efficient environmental management practices, with EEPs as one of their main implementation tools. The evaluation was based on semi-structured interviews which were analyzed using the methods of content analysis and discourse of the collective subject. The actors understand that environmental education is a potentially effective tool to promote the mitigation or compensation of environmental impacts generated by port developments undergoing licensing processes. The groups considered that the continuity, promotion of social organization, and correlation with the actual environmental impacts related to each enterprise are essential qualities for good EEPs. The evaluated perceptions were complementary and indicate a complex but effective ideal scenario for EEPs in the region.

Individual and community-level impacts of the unarmed all-women Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit.

In a conservation setting where escalating tension has been the norm, the unarmed primarily female-composed Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit (BMAPU) in South Africa are a successful counterpoint in that they have decimated poaching using only diplomacy and patrols. We sought to understand if the BMAPU is achieving its secondary goal of influencing support for conservation and wildlife among the nearby populace via community-based conservation actions including outreach and environmental education. We also determined the impact that the program has on the Mambas themselves. Using a mixed-methods survey we conducted structured in-person interviews with 120 community members from four communities where the women of the BMAPU live, and among all the women that were on active duty in the BMAPU at the time of the surveys. We found that all participants in the BMAPU program reported improved self and community perception of their societal role as financial providers, as well as their sense of agency and self-efficacy, relative to before becoming rangers. We also found that having BMAPU rangers living in the communities by itself did not contribute to community-level support for wildlife conservation or protected areas. However, one community with both a large-scale children's conservation education program and an equitable distribution of financial benefits paid by the nearby conservation concessionaires was significantly more supportive of wildlife conservation and protected areas than the other three. Further research to parse the relative contributions of the two contributing factors of education and financial benefit would help clarify their relative contributions. From this study, we conclude that a combination of child-focused conservation education programs and equitable distribution of financial benefits leads to increased community support for wildlife, conservation, and protected natural areas, and decreases support for poaching.