Published on 23 July 2024
Devmini Bandara – University of Exeter
Kevin Gaston– University of Exeter
Lewis Elliot – University of Exeter
Rebecca Lovell – University of Exeter
Dr. Humphrey Crick – Natural England
Dr. Fraenze Kibowski – Natural England
Dr. James Hoggett – Natural England
Giselle Sterry – NBN Trust
Traditional conservation planning has often focused primarily on ecological data and on distancing conserved areas from human populations. This approach has overlooked the positive human-nature interactions and the critical role that human societies play in shaping environmental outcomes. By understanding and incorporating the social dimensions, we can better design conservation strategies that are not only environmentally effective but also socially equitable and sustainable. This research project is an attempt to bridge the gap between humans and nature, to create a more inclusive and holistic approach to conservation.
Specifically, this PhD research aims:
This project includes three main approaches.
The first approach is to provide valuable insights into how the spatial distribution of conservation priorities shifts depending on how the presence of people, their socioeconomic context, recreational demand sites, and nature visitation patterns are treated within the context of SCP using breeding bird distribution models, People and Nature Survey Data (PaNs) and other publicly available data.
The second approach involves identifying sociodemographic factors which foster positive human-nature interactions, using the People and Nature survey data. We will then examine the potential of using nationally available socioeconomic variables to model statistically direct positive human-nature interactions across the UK. This is to understand the social dimensions that promote positive human-nature interactions and to shed light on the balance between ecological and social dimensions within SCP.
The third approach involves investigating how citizen science data contributes to biodiversity conservation. Citizen science is a valuable data source for SCP as the species distribution models it uses arise in large part from citizen-collected species records. This part of our research includes exploring the iNaturalistUK observation records to understand the spatial, temporal, and taxonomic patterns of these records, and conducting a cross-sectional survey among iNaturalistUK registered users to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics and spatial distribution of the users. This will enable us to identify how human data shape the biodiversity records and spot data biases. This understanding is essential for ensuring the reliability and representativeness of citizen science data that are integrated into conservation planning efforts within the context of SCP.
This project will provide a foundation to empower conservation practitioners to design strategies that are not only ecologically sound but also socially equitable. It lays the groundwork for stronger collaboration among stakeholders, policymakers, and local communities in conservation planning. Ultimately, this holistic approach can lead to more effective, sustainable, and accepted conservation measures that benefit both biodiversity and human well-being.
More from Natural England
“This study is very timely and potentially important conservation in the UK and more widely. We have entered a new age of conservation that considers people and nature as an integrated system. We need to stop thinking about nature as somehow isolated from society, but how it contributes to the health and well-being of the communities in which it is embedded. By developing methods for combining socio-economic data with ecological information within a systematic conservation planning framework, this study will produce results that have the potential to benefit both society and nature. I can see immediate uses for such analyses for Natural England in enhancing its contributions to the Government’s plans for a national Nature Recovery network, and I’m sure it will have much wider impact elsewhere in the world.” Natural England
More from NBN Trust
“The value of data from citizen science is increasingly recognised by governments and funders and participation is growing due to the many apps and websites that are now available. However, we don’t really understand why people are motivated to record or why they record certain species over others. This research will be incredibly useful in helping us to understand current participants and social interactions with nature. It will help to determine where the spatial, temporal and taxonomic patterns are and why and where the data biases exist. We need a realistic view of how representative citizen science data is in relation to species distribution. Without this information, it would be difficult to elicit change in recording behaviour, if that is what’s needed, so identifying gaps will be invaluable in helping us to encourage the recording of a wider variety of species across more of the UK. We are very excited to read the outputs from the research.” NBN Trust
Bandara, D., Elliott, L., Lovell, R. & Gaston, K. J. (2026). iNaturalistUK observation records (2008-2023) analysis report. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18482827
Squire, E., Bandara, D., Elliott, L., Lovell, R. & Gaston, K. J. (2026). iNaturalist survey 2024 NBN Trust question summaries report. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18483690
Banner image: Anastasia Nelen. Unsplash
