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A review of volunteers’ motivations to monitor and control invasive alien species

People make an important contribution to the study and management of biological invasions, as many monitoring and control projects rely heavily on volunteer assistance. Understanding the reasons why people participate in such projects is critical for successful recruitment and retention of volunteers. We used a meta-synthesis approach to extract, analyze and synthesize the available information from 28 selected studies investigating motivations of volunteers to engage in monitoring and control of invasive alien species (IAS). Our findings show how motivations fit three broad themes, reflecting environmental concerns, social motivations, and personal reasons. An important outcome of this study is the description of motivations that are unique to the IAS context: supporting IAS management, protecting native species and habitats, and livelihood/food/income protection or opportunities. In addition, our study reflects on important methodological choices for investigating volunteer motivations as well as ethical issues that may arise in practice. We conclude with a set of recommendations for project design and future research on volunteer motivations in IAS contexts, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with social scientists.

Details

Aantal pagina's 23
Volume 73
Pagina's (van-tot) 153-175
Type A1: Web of Science-artikel
Categorie Onderzoek
Tijdschrift Neobiota
Taal Engels
Bibtex

@misc{185f4929-932b-4770-9778-81de4bdc04a5,
title = "A review of volunteers’ motivations to monitor and control invasive alien species",
abstract = "People make an important contribution to the study and management of biological invasions, as many monitoring and control projects rely heavily on volunteer assistance. Understanding the reasons why people participate in such projects is critical for successful recruitment and retention of volunteers. We used a meta-synthesis approach to extract, analyze and synthesize the available information from 28 selected studies investigating motivations of volunteers to engage in monitoring and control of invasive alien species (IAS). Our findings show how motivations fit three broad themes, reflecting environmental concerns, social motivations, and personal reasons. An important outcome of this study is the description of motivations that are unique to the IAS context: supporting IAS management, protecting native species and habitats, and livelihood/food/income protection or opportunities. In addition, our study reflects on important methodological choices for investigating volunteer motivations as well as ethical issues that may arise in practice. We conclude with a set of recommendations for project design and future research on volunteer motivations in IAS contexts, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with social scientists.",
author = "Ana A. Anđelković and Lori Lawson Handley and Elizabete Marchante and Tim Adriaens and Peter J.M. Brown and Elena Tricarico and Laura N. H. Verbrugge",
year = "2022",
month = mei,
day = "25",
doi = "https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.73.79636",
language = "Nederlands",
publisher = "Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek",
address = "België,
type = "Other"
}

Auteurs

Ana A. Anđelković
Lori Lawson Handley
Elizabete Marchante
Tim Adriaens
Peter J.M. Brown
Elena Tricarico
Laura N. H. Verbrugge