Emotions-based Planning Tool – (EBPT) Improving Conservation Collaboration

Collaboration brings together different perspectives, to create better conservation outcomes.  Emotions, which drive our behaviours and responses, are the foundation of this understanding.  This presentation introduces a novel, practical Emotions-based Conservation Planning Tool, to support collaboration during the planning, design and implementation of conservation and recovery projects. This tool rapidly identifies the emotions motivating positive and negative human behaviours and attitudes. Understanding our place on the emotional scale opens up opportunities for better and more meaningful outcomes.

Emotions help keep us on the right track by making sure that we are led by more than the intellectual faculties of thought, perception, reason, memory. More deeply understanding differences, can allow us to move away from often polarized or conflicting positions, towards true, respectful collaboration. Where interests are underlain and defined by negative emotions (e.g., pessimism, envy, anger, fear), conservation outcomes tend to be unbalanced and less effective. Where interests are defined by positive emotions (e.g., diligence, patience, optimism, temperance), outcomes tend to be balanced and optimized. The EBPT is useful in assessing and counteracting less than optimistic perspectives. It provides an emotional roadmap to cross over and affect individuals from various sectors engaged in conservation and recovery of species and places. (e.g., ENGOs, Industry, Special Interest Groups, Conservation Organizations, the Private Sector, Academia). By Tom Hilditch from Savanta Inc.