This paper proposes a novel hybrid method to tackle the social dilemmas that often arise in conservation: the tensions between individual incentives and collective environmental goals. The authors combine behavioural experiments with participatory scenario planning, offering a framework that captures both the psychological drivers of decision-making and the lived experiences of stakeholders.
A survey experiment (N = 360) revealed how personal temptation undermines conservation choices, especially when individuals doubt others will cooperate. Participatory workshops then grounded these findings in real-world contexts, such as dam construction and deforestation, producing scenarios that reflect take-some, give-some, lose-lose, and win-win dilemmas. Together, these methods offer a practical tool for designing context-sensitive, evidence-informed interventions.
Zhu, H., Awad, E., Lyreskog, D., Reinecke, M., Frater, J., Gomez, C., Wilhelm, K., Singh, I. (2025). Bridging Behavioural Experiments and Participatory Scenario Planning to Address Social Dilemmas in Conservation-Development Trade-offs.