Nature connectedness, "nonattachment", and engagement with nature's beauty aid pro-nature behavior

What is it about?

As climate change progresses, understanding what helps to promote behaviours that protect the natural environment are increasingly relevant and important. This study examined measures of nature connectedness, the Buddhist quality of "nonattachment", and levels of engagement with nature's beauty to see how well they predicted scores on pro-nature conservation. We found that nature connectness was the strongest predictor, followed by nonattachment, and then engagement with nature's beauty, the latter relationship being only marginal.

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Photo by Manh LE on Unsplash

Photo by Manh LE on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Climate change is generally acknowledged as the single greatest threat to human existence in modern times. If we are to ameliorate the effects of climate change and increase behaviours that protect nature and combat influences that damage nature, it is important to understand factors that influence such behaviour. The more we understand behaviour that protects or threatens the environment, the more effectively we can develop strategies that protect nature and secure the future of human life on Earth.