Designing Effective Messages guidelines for reducing demand for illegal wildlife

However, there is a growing amount of evidence about what works in designing effective communications to change consumer choice, and, as importantly, what doesn’t work (and could even backfire). Applying lessons from behavioural science can be useful in informing initiatives aiming to reduce consumer purchase and use of (or ‘demand’ for) illegal wildlife products.

These Good Practice Guidelines have been prepared following discussion at an “Expert Roundtable on Effective Messengers and Messaging, to Reduce Demand for Illegal Wildlife Products”.

The event was one of a series convened by TRAFFIC, as part of its work supporting the Social and Behavioural Change Communications Community of Practice, working to reduce the demand for illegal wildlife products. The event was held in Bangkok, Thailand, August 2018 and attended by around 40 representatives of diverse institutions with relevant professional perspectives, experience or a mandate around demand reduction issues.

The following features are thus explored in detail in the guidelines: