From research to impact: an integrated toolkit for designing, testing and adapting incentive-based conservation programs

Halting and reversing biodiversity loss towards a Nature- and People-positive future requires transformative social change, yet many conservation programs fail due to insufficient consideration of socio-psychological and structural factors influencing human behaviour. This paper presents an integrated toolkit for co-designing, testing, and adapting locally-appropriate incentive-based interventions, grounded in behavioural and social science, which can deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity and people. By combining established conservation planning frameworks, methods and an illustrative case study, the paper brings together: (1) theory and methods for diagnosing barriers and enablers to conservation-relevant behaviour; (2) a typology of incentive-based interventions, from command-and-control measures to positive rewards and norms-based approaches; (3) a suite of predictive methods for ex-ante evaluation of plausible interventions; (4) guidance on counterfactual-based impact evaluation, adaptive management and scaling; and (5) customisable research instruments and training resources to aid application. The toolkit is illustrated through a case study on an incentive-based conservation program for Critically Endangered wedgefishes ( Rhynchobatus spp.) in small-scale fisheries in Indonesia. Theory of Planned Behaviour-based diagnostics revealed socio-economic barriers to pro-conservation behaviour, and scenario interviews identified performance-based compensation as a promising intervention. An experimental evaluation of the intervention then revealed both conservation impacts and hidden actions, which informed adaptive responses. By offering practical, customisable approaches and resources for iterative, people-centred and evidence-based intervention design, this paper aims to guide researchers and practitioners in developing effective, equitable and scalable behaviourally-mediated interventions that deliver measurable positive impact for biodiversity and people.