Farmers and foresters as agents of change for nature conservation in Germany – the role of biodiversity awareness

Farmers and foresters hold a large share of land area, making them key agents for reversing biodiversity loss. We conducted a quantitative survey among farmers (n = 502) and foresters (n = 503) in Germany to better understand their biodiversity awareness, motives and barriers for implementing conservation measures. We found high levels of biodiversity awareness for foresters (M = 2.27, SD = 0.53, scale of 0–3) and farmers (M = 2.09, SD = 0.58). Biodiversity awareness was positively correlated with specific values (intrinsic, instrumental and relational). A correlation with age suggests that high biodiversity awareness could be linked to practical knowledge that comes with experience. Meanwhile, lower levels of biodiversity awareness in farmers are correlated with the perception of biodiversity as a potential risk (e.g. pests). We show that farmers and foresters can become agents of change for biodiversity conservation if we manage to strengthen their incentives while reducing barriers to biodiversity-friendly practices, like limited human resources, inflexibility of measures and documentation efforts. Both groups show a high intrinsic motivation and willingness to contribute. Future communication and consulting must be tailored to this target audience, taking into account their high level of motivation and the practical challenges they face.