Abstract
The term “charismatic” is widely used to describe non-human organisms that receive greater attention than the writer believes they deserve. Additionally, it has become accepted that there is a link between organisms that exhibit non-human charisma and greater conservation and research attention. As there is no shared understanding of non-human charisma, however, there cannot be a robust link between it and greater conservation and research attention. The world is experiencing a biodiversity crisis, and there is limited funding for conservation. If some organisms are receiving undue conservation attention, leaving others behind, the mechanisms behind this decision-making merit investigation.
This thesis has three aims. Firstly, it seeks to construct a shared understanding of non-human charisma and tests this on the public and in the news media. Secondly, using that shared understanding of non-human charisma, this study investigates whether there is a link between charismatic organisms and willingness to conserve these organisms. Finally, it examines New Zealand’s conservation system for signs that it is affected by non-human charisma.
An accurate and shared understanding of non-human charisma is fundamental to this study. Rather than a binary property that an organism either shows or does not show, non-human charisma is a malleable, relational property. This study divides non-human charisma into elements that can be grouped into three realms. The first realm involves the appearance of the body of the organism. The second contains the charismatic elements that are affected by the viewer’s perception of the organism. Here, individual viewers experience these charismatic elements differently, depending on their knowledge and experience of the organism. The final realm includes the elements of non-human charisma that concern the organism’s behaviour. These realms are not discrete, and many elements of non-human charisma fall into more than one of them.
Having identified the charismatic elements from the literature, this study then tests these elements on the New Zealand public. An online survey used to ascertain the public’s favourite organisms and why they chose these organisms found that the influence of non-human charisma was perceptible in the public’s choices and their justifications. Most of the selected organisms were birds and plants, and responses spoke of their beauty, colour, size and personal connections with these organisms, all of which are charismatic elements. The personal connection mentioned by respondents was coded as “historical and cultural importance” and involves how an organism is important to a particular culture. A media contents analysis of the representation of the favourite organisms in New Zealand’s mainstream media also showed evidence of non-human charisma. Charismatic organisms are featured in the media more frequently than less charismatic organisms, and the elements of non-human charisma appear in the way that these organisms are described.
The second aim of this study was to establish a link between non-human charisma and willingness to conserve. A structured survey asked the same respondents to rate a wide range of organisms on three elements of non-human charisma and then asked how willing they were to conserve that organism. The results showed that respondents were “very” willing to conserve organisms that respondents considered “very” beautiful, clever and historically and culturally important. This study also demonstrated that respondents were broadly in favour of the conservation of all species, although fish were the least favoured taxon. Interestingly, when respondents were able to identify native versus introduced species, they were more willing to conserve native species, even when the introduced species was charismatic.
The final aim of this study was to examine New Zealand’s conservation system for evidence of the effect of non-human charisma. There is evidence of non-human charisma throughout the system. In the 2020/21 budget year, the Department of Conservation’s species-specific funding preferentially funded charismatic species, and the language of non-human charisma was evident in the justification of funding decisions in the 2022 budget. There is also evidence of the effect of non-human charisma in New Zealand’s conservation legislation and conservation effort.
This study contributes to conservation practice in New Zealand and internationally. It provides conservation practitioners with a useable definition of non-human charisma to examine their practice. It also establishes a robust link between non-human charisma and willingness to conserve. It shows evidence of non-human charisma in New Zealand’s current conservation funding, legislation and practice and suggests how this could be remedied in reforming New Zealand’s conservation laws for positive conservation outcomes for all of New Zealand’s endemic and native organisms.