Investigating the English public's awareness of the Bern Convention and their education on environmental issues and laws

Rachel Dunn*, Tanya Wyatt, Luke Johnson, Callam Willis, Hannah Millar

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

This paper investigates the knowledge of the general public on the legislative framework relating to wildlife conservation in England, with a specific focus on the Bern Convention and the public's awareness of the treaty, as well as the domestic legislation transposing it. By creating a publicly available survey, the study determined the environmental attitudes of the public and their knowledge of the legislative regime relating to wildlife conservation. Whilst the majority of the public displayed pro-environmental attitudes and support for greater efforts towards the conservation of flora and fauna, the overall awareness of the legislation was worryingly low, with only 5.6% of respondents recognising the Bern Convention. Accordingly, the study investigated how awareness of environmental legislation may be increased. Ultimately, the paper concludes that formal environmental education, including legislation, must be optimised, and the domestic legislative framework should be further consolidated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)402-424
Number of pages23
JournalLegal Studies
Volume43
Issue number3
Early online date24 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2023

Keywords

  • Bern Convention
  • environmental law
  • public education
  • public perceptions

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