Plants and the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework: educational approaches to support pro-conservation behaviours

Abstract

The COP15 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to address rapid biodiversity loss and protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030. Biology education could help to engage citizens with the GBF and promote pro-conservation behaviours, particularly for plants, which have historically been neglected in education and biodiversity conservation. In this narrative review and critical commentary, we consider what kind of approaches could lead to pro-conservation behaviour towards plants in support of the GBF, at school and tertiary levels of biology education. We examined twenty-two experimental studies about plant ecology and education, published in indexed journals from 1998 to 2022. The prevalent approaches were ecological gardening, informal science education and authentic enquiry. We assess the studies for the capabilities, opportunities and motivations provided by the pedagogic design and present behavioural models of how the approaches might support citizens’ pro-conservation behaviours, based on study findings. We discuss how the approaches might support the goals of the GBF, barriers to implementation and recommendations for overcoming these.