Modest levels of interpretability of the term ‘biodiversity’, mediated by educational level, among the Australian public
Modest levels of interpretability of the term ‘biodiversity’, mediated by educational level, among the Australian public
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澳大利亚公众对“生物多样性”一词的解释程度较低，受教育水平影响
作者：
H. Kiley;G. Ainsworth;M. Weston
世界范围内保护动植物的有效努力依赖于公众的参与，因此也依赖于公众对保护活动目标（最常见的是“生物多样性”）的认识。我们在澳大利亚维多利亚州的一个有代表性的公众样本（n=499）中检查了对“生物多样性”一词的解释与普遍接受的定义的一致性，维多利亚州是一个拥有明确的生物多样性保护战略（定义该术语）和大量投资于保护的能力的国家。然而，近一半的受访者不知道“生物多样性”是什么意思，32%和18%的受访者分别表达了生态和概念上的解释。在受过大学教育的受访者中，至少对这个词有某种解释的可能性更高，但除此之外，性别和收入并无差异。通过更好地协调公众对“生物多样性”一词的解释，或者在与公众接触时采用更直观的语言，可能会有助于扩大保护工作的基础。
Effective worldwide efforts to conserve flora and fauna rely on engaging the public, and thus on public appreciation of the object of conservation activities (most commonly, ‘biodiversity’). We examined alignment of interpretation of the term ‘biodiversity’ with generally accepted definitions in a representative sample (n=499) of the public from the State of Victoria in Australia, a country with an explicit biodiversity conservation strategy (which defines the term) and the capacity to invest heavily in conservation. However, almost half of respondents did not know what ‘biodiversity’ meant, 32% and 18% expressed an ecological and conceptual interpretation, respectively. The probability of having at least some interpretation of the term was higher among university-educated respondents, but otherwise did not vary with sex or income. Broadening the base of conservation efforts would likely be facilitated by better aligning interpretations of the term ‘biodiversity’ among the public or by adopting more intuitive language when engaging with the public.