Cinema offers a substantial opportunity to share messages with a wide audience. However, there is little research or evidence about the potential benefits and risks of cinema for conservation. Given their global reach, cinematic representations could be important in raising awareness of conservation issues and species of concern, as well as encouraging greater audience engagement due to their heightened emotional impact on viewers. Yet there are also risks associated with increased exposure, including heightened visitor pressure to environmentally sensitive areas or changes to consumer demand for endangered species. Conservationists can better understand and engage with the film industry by studying the impact of movies on audience awareness and behavior, identifying measurable impacts on conservation outcomes, and engaging directly with the movie industry, for example, in an advisory capacity. This improved understanding and engagement can harness the industry's potential to enhance the positive impacts of movies featuring species, sites, and issues of conservation concern and to mitigate any negative effects. A robust evidence base for evaluating and planning these engagements, and for informing related policy and management decisions, needs to be built.
Keywords: CITES; Google trends analysis; análisis de tendencias en Google; compromiso de las industrias; consumer research; desorden del déficit de la naturaleza; evaluación de impacto; impact evaluation; industry engagement; investigación sobre el consumidor; medios sociales; mercado de fauna; nature deficit disorder; social media; wildlife trade; 濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约 (CITES), 消费者调查, 谷歌趋势分析, 影响评估, 行业参与, 大自然缺失症, 社交媒体, 野生动物贸易.
© 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.