Exploring upstream, midstream and downstream measures for wildlife conservation in Ghana: an integrative social marketing approach

Purpose: Although human behaviour has been identified as the key driver of all major threats to biodiversity, including species extinction and the overexploitation of wildlife products, previous efforts to reduce the rate of species loss have typically focused on enforcement, education and community-based conservations with limited attention to behaviour change. Recent efforts to influence human behaviour using behavioural change techniques such as social marketing have not achieved much because they have focused on a unit level of analysis (downstream, midstream or upstream). This study, therefore, aims to explore an integrative social marketing approach to influence human behaviour towards species extinction. Design/methodology/approach: Data was purposively collected from individual consumers, meat retailers and restaurant operators and policymakers from the Forestry Commission of Ghana and was analysed using a thematic approach to qualitative data analysis. Findings: The findings indicate that a holistic intervention or an intervention that integrates upstream, midstream and downstream measures will better influence human behaviour towards biodiversity conservation and species extinction. Thus, a social marketing intervention designed based on a single level of analysis will fail to address the major threats to biodiversity, including invasion of species and overexploitation of natural resources. Originality/value: Past studies that have examined the role of social marketing in biodiversity conservation have focused mainly on a single level of behaviour change (i.e. either upstream, midstream or downstream) with little or no attention given to an integrative approach to dealing with the phenomenon. This notwithstanding calls for an integrative approach to dealing with “wicked problems” like biodiversity loss. The study represents a pioneering effort that explores downstream, midstream and upstream measures necessary to deal with biodiversity loss.