LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Behaviour Change Project: understanding the behavioural context.
Abstract
The main aim of the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Behaviour Change Project is to help Natural England and partners develop evidence-based interventions to influence the behaviour of recreational boaters to reduce disturbance and damage to seagrass. This report brings together and builds on the evidence relating to the anchoring and mooring behaviours of recreational boaters, the range of factors influencing these, and what we know about the impact of different kinds of intervention on those behaviours. The findings identify some key areas that require our attention: around information (the locations of seagrass beds), training (how to anchor and moor in such a way as to avoid damaging seagrass) and evidence (that the behaviours of recreational boaters affect seagrass (and how), and that alternative behaviours and devices like Advanced Mooring Systems are effective). Interventions planned for ReMEDIES will address these issues, and the information presented in this report provides a baseline against which we can measure the effectiveness of these interventions for driving change.