Abstract
Research into the human dimensions of invasive alien species (IAS) management has received great attention to date. However, little is known about how public education influences stakeholders knowledge and management of IAS. Using key informant interviews and household questionnaires, we explored the role of public education in farmers knowledge and management of invasive Mikania micrantha in the China-Myanmar Border Region (China). We found ten common educational approaches that farmers were familiar with and/or adopted, and a high level of knowledge and management among farmers. We also found that public educational approaches helped to improve farmers knowledge and management, with some differences due to socio-demographic factors. We conclude that promotional materials and training workshops work better than personal experience, and that training workshops perform best. These results suggest that improving the design and implementation of public education could contribute to effective communication among stakeholders and long-term management of IAS. Our findings provide important insights for adopting public education programs in IAS management.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to [authors follow the Data Confidentiality Agreement of Yunnan University especially when border areas are involved in this study] but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr. Jiongchang Zhao (Yunnan University) and Mrs. Jin Wang (Yunnan University) for their assistance in the field. We are grateful to Mrs. Xue Fan (Science and Technology Development Research Center of Chengdu) for her suggestions improving the quality of this manuscript. No conflicts of interest have been declared.
Funding
This work was supported the Consultation and Evaluation Project of the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2020-SM01-B-019), the China-Myanmar Joint Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Conservation (Grant No. C176240208), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0505206), and the Science and Technology Planning Project in Key Areas of Yunnan Province (Grant No. 202001BB05002).
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Li, Y., Liu, X., Zeng, H. et al. Public education improves farmers knowledge and management of invasive alien species. Biol Invasions 23, 2003–2017 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02486-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02486-8