Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services

<p>These files provide the original survey data of the paper on motivations for biodiversity conservation in Europe. This paper analyses the possibility of building a mutually supportive dynamics between internally and<br /> externally motivated behaviour for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. To this<br /> purpose a face to face survey amongst 169 key actors of 34 highly successful and prominent biodiversity<br /> arrangements in seven EU countries was conducted. The main<br /> finding of the paper is the feasibility of<br /> combining inherently intrinsically motivated behaviours (providing enjoyment, pleasure from<br /> experimentation and learning, aesthetic satisfaction) and internalized extrinsic motivations (related<br /> to the identification with the collective goals of conservation policy) through a common set of governance<br /> features. Successful initiatives that combine internal and external motivations share the following<br /> features: inclusive decision making processes, a broad monitoring by &ldquo;peers&rdquo; beyond the core staff of the<br /> initiatives, and a context that is supportive for the building of autonomous actor competences. These<br /> findings are in line with the psycho-sociological theory of motivation, which shows the importance of a<br /> psycho-social context leading to a subjective perception of autonomy and a sense of competence of the<br /> actors.</p>