Environmentalist or Conservationist, and Does it Matter?

From the Biodiversity Connections Report of the Biodiversity Project, this article discusses the terms "environmentalist" and "conservationist" and what they mean to the public (rather than the internal debate in the field) and how that affects their use in communication. The author suggests that the public does see a difference in the two and gives a cursory overview via a chart, which lists some of the following contrasts:


Environmentalist:

• driven by ideology.
• wishes to preserve environment.
• outsider.
• radical.
• watchdog.
• superior/righteous.
• stereotyped as political activist.

Conservationist:

• looking for a practical solution to a particular problem.
• wishes to conserve the environment for current and future use.
• local.
• balanced and practical.
• pragmatic and solution-oriented.
• contributor to the community.
• stereotyped as a local duck hunter.

The author then points out that, though environmentalists may carry a negative stereotype, the public acknowledges the need for uncomfortable tactics and respects the role environmentalists play, unless their tactics are viewed as inflammatory and extreme.


Focus groups run in Wisconsin, United States, by the Biodiversity Project showed little name recognition for environmental organisations, but high name recognition for state and local activists. They also blurred the organisations together and assumed that the tactics of one were shared by all.


Based on this information , the author suggests, rather than abandoning the "environmentalist" label, reclaiming it and "re-staking rhetorical turf." Steps she suggests are associating new and more local, mainstream faces with the term, claiming tactics that are positive and coalition-building, and communicating concern about people and solutions. She advocates for reclaiming “environmentalist” "to celebrate and claim the strengths of the term – ...conviction and passion and love for the natural world – while shaking up old assumptions that lead to negative perceptions."