Research article Ways forward for aquatic conservation: Applications of environmental psychology to support management objectives Kate Walker-Springett a, * , Rebecca Jefferson b, c , Kerstin B € ock d , Annette Breckwoldt e , Emeline Comby f , Marylise Cottet f , Gundula Hübner g , Yves-François Le Lay f , Sylvie Shaw h , Kayleigh Wyles i, 1 a Understanding Risk Research Group, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK b RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK c Centre for Marine and Coastal Policy Research, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK d Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria e Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Bremen, Germany f CNRS UMR 5600 Environnement, Ville, Soci et e, University of Lyon, ENS de Lyon, 15 Parvis Ren e Descartes, BP 7000, 69342 Lyon CEDEX 07, France g Institute of Psychology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Germany h School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia i School of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK article info Article history: Received 16 March 2015 Received in revised form 27 October 2015 Accepted 2 November 2015 Available online 18 November 2015 Keywords: Conservation Marine Freshwater Environmental management Human well-being Environmental values abstract The success or failure of environmental management goals can be partially attributed to the support for such goals from the public. Despite this, environmental management is still dominated by a natural science approach with little input from disciplines that are concerned with the relationship between humans and the natural environment such as environmental psychology. Within the marine and freshwater environments, this is particularly concerning given the cultural and aesthetic significance of these environments to the public, coupled with the services delivered by freshwater and marine eco- systems, and the vulnerability of aquatic ecosystems to human-driven environmental perturbations. This paper documents nine case studies which use environmental psychology methods to support a range of aquatic management goals. Examples include understanding the drivers of public attitudes towards ecologically important but uncharismatic river species, impacts of marine litter on human well-being, efficacy of small-scale governance of tropical marine fisheries and the role of media in shaping atti- tudes towards. These case studies illustrate how environmental psychology and natural sciences can be used together to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the management of aquatic environments. Such an approach that actively takes into account the range of issues surrounding aquatic environment management is more likely to result in successful outcomes, from both human and environmental perspectives. Furthermore, the results illustrate that better understanding the societal importance of aquatic ecosystems can reduce conflict between social needs and ecological objectives, and help improve the governance of aquatic ecosystems. Thus, this paper concludes that an effective relationship between academics and practitioners requires fully utilising the skills, knowledge and experience from both sectors. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Present address: Exeter University, College of Life and Environmental Science, Geography Department, Amoury Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK. E-mail addresses: k.walker-springett@exeter.ac.uk (K. Walker-Springett), rebecca.jefferson@rspb.org.uk (R. Jefferson), kerstin.boeck@boku.ac.at (K. B€ ock), annette. breckwoldt@zmt-bremen.de (A. Breckwoldt), emeline.comby@ens-lyon.fr (E. Comby), marylise.cottet@ens-lyon.fr (M. Cottet), gundula.huebner@psych.uni-halle.de (G. Hübner), yves-francois.le-lay@ens-lyon.fr (Y.-F. Le Lay), sylvie.shaw@uq.edu.au (S. Shaw), kaw@pml.ac.uk (K. Wyles). 1 Present address: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3DH, UK. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.002 0301-4797/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Environmental Management 166 (2016) 525e536