Public attitudes and behaviour towards the environment

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has released the 2007 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours towards the environment. Questions on biodiversity were included in a short follow up survey.

Between 30 and 40 per cent of people said that they had given a great deal or a fair amount of thought to loss of biodiversity before. 71 per cent of those who own a garden strongly agreed or tended to agree that “they actively encourage wildlife in their garden”.

Biodiversity was explained to respondents as "the variety of living things and the natural environments that support them" and loss of biodiversity as "loss of species of living things through development, pollution, or natural processes".