How WildAid Measures Success: From Consumer Behavior to Species Recovery

With nearly three decades of experience, WildAid has achieved great progress with successful campaigns curbing illegal wildlife trade and poaching. Our strategic communications inspire people across the globe to say no to illegal wildlife products and to live environmentally friendly lifestyles. This is complemented by our work with communities, governments, and other organizations to restore habitats and reduce carbon footprints, doing the most good with the resources available, stretching every dollar to reach the greatest long-term benefit for vulnerable wildlife and habitats. 

The progress we make in protecting wildlife and natural habitats is tracked using 3 methods of measurement: consumer behavior change as an indicator of decreased demand, improved policy and enforcement as an indicator of decreased supply, and species revival to ensure that we are achieving our mission. By monitoring our indicators of success, we ensure our work is effective, and the change we create is real and lasting. 

It should be noted that it is difficult to measure illegal activity. We enlist the help of undercover investigators to help monitor this activity and are sensitive in the way we phrase our survey questions. 

METHOD 1: Consumer Behavior Change 

Consumer behavior change is the foundation of our work. WildAid uses multiple data points and collection methods that focus on campaign reach and consumer attitudes so we can create effective messaging for our target audiences. 

When WildAid set out to produce a documentary to inspire pangolin conservation in China and beyond, we adopted a fresh approach after six years of messaging against pangolin consumption in the country. Drawing from the success of our 2022 tiger campaign in China, which increased support for tiger conservation and influenced 48 million people to reduce consumption of tiger parts, we developed the 2024 documentary Defenders of the Hidden.

Featuring superstar Wang Yibo, the film highlighted the efforts of scientists, forest rangers, community members, and conservation groups working to save the Chinese pangolin. By showcasing their challenges and achievements, the documentary aimed to evoke national pride and connect audiences with the urgent need to protect this critically endangered species.

This strategy proved highly effective in driving behavior change, with over one million consumers across China pledging on social media to reject pangolin products—marking a significant step toward ending pangolin consumption.

Once we reach the right people, we evaluate our effectiveness by measuring changes in the attitudes of consumers, particularly those who use wildlife products. Our campaigns begin by gathering baseline information from surveys and focus groups to determine how to best communicate with our audience. The surveys are done by third-party companies to ensure our information is unbiased and reliable. Governments, media, and other NGOs may also provide additional information on relevant wildlife consumption. After the campaigns, further surveys are conducted, and we compare the data to what was gathered at the outset of the campaign. This way, we know if we succeeded in changing consumer attitudes and behavior.

To evaluate our efforts to curtail the consumption of shark fins in Thailand, we administered a consumer survey before our campaign launch and then again six years later. Based on the results, we saw a 34% decrease in shark fin consumption during this time. The total number of consumers who had shark fin in the past year decreased by 28%, while those who consumed shark fin more than once per year dropped 43%. We could clearly see our work made a difference. 

Additional Campaign Metrics and Measurable Changes in Consumer Behavior Towards Wildlife: 

• 29% of Cameroonians who saw WildAid’s Say No to Pangolin Meat campaign said it convinced them to stop eating pangolin meat. 

• 81% of people surveyed who saw our Speak Out and Save a Rhino campaign said they would never purchase rhino horn. 

•  97% of port workers in East Africa are more likely to report wildlife crime as a result of our awareness campaign, increasing protection of some of the continent’s most iconic species. 

METHOD 2: Improved Conservation Policy and Law Enforcement  

Government policy and law enforcement metrics are also important to gauge the success of wildlife protection measures. When WildAid collaborates with governments, law enforcement agencies, and local communities, we help enact the types of systemic change that can lead to broad, long-lasting wildlife protections. Through our work, we can help shape policy, strengthen enforcement of anti-poaching laws with improved monitoring, and decrease the sales of illegal wildlife products like elephant ivory or pangolin scales. 

WildAid’s work with marine protected areas (MPAs) is a significant example of how we use policy and law enforcement metrics to better understand our impact. Take Cocos Island National Park. Known as ‘shark island,’ this uninhabited island lies 340 miles off the coast of Costa Rica. It teems with wildlife and biodiversity. Its waters are home to 250 species of marine fish, including the endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, yellowfin tuna, whale sharks, and manta rays. Unfortunately, poachers were raiding the waters, catching endangered sharks and rays, as well as dolphins, sea turtles, and other animals. The poachers’ small boats made it easy for them to avoid detection, and the large size, 809 square miles of water, made it difficult for the island’s park rangers to patrol the park effectively. 

To put a halt to the illegal fishing, WildAid connected with the rangers and the Costa Rican government to install radar systems that can track dark vessels otherwise hidden from satellite tracking. Our specialized team brought technological expertise and marine enforcement experience to bolster the park rangers’ surveillance capabilities and to set up a new state-of-the-art control center. The end result was a 98% reduction in illegal fishing during the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023. Remarkably, in August 2024, zero illegal fishing occurred.  

Finally, a secondary metric is product pricing. When policy and law enforcement deter illegal wildlife consumption, prices frequently drop due to the decrease in consumer demand. For that reason, we use the cost of wildlife products as indicators of our success protecting a given species. For example, we saw an 80% reduction in shark fin prices after our work in China led to a significant decrease in consumer demand. 

Additional Conservation Policy, Law Enforcement, and Product Pricing Metrics: 

• All commercial sales of ivory were banned in China.  

• Illegal fishing arrests increased by 10% in Gabon’s marine protected areas since 2017. 

• Cuba expanded its number of marine protected areas MPAs from 3 to 10. 

METHOD 3: Wildlife Species Recovery and Regeneration 

As an organization with a mission to inspire and empower the world to protect wildlife and vital habitats from critical threats, WildAid’s most important metrics are those directly related to the revival and regeneration of threatened species like sea turtles.  

WildAid’s work with partners in Ecuador made enormous headway for endangered sea turtles. In 2014, WildAid began collaborating with Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment and the Water to save sea turtles from extinction. Ecuador’s nearly 1,400 miles of coastline is home to green, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, and hawksbill turtles, but all five species are threatened or endangered. Climate change, fishing net entanglement, poachers, and even artificial lighting, all harm the chances of sea turtle survival.

To take action for sea turtles, WildAid worked with coastal patrols to monitor and surveil beaches, logging more than 55,000 patrol hours. We helped create an environmental education plan and new public policy, supported research and citizen science, conducted a mass media communication campaign, and put in 20,000 hours of drone, data recording, and animal release training for our partners. And the impact on the turtles? More than 7,000 nests were protected, 500 turtles requiring medical attention were rescued, and 350,000 sea turtle hatchlings made their way to the ocean in 2020. In 2024, the first leatherback hatching in 40 years was recorded on Ecuador’s coast. 

Additional Marine Species Revival and Regeneration Metrics: 

• Fish and marine wildlife populations have increased 250% in the marine protected areas where we work. 

• 35% of global mangrove forests are now safeguarded.

Evaluation of WildAid’s Financial Efficiency 

 WildAid’s dedication to impact measurement means every charitable contribution is allocated to the greatest good and drives real-world change. Our 2023 perfect score for financial efficiency from Charity Navigator is a testament to our ability to achieve optimal success for wildlife with every single dollar. We’re proud to have earned Charity Navigator’s highest possible four-star rating every year since 2016.  

Plus, in 2024 alone, we leveraged over $200 million in pro bono media, ensuring our donors’ impact goes far beyond their donation amount.

Support WildAid’s mission to protect wildlife and vital habitats today and see all the good your donation can do!