Applying behavioural strategies to promote household water-conservation strategies

Water is an essential resource to society. Conserving water is an intrinsic part of human behaviour. Traditional water conservation approaches typically adopt command-and-control strategies that are restrictive, and do not always achieve long term sustainable water conservation. Understanding the causal mechanisms of behaviour that result in changes to an individual’s attitudes, desires, and motivations offers an alternative approach to conserving water. The nature of sustainable water conservation is revealed in three behavioural mechanisms: capability - the capacity to engage in conservation activities; opportunity - external conditions that enable behaviour to occur; and, motivation -internal factors that energise or direct behaviour.

水是维系社会运转的核心资源。节约用水是人类行为的内在组成部分。传统节水举措通常采用限制性的命令-控制型策略，且往往难以实现长期可持续的节水目标。探究能够促使个体态度、意愿与动机发生变化的行为因果机制，可为节水工作提供全新的解决路径。可持续节水的本质可通过三类行为机制加以阐释：一是能力（capability），即开展节水活动的实际能力；二是机会（opportunity），即促成节水行为发生的外部条件；三是动机（motivation），即驱动或指引行为的内在因素。