Willingness of Student to Favour the Protection of Endangered Species in a Trade-off Conflict in Finland

Abstract This paper explores the willingness of Finnish students to favour protection of endangered species in a hypothetical trade-off conflict, where conservation would cause an increase in the household energy cost. The most striking result was the very distinct preference of species which the students felt worth protecting. The students favoured species which are well known, taxonomically close to man and actually endangered. Major differences occurred among students due to sex, educational institute, nature-related activity groups, as well as knowledge of nature and conservation issues.