Engaging the public with the risks of LBAM

Efforts to eradicate and control the Light Brown Apple Moth in California have brought invasive species to public attention. Roughly $90 million was allocated to eradication, yet abundant qualitative evidence suggests that the public is skeptical of the scientific statements of regulatory agencies. Social science research has convincingly demonstrated that the relative degree of public trust in scientists and scientific institutions plays a much greater role than scientific data in public reception of risk communication. Efforts by scientific regulatory institutions to manage and communicate risk in a unidirectional manner frequently results in perverse outcomes, such as further undermining public confidence in scientists. Social scientists have articulated “public engagement” as an alternative to the “risk communication” model. Public engagement designs co-learning processes for lay publics and scientific experts in which all parties learn to articulate scientific knowledge with cultural values, regulatory policy and collaborative decision making processes. This approach incorporates multiple perspectives and domains of knowledge to facilitate better public decision making with scientific knowledge for society, and could facilitate public engagement with the risks of LBAM in a more constructive fashion.