Wildlife crime has come under increasing international scrutiny in recent years, with ever more money being spent on activities to combat it. However, little is known about what drives local people to become involved in wildlife crime, or about which interventions are likely to be most effective in tackling it.

Unauthorized use of natural resources is a key threat to many protected areas. Approaches to reducing this threat include law enforcement and integrated conservation and development (ICD) projects, but for such ICDs to be targeted effectively, it is important to understand who is illegally using which natural resources and why. The nature of unauthorized behavior makes it difficult to ascertain this information through direct questioning.