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Conservation Social Science at SCB's 2006 Annual MeetingDescriptions of special meeting events focusing on conservation social science are described further down on this page. In addition, a SSWG members meeting (to which all members and other interested individuals are welcome) will be held during lunch on Monday 26 June at a location to be announced, and a social event for the Working Group will be held on the evening of Monday 26 June, also at an exact time and location to be announced. SymposiaWorkshops Short Courses Social science is gaining increasing prominence within SCB, but “conservation social science” may be a mysterious “black box” to some conservation scientists and practitioners. CLICK HERE for a primer, developed by SCB’s Social Science Working Group, on conservation social science: definitions, scope, and conservation relevance.
SYMPOSIA Integrative conservation problem solving: the policy sciences as a tool to bridge the natural and social sciences Sunday 25 June organized by Richard Wallace (Ursinus College), Tim Clark (Yale University), and Murray Rutherford (Simon Fraser University) The future of successful conservation is the integration of multiple disciplines, including those concerned with biodiversity and those that address the human social and political processes that are necessary to achieve conservation strategies and goals. While much has been written about the need for interdisciplinary integration, few case studies offer systematic guides to how it can be accomplished in practice, and only a small number of these have been presented or published. This symposium will highlight the benefits to conservation of the policy sciences' interdisciplinary problem solving framework. The policy sciences are an integrative, interdisciplinary field of scholarship and practice that is, like conservation biology, explicitly problem-oriented. Practitioners of these methods use cases to illustrate how knowledge from the natural and social sciences can be integrated in practice. This integration emphasizes the interplay between the natural science that forms the basis for understanding conservation problems in a technical sense and the social processes that underlie human actions that cause conservation to succeed or fail. It allows for context-specific alternatives to flow from analysis, and provides a framework for comparing experiences across cases and drawing lessons applicable to other settings. It is the capacity of the policy sciences to disentangle this complexity that marks its particular value to conservation biology. The studies which we will use to illustrate our efforts include community-based conservation in Latin America; the integration of science, management, and policy in the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act in the United States; and managing complexity for conservation goals across ecological and political boundaries in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada. The quadrupled face of biodiversity conservation in Africa Monday 26 June organized by Delali Dovie (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) and Norbert Cordeiro (University of Illinois at Chicago) The previously dominant biodiversity-protection paradigm in many countries in Africa has led to a scant attention presently paid to the coupled human-environment system of which biodiversity is part. This interface provides the required platform where socio-political issues, such as human access to biological resources and decisions, are paramount for achieving sustainability. A thin line exists between biodiversity and human survival in Africa and hence the need to pursue biodiversity conservation to encompass national and macro-level accounting of anthropogenic and social concerns in scientific and development planning. Several other regions are also faced by a similar divide and the need to divulge the intricacies of these issues. If the NEPAD document in Africa, for instance, has opened the doors for conservation science then we will have no reason not to talk about what has generally been termed "non-scientific" issues pertaining to biodiversity conservation. This symposium will seek to address the four major tasks of biodiversity conservation in Africa (i.e., science, policy, conservation planning, and development). The symposium will provide relevant lessons about the sharing of information and partnership development across multiple disciplines and stakeholders, as well as making conservation biology useful to the world of politics. New, market-based strategies for marine conservation Tuesday 27 June organized by Mike Beck (The Nature Conservancy), Charles Cook (The Nature Conservancy), Craig Denisoff (Wildlands, Inc.) and Rod Fujita (Environmental Defense) Recent national reports in the United States have documented the importance and decline of marine resources. New efforts and approaches are needed to create and maintain healthy, sustainable, and resilient marine ecosystems. Traditional approaches to science, restoration, and management within the marine environment have unsuccessfully linked the needs of the environment, economy, and local communities. These traditional approaches must be supplemented by new, innovative approaches that unify environmental, economic, and social needs. This session will explore four recent innovative efforts to develop and implement market-based marine conservation strategies. Presenters will discuss their experiences and seek input from participants on broader applications and implications of four new strategies: conservation leasing and ownership of submerged lands, dedicated access privileges for fisheries, conservation buybacks of fishery permits and vessels, and marine mitigation banking. Advocacy in conservation science Wednesday 28 June organized by J. Michael Scott (University of Idaho), Janet Rachlow (University of Idaho), and Robert Lackey (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Advocacy in science has been the focus of much debate in conservation biology and other natural resource disciplines. Advocacy in scientific research (i.e., stipulation of a preferred policy or management outcome and use of value laden language) has been at the heart of discussions surrounding significant conservation issues including global climate change, the conduct of research by public employees, and, more recently, reauthorization of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. We provide an overview of this topic and present results of a review of advocacy in the natural resource journals. Prominent scientists who have long histories of working at the science-policy interface in the United States will present their very different perspectives on advocacy in science. We will hear the views of science administrators, science editors, and congressional professionals on science advocacy in the policy arena. A structured discussion and question and answer period will follow the presentations. During the symposium, we will conduct a survey of attendees regarding perspectives on advocacy in conservation science and perspectives on the presentations and discussions. These results will be summarized during concluding remarks at the close of the symposium. WORKSHOPS Can Transboundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM) contribute to enhance conservation objectives and address poverty alleviation issues in border region? A case study of the Virunga-Bwindi TBNRM Sunday 25 June, lunch organized by Kayitare Anecto (International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Rwanda) Biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are important topics on the international agenda; the Convention on Biodiversity Diversity (CBD) highlights the importance of biodiversity conservation, and poverty alleviation is the first priority of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Biodiversity-rich countries in Africa are also economically poor countries and the challenge to achieve both poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation is not easy. The need to link biodiversity conservation and development has been recognized and many initiatives have been undertaken. Transboundary Natural Resources Management (TBNRM) is a recent initiative whose objectives cover conservation and socioeconomic development needs with a holistic approach in border regions. This workshop will address the relationship between TBNRM and conservation and poverty alleviation in the Virunga-Bwindi region. The TBNRM approach offers an opportunity to deal with conservation and socioeconomic issues in the Virunga-Bwindi region. However, TBNRM has many objectives such as conservation, socioeconomic integration, and economic development. Different institutions and agencies are likely to adopt different objectives and agenda. In the Virunga-Bwindi region, we have found that the TBNRM program, which has been facilitated by conservation organisations (IGCP), focused more on conservation objectives than poverty alleviation. Partnership is very important in achieving TBNRM objectives in the Virunga-Bwindi region. How do we know it's working? State of the art program evaluation for conservation science and policy Sunday 25 June, lunch organized by Subhrendu Pattanayak (RTI International) and Paul Ferraro (Georgia State University) For too long, scientists and practitioners have depended on intuition and anecdote to guide conservation investments. To maximize the conservation impact of our limited resources, the conservation field must adopt a culture of rigorous program evaluation. Without such a culture, identifying which of the competing conservation approaches will make best use of scarce conservation dollars in the 21st century conservation is impossible. We will start by showing how current "monitoring and evaluation" efforts focus on descriptive indicators (i.e., administrative metrics of change) instead of the fundamental evaluation question: what would have happened if there had been no intervention? (a counterfactual event that is not observed). Presentations will draw on ongoing program evaluations in the United States and the tropics to discuss methods—experimental and quasi-experimental—that can be applied to draw reliable inferences about causal effects. Evidence on such effects can help identify, design and justify effective interventions. We also will discuss the relative merits of alternative methods when the state-of-the-art methods cannot be applied. Each conservation project that builds in these methods will make a small but vital contribution towards filling the large gap in our knowledge about the most effective conservation investments. Human demographic change and biodiversity conservation: impacts and opportunities for the conservation sector Sunday 25 June, lunch organized by Judy Oglethorpe (World Wildlife Fund) The workshop aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of adverse impacts of migration, fertility, and HIV/AIDS on biodiversity, and to provide conservation practitioners with strategies to tackle these threats. Global human population is expected to grow from 6.5 billion in 2005 to 9.1 billion in 2050, with increased consumption of natural resources, loss of habitat, and pollution. Human migration to biodiversity-rich areas is also likely to increase, driven by population growth, environmental degradation, globalization of trade, and climate change. HIV/AIDS is reducing life expectancy and economic productivity in some regions, with serious impacts on conservation capacity, natural resources, and land use. A number of cutting-edge responses to adverse demographic impacts have emerged at different scales, often involving conservation practitioners collaborating with other sectors. Experts will outline global trends and major negative impacts on biodiversity, and present responses for conservation programs. These include integrated family planning-health-environment projects at site and landscape level and ways to scale up and complement them. Migration interventions include prevention and mitigation of impacts in areas of destination, at field and policy levels. HIV/AIDS responses include ways to protect conservation staff and community capacity, and to reduce impacts on land and natural resource use while promoting sustainable livelihoods. Developing a framework for building individual and institutional capacity for conservation Monday 26 June, lunch organized by Marianne Carter and Robyn Dalzen (BP Conservation Programme) and Will Banham (Wildlife Conservation Society) In order to provide appropriate training and capacity building for effective individuals and institutions for conservation, it is necessary to (1) define the different types of individual conservationists and institutions, (2) for each of these, define the required competencies for effective individuals and attributes for effective institutions, and (3) identify the most appropriate ways in which those competencies and attributes can be realized. A comprehensive framework bringing together these elements will prove an important capacity building tool at an international level to identify gaps and plan interventions. By helping to equip potential conservation leaders with support, knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the BP Conservation Programme hopes to enable them to better conserve biodiversity. Such a tool will assist the program in identifying where to input resources and helping potential individual and institutional leaders in an appropriate way to obtain the optimum chance for success. This workshop aims to gather feedback on a preliminary competencies framework. Participants will explore how the framework will assist in identifying current gaps in individual leadership and institutional capacity internationally and in deciding how best to fill those gaps. Workshop outcomes will contribute to the development of a tool that will be used to identify needs for capacity building actions at a local level. Conservation tools and tips from psychology Tuesday 27 June, morning organized by organized by Carol Saunders (Chicago Zoological Society), Amara Brook (Santa Clara University), and Gene Myers (Western Washington University) Most conservation problems are caused by human behavior, and solving these problems requires understanding and changing that behavior. Although psychology is the discipline most focused on the study of human behavior, psychology's role in biodiversity conservation has been surprisingly minimal compared to the other sciences. Conservation psychology is a relatively new field that seeks to understand why people help or hurt the natural environment and how to promote conservation. The goal of this workshop is to introduce this field of research and provide examples of how it might be useful to biologists, social scientists, and conservation practitioners. We will begin with brief overview talks about some principles and methods from psychology that can be applied to biodiversity conservation. Workshop participants will then join a discussion about how the various disciplines complement each other and the potential for collaborative research. Because the history of conservation psychology mirrors that of conservation biology, we hope to provide an avenue to explore partnerships between the two fields. We also hope to attract members of the Social Science Working Group to discuss how the social sciences can best work together toward biodiversity conservation goals. This workshop should result in a greater awareness of what the field of conservation psychology offers and generate ideas for how to strengthen programmatic and research connections across disciplines. SHORT COURSES: Saturday 24 June Economic tools for conservation Instructors: John Reid (Conservation Strategy Fund, PO Box 606, Philo CA 95466, USA) and Nejem Raheem (MSC 05 3060, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA) We will begin with a brief introduction of the role of economics in protecting nature. An interactive market simulation will follow to introduce microeconomic theory. Participants will learn how markets function and how they often fail to capture environmental values. Afternoon sessions will cover basic natural resource economics and how the time value of money affects natural resource exploitation. The day will close with an exploration of the potential and limitations of using valuation techniques to incorporate environmental goods and services into economic analyses. Opportunities and limitations of market-based conservation solutions also will be explored. Participants will leave the course with a better understanding of economic concepts and opportunities for incorporating these approaches into their work. Specifically, participants will learn aspects of How to catalyze and carry out successful community conservation projects Instructors: Robert Horwich, Community Conservation, 50542 One Quiet Lane, Gays Mills, WI 54631, USA) and Scott Bernstein (Land Resources Program, Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, 550 N. Park St., 70 Science Hall, Madison, WI 53706, USA) The course includes six lectures interspersed with discussion and hands-on activities. First, the course will introduce participants to projects carried out over the past 21 years in nine countries. Second, it will discuss ten phases in catalyzing a community conservation project from initiation to termination of the catalyzing agent's role. Next, a method for project evaluation with 27 benchmarks as important objectives for a successful community conservation project will be discussed. A fourth topic will contrast major differences between small-scale community conservation projects and large integrated conservation and development projects. Contrasting the two will direct participants toward philosophies and concepts that will lead to better probability for success. Examples from Belize, the United States, and India will point out how small projects working at the community level can effect regional change from the bottom up. Finally, the course will discuss types of training needed for community groups to manage their own conservation projects. The course is for an audience with experience or interest in working with community conservation projects who want to make a difference using their conservation biology knowledge as active conservationists. It will provide the rudiments for how to initiate, carry out, monitor, and terminate one's role in a successful community conservation project. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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