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Co-management, or the joint management of the commons, is often regarded as a way of power sharing between the State and a community of resource users that improves the sustainability of conservation projects. Volunteers that report greater levels of satisfaction in a project are more likely to continue volunteering, thus enabling projects to be more sustainable. To explore the relationship between the power volunteers have in the management process, and how this relates to volunteer satisfaction, we sent out questionnaires to over 800 participants of red squirrel and water vole projects, across Scotland, England and Wales. We assessed whether volunteers report 1) a higher level of satisfaction when they had greater involvement in the management, and 2) what aspects of participation had the most influence on satisfaction. Volunteers’ that had greater involvement in the management of a project were more likely to report higher satisfaction levels, overall volunteers placed most importance on being involved in local area decisions . We conclude that increasing the amount of power volunteers have in the management of conservation projects has implications for how conservation projects can be managed sustainably into the long term.
Citation preview
Getting to a long-term sustainable conservation strategy: what part does
individual power have to play?
September 01 – 05, 2009 A. Evely1, M. Pinard1, X. Lambin1, I. Fazey2
1. Institute of Biological Sciences, Aberdeen University, 2. School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St. Andrews
the concept of power, sustainability and satisfaction
• Knowledge to manage ecosystems effectively requires a range of different types of knowledge
• power in participation builds the capacity of individuals to effectively contribute
• volunteers are not prepared to continue in organization that they are not happy or satisfied with
a social-ecological system
a social-ecological system
a social-ecological system
a social-ecological system
a social-ecological system
a co-management continuum
research approach
interviews
how the project started and who
was involved?
• eight interviews (45min-2hr)• individual/group semi structured
what kind of participants are
currently involved in the project?
the history of the project?
current level of involvement?
level of involvement in the management over
time?
findings: interviews
category Example statementconsultative We are just two people, even when we’ve got our
10 grey squirrel control officers in place, it’s a vast area. They can’t cover it…
co-operative it’s (conservation is) not something you know, that professionals take care of and you don't, its you and yours and that’s what it’s all about…
advisory everybody gives something different to the group everybody has got different strengths and all of those strengths are really important.
do different co-management arrangements result in increased satisfaction?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Consultative
Co-operative
Advisory
Graph shows (m) ± SE, p<0.001
Participant satisfaction
does increased power in decision making influence satisfaction?
Graph shows (m) ± SE, p<0.001
what are the most important aspects of participation to volunteers?
were participants as involved in decision making as they wanted?
Graph shows (m) ± SE, p =0.01
Satisfied
Non committal
Unsatisfied
Difference between reality and expectation
Graph shows (m) ± SE, p =0.001
Satisfied
Non committal
Unsatisfied
Difference between reality and expectation
did participants have as much understanding of project strategy as they wanted?
Graph shows (m) ± SE, p <0.001
Satisfied
Non committal
Unsatisfied
Difference between reality and expectation
were participants provided with as much information as they wanted?
in conclusion...
Three key messages:
1. power significantly influences satisfaction
2. where expectations are not met satisfaction falls
3. delivering what is important
Some specific recommendations...
1. ensure participants understand project strategy so they can place themselves and their knowledge within this
2. provide regular information to participants: most requested was a newsletter with successes and failures, events, meetings etc, provided every 3-6mths
3. When involving participants in decision making local area decisions are most important as participants want to ensure local concerns are taken into account
questions?
Anna Evely anna_evely@abdn.ac.uk
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability
Thanks toSupervisors: Michelle Pinard, Ioan Fazey, Xavier LambinStatistical support: Alex DouglasParticipating Projects: Cairngorms Water Vole Project, NE Scotland Water Vole project, Whitchurch Water Vole Project, BASC Green Shoots, Highland Red Squirrel Project, Dundee Red Squirrel Project, Red Squirrels South Scotland, Northern England Red Squirrel Group
Backup slides
Response rateType of Project Project Name No. Questionnaires
sent outNo. ( %) Questionnaires returned
Water Vole North East Water Vole Conservation (NEWV)
17 14 (82%)
Water Vole Cairngorms Water Vole Conservation (CWVC)
75 40 (53%)
Water Vole Whitchurch Water Vole Conservation* (WCWV)
20 15 (75%)
Water Vole British Association for Shooting for Conservation Water Vole Project (BASC)
100 16 (16%)
Red Squirrel Red Squirrels South Scotland (RSSS)
264 128 (48%)
Red Squirrel Northern England Red Squirrel Group* (RSNE)
150 67 (45%)
Red Squirrel Dundee Red Squirrels (DRS) 18 15 (83%)
Red Squirrel Highland Red Squirrels (HRS) 28 25 (89%)
Differences between projects - gender
Graph shows %, X2 (df = 4, N = 318) = 41.3, p<0.001
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Functional (N= 197) Interactive (N=39) Self Mobilisation (N=82)
MaleFemale
Differences between projects - occupation
Graph shows %, X2 (df =10, N = 318) = 50.0, p<0.001
Differences between projects – period of residence
Graph shows %, X2 (df = 8, N = 318) = 16.2, p<0.01
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