Conservation must effectively expand to safeguard nature. A recent study draws inspiration from global experiences to illustrate potential strategies.
Conservation must effectively expand to safeguard nature. A recent study draws inspiration from global experiences to illustrate potential strategies.
To combat the decline of biodiversity and achieve ambitious worldwide goals, conservation efforts aimed at protecting everything from forests to aquatic life must operate on a larger scale.
Scaling in conservation can refer to three different concepts. ‘Scaling out’ involves broadening a program to include more individuals and locations, while ‘scaling up’ pertains to attracting higher authorities, such as government bodies, to create policies or incentives that facilitate engagement from individuals and private entities.
‘Scaling deep’ centers on shifting societal values and perceptions. A notable example of this is the ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ initiative from the 1980s, which effectively stigmatized littering.
However, not all attempts at scaling pilot projects in any of these ways are successful. The Catalysing Conservation team, led by Dr. Morena Mills at Imperial College London, has analyzed conservation programs worldwide with contributions from global specialists, arriving at five key insights to prevent ineffective expansion.
The findings are published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution, and we interviewed two of the report’s authors, Dr. Thomas Pienkowski and Dr. Matthew Clark, both affiliated with the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial.
Before exploring the insights, Dr. Clark states: “There’s no magic bullet—it’s not simply a matter of following these five steps for guaranteed success—but we hope that these lessons will provoke thought about what hasn’t worked and how we can proceed from here.”
Lesson 1: Balance between Effectiveness and Scalability is Essential
Imagine a pilot program that collaborates with coastal communities to safeguard fish and other marine resources, aiming to enhance both environmental and economic conditions. As neighboring communities adopt this program, it’s a sign of successful scaling out. However, did it genuinely achieve its goals of preserving marine life and boosting local livelihoods? If not, then while it has scaled out, it is not effective.
On the flip side, something might prove effective but lacks scalability. Dr. Clark is involved in mangrove conservation efforts, which may include planting initiatives. Yet, many seedlings do not survive. Implementing specialized methods to improve survival could enhance effectiveness, but such intensive processes are often not viable for widespread rural adoption.
The team asserts that it’s crucial to find a balance between what is scalable and what is effective.
A strong example is community-managed forestry in Nepal, which has been implemented in over 20,000 forests since the 1980s and appears to have reduced poverty while curbing deforestation, demonstrating that some initiatives can be both highly scalable and effective.
Lesson 2: Effectiveness Can Vary with Scale
A pilot program that succeeds in one area might fail when replicated elsewhere. Researchers note that this is a common issue and can arise for various reasons, such as pilots being situated in ideal locations or having ample oversight and funding that expanded initiatives may lack.
However, it can work the opposite way as well. For instance, Dr. Clark explains: “In land conservation efforts, larger wildlife species that traverse vast areas will only derive benefits when enough land is conserved and adequate patrols are established to enforce protections.”
An excellent illustration comes from cacao agroforestry in Belize, which became significantly more impactful at a larger scale when a clear market for sustainable cacao emerged and international companies began to advocate for these products.
Lesson 3: Conservation Effects Can Influence Further Conservation Efforts
Sometimes, expanding conservation projects can backfire even when they are effective. For instance, a decade-long initiative in Mozambique that established ‘no-take’ zones for fish and mangrove resources improved food security. However, as these zones regained their value as food and income sources, support for conservation waned, leading to some areas abandoning these protections.
This type of feedback loop between environmental changes and human behavior can have negative consequences, as seen in Mozambique, or can result positively when the success of conservation efforts in one area prompts neighboring regions to adopt similar practices, or when grassroots actions evolve into national policies.
A prime example is the experience on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, where protected forest areas initially resulted in increased harvesting at the perimeters of these zones, which led to neighboring communities requesting their own forest protections, thus organically expanding conservation efforts.
Lesson 4: Pressures to Expand Can Result in Harmful Practices that Undermine Long-term Success
While ambition is vital to achieve significant goals, unbridled ambition can produce detrimental outcomes. Dr. Pienkowski illustrates a potential issue: “NGOs play an essential role in expanding initiatives by providing technological and financial support to local communities. However, there can be a fine line between assistance and coercion.”
This could manifest as NGOs exaggerating the benefits communities might receive from participating in conservation programs or selectively working with individuals within the community who are most likely to benefit while neglecting more vulnerable members, consequently exacerbating inequalities.
For instance, the REDD+ initiative aimed at aiding developing nations in managing forests and enhancing carbon stocks faced challenges in Tanzania, where promised payments fell short, which disillusioned participants and led them to abandon conservation efforts and become wary of other initiatives.
Large NGOs can be crucial for scaling programs, but this might diminish the significance of local knowledge and grassroots organizations. For example, ‘slash-and-burn’ agriculture is often deemed bad practice in Europe, leading European NGOs to oppose it, but in certain African communities, it may be well-integrated into local ecosystem management.
A success story is eco-tourism in Costa Rica, which initially began as a local initiative supported by NGOs but has since developed into a self-sufficient model, no longer relying on direct assistance or structures that could jeopardize its long-term viability.
Lesson 5: The Need for More Evidence
Dr. Pienkowski emphasizes, “This is essentially a call from us researchers, who are struggling to create a robust evidence base that can guide more effective scaling strategies. Determining which initiatives have scaled successfully is notably challenging, as this data isn’t collected in a consistent or rigorous manner.”
This lack of data is especially true for programs once they have ‘ended’ — few NGOs routinely assess the long-term success of an initiative years after their intervention has concluded, or whether it has been discontinued.
Dr. Pienkowski concludes: “For advocates of conservation scaling, it is crucial to take a moment to reflect: given these examples and insights, what must we change? By doing so, we significantly increase our chances of making a substantial impact at scale and successfully addressing biodiversity loss.”
