PAPER: Partnership-based approach to ...

Effective Biodiversity Conservation Requires Dynamic, Pluralistic, Partnership-Based Approaches

June 2018

Gavin MC, McCarter J, Berkes F, Mead ATP, Sterling EJ, Tang RF, Turner NJ 2018. Effective Biodiversity Conservation Requires Dynamic, Pluralistic, Partnership-Based Approaches. Sustainability 10(6).

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity loss undermines the long-term maintenance of ecosystem functions and the well-being of human populations. Global-scale policy initiatives, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, have failed to curb the loss of biodiversity. This failure has led to contentious debates over alternative solutions that represent opposing visions of value-orientations and policy tools at the heart of conservation action. We review these debates and argue that they impede conservation progress by wasting time and resources, overlooking common goals, failing to recognize the need for diverse solutions, and ignoring the central question of who should be involved in the conservation process. Breaking with the polarizing debates, we argue that biocultural approaches to conservation can guide progress towards just and sustainable conservation solutions. We provide examples of the central principles of biocultural conservation, which emphasize the need for pluralistic, partnership-based, and dynamic approaches to conservation.

KEYWORDS

adaptive management and governance; biocultural approaches to conservation; different worldviews and knowledge systems; gwaii haanas; nested institutional frameworks; multiple stakeholders and objectives; new conservation science; partnerships and relationship building; rights and responsibilities; social-ecological context; community-based conservation; natures contributions;