Strengths and Vulnerabilities of Australian Networks for Conservation of Threatened Birds
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Strengths and vulnerabilities of Australian networks for conservation of threatened birds T IM Q. HOLMES,BRIAN W. HEAD,HUGH P. POSSINGHAM and S TEPHEN T. GARNETT Abstract We analysed the supportive social networks asso- making actors within an organizational framework trying ciated with the conservation of six threatened Australian to solve collective problems. The participants in an action bird taxa, in one of the first network analyses of threatened situation (Ostrom, ) for a threatened species may in- species conservation programmes. Each example showed clude those actively involved in the conservation of the contrasting vulnerabilities. The Alligator Rivers yellow bird or those with an interest in, or concern about, the chat Epthianura crocea tunneyi had the smallest social net- bird or a related issue. They may be individuals, or represen- work and no real action was supported. For the Capricorn tatives of NGOs, community groups, land owners, govern- yellow chat Epthianura crocea macgregori the network was ments or corporate actors, interacting for a range of reasons, centred on one knowledgeable and committed actor. The including obtaining or disseminating information, solving orange-bellied parrot Neophema chrysogaster had a strongly problems, negotiating, making decisions, collaborating connected recovery team but gaps in the overall network and seeking physical resources (Ostrom, ; Jepson could limit communication. The recovery teams for the et al., ). The key components of these action situations swift parrot Lathamus discolor and Baudin’s black-cockatoo include key participants, interorganizational collaborations Calyptorhynchus baudinii had strong links among most and social networks. Here, we focus on the social networks stakeholders but had weak ties to the timber industry and of key participants and seek to determine how such net- orchardists, respectively, limiting their capacity to manage works may influence the effective management of biodiver- threatening processes. Carnaby’s black cockatoo Calyptor- sity protection schemes for threatened birds. To our hynchus latirostris seemed to have the most effective social knowledge this is one of the first analyses of social networks network of any of the taxa studied but may be vulnerable to concerned with the conservation of threatened species (see skill shortages. In each case the network analysis pointed to also Ainsworth et al., ; Jepson, ). gaps that could be filled to enhance the conservation effort, In the context of conservation policy and management a and highlighted the importance of recovery teams. The re- social network comprises a set of actors with socially mean- search suggests that formal network analysis could assist in ingful ties that represent relationships such as those arising the design of more effective support mechanisms for the from shared decision making, seeking or providing advice, conservation of threatened species. or borrowing or lending resources. Social networks can be useful as a basis for establishing informal collaborations Keywords Connectedness, governance, recovery teams, and for working across critical functional, hierarchical or social network analysis, threatened species geographical boundaries (Cross et al., a,b). Links among actors at multiple levels have also been found to re- sult in greater capacity for monitoring, improved ecological Introduction understanding and promotion of appropriate incentives (e.g. power sharing, distribution of economic benefits; uch has been written about the biology of Australian Armitage et al., ). Increasingly networks are being Mthreatened birds; however, less information is avail- viewed as an evolving form of governance supplementing able about the social and organizational processes involved formal and hierarchical approaches (Stoker, ; Keast in their management. These social processes primarily refer et al., ). However, like all forms of governance, there to the cooperative spaces where participants strive to achieve is variety among networks in terms of their processes, mem- a common purpose (in this case, the conservation of the bership, resources and legitimacy (Adger et al., ; Koliba threatened species). The key participants are the decision- et al., ). As governance instruments, all networks involve some form of trade-off (Alexander et al., ), so there is no TIM Q. HOLMES and HUGH P. POSSINGHAM Centre for Biodiversity and universal ideal, but analysis of networks can help make such Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia trade-offs explicit and facilitate assessment of how they are BRIAN W. HEAD Institute of Social Science Research, The University of influencing the governance issues of concern. Queensland, St Lucia, Australia Social network analysis has been applied to both the STEPHEN T. GARNETT (Corresponding author) Research Institute for the physical and social sciences, with examples including fields Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia. Email [email protected] as diverse as the spread of happiness (Fowler & Christakis, ), the study of animal behaviour (Wey et al., ), and Received March . Revision requested April . Accepted April . First published online November . the internet as a social network (Otte & Rousseau, ). Oryx, 2017, 51(4), 673–683 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000454 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 25 Sep 2021 at 15:00:33, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000454 674 T. Q. Holmes et al. Social network research has become more widely under- bird taxa in Australia. The analysis helped identify the taken, with at least five peer-reviewed journals (Social strength and nature of organizational connections in the Networks, Computational Social Networks, Social Network political landscape by quantifying the intensity of relation- Analysis and Mining, International Journal of Social ships and interactions among the actors (Holland, ). Network Mining, Journal of Social Structure) now dedicated Some of the key assumptions and underlying concepts of to publishing social network research. Social network ana- our analysis include the following (Wasserman & Faust, lysis identifies patterns of relationship among people and ): relationships among actors are important, actors organizations, and can represent them both visually and and their actions are seen as interdependent rather than in- mathematically. In general, it has proved useful for provid- dependent, relational ties between actors are channels for ing a formal mechanism for representation, measurement, the transfer of resources (either material or nonmaterial), and modelling of relational structures. Although there is al- and network models help us to conceptualize a range of ways a risk that methods may be misapplied or misinter- weak to robust patterns of relations among actors. preted, resulting in inappropriate conclusions, the risk can Based on the analyses provided by Bodin et al. (), it be minimized through careful choice of methods and appli- is possible to investigate and measure several relational fac- cations in network analysis (Butts, ). In recent years so- tors that may have impacts on learning, leadership and trust, cial network analysis has been employed by natural resource which are relevant to the contributions of social networks management and conservation biology researchers to im- for managing natural resources such as threatened species. prove understanding of how actors collaborate and coordin- These characteristics may change or evolve over time, and ate management efforts (Tompkins & Adger, ; Bodin some factors are likely to be more significant for certain con- et al., ; Lauber et al., ; Woodward, ; Chilvers texts than others. The analysis below adapts the categories & Evans, ; Crona & Hubacek, ; Lukasiewicz et al., provided by Bodin et al. () as follows: ). This work has also recognized the importance of sta- . Centrality: the number of links to an individual actor. keholders as influential environmental decision makers This can affect the capacity of a group to experiment (Prell et al., ) and has shown that social network ana- with new ideas or coordinate actions. lysis can make valuable contributions to conservation out- . Density: the number of links divided by the number of comes as a tool for exploring the relationships between actors in the network. This is useful for understanding stakeholder network structures and the implementation of the variety of skills in a group and whether it will be af- conservation actions (Vance-Borland & Holley, ). fected by the loss of individuals. For the management of Australia’s threatened birds, rele- . Reachability: when there are connections between two vant social networks contain stakeholders within designated actors regardless of how many other actors fall between management areas and can be used to mobilize and main- them. This can affect communication within a group. tain co-management of individual threatened species. Betweenness: the percentage of all geodesic paths from Although the effectiveness of recovery plans has sometimes neighbour to neighbour that pass through an actor. been questioned (Bottrill et al., ), recovery teams, which This can help in understanding the diversity of skills are associated with some, but not all, recovery plans, have and levels