Conservation and the social sciences: Beyond critique and co‐optation. A case study from orangutan conservation

Abstract

Interactions between conservation and the social sciences are frequently characterized by either critique (of conservation by social scientists) or co‐optation (of social scientific methods and insights by conservationists). This article seeks to push beyond these two dominant positions by exploring how conservationists and social scientists can engage in mutually transformative dialogue. Jointly authored by conservation scientists and social scientists, it uses the global nexus of orangutan conservation as a lens onto current challenges and possibilities facing the conservation–social science relationship. We begin with a cross‐disciplinary overview of recent developments in orangutan conservation—particularly those concerned with its social, political and other human dimensions. The article then undertakes a synthetic analysis of key challenges in orangutan conservation—working across difference, juggling scales and contexts and dealing with politics and political economy—and links them to analogous concerns in the conservation–social science relationship. Finally, we identify some ways by which orangutan conservation specifically, and the conservation–social science relationship more generally, can move forward: through careful use of proxies as bridging devices, through the creation of new, shared spaces, and through a willingness to destabilize and overhaul status quos. This demands an open‐ended, unavoidably political commitment to critical reflexivity and self‐transformation on the part of both conservationists and social scientists. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

To tell a different story: Unexpected diversity in local attitudes towards Endangered Aye‐ayes Daubentonia madagascariensis offers new opportunities for conservation

“…In the case of Ayeayes in Madagascar, widely agreed on perceptions were challenged by new investigations resulting from changing the resolution of the study and by applying a more standardized survey strategy. We illustrated a more diversified set of perceptions on Aye-ayes than expected from the literature, highlighting the prevalence of publication bias (Parker et al, 2019) and the custom to extrapolate findings across a diverse cultural space that not necessarily allows for this generalization (Browne-Nuñez & Jonker, 2008;Chua et al, 2020).…”

“…The role of human-wildlife interactions (HWI) in species conservation has been acknowledged for some decades by now, but its dimensions are still vividly shifting (Dickman, 2010;Marchini et al, 2019;Redpath et al, 2015). What was considered as human-wildlife conflicts in the beginning often emerged as human-human conflicts about wildlife (Dickman, 2010;Dickman & Hazzah, 2015;Madden & McQuinn, 2014;Skogen et al, 2017) calling for a broader implementation of social sciences into species conservation (Bennett et al, 2017;Chua et al, 2020;Glikman et al, 2019;Schultz, 2011).…”

“…The role of human–wildlife interactions (HWI) in species conservation has been acknowledged for some decades by now, but its dimensions are still vividly shifting (Dickman, 2010; Marchini et al., 2019; Redpath et al., 2015). What was considered as human–wildlife conflicts in the beginning often emerged as human–human conflicts about wildlife (Dickman, 2010; Dickman & Hazzah, 2015; Madden & McQuinn, 2014; Skogen et al., 2017) calling for a broader implementation of social sciences into species conservation (Bennett et al., 2017; Chua et al., 2020; Glikman et al., 2019; Schultz, 2011). In this context, the role of indigenous storytelling can further offer valuable insights of how local communities try to explain external pressures surpassing their daily life experiences and resulting impacts on certain species (Fernández‐Llamazares & Cabeza, 2017; Holmes et al., 2018; Lee, 2010).…”

Tropical peatlands and their conservation are important in the context of COVID-19 and potential future (zoonotic) disease pandemics

“…7. All actors should recognise the role that tropical peatlands, their conservation, sustainable management and restoration will play in both the current COVID-19 pandemic and in the potential for future zoonotic EID emergence; and actively promote this message in fund-raising, education, outreach, community and government engagement, while taking care to tailor messages and associated recommendations appropriately to local audiences (Chua, 2020;Kavousi et al, 2020;MacFarlane & Rocha, 2020; see also Charania & Tsuji, 2012;Chua et al, 2020).…”

Peer Review #2 of "Tropical peatlands and their conservation are important in the context of COVID-19 and potential future (zoonotic) disease pandemics (v0.2)"

“…7. All actors should recognise the role that tropical peatlands, their conservation, sustainable management and restoration will play in both the current COVID-19 pandemic and in the potential for future zoonotic EID emergence; and actively promote this message in fundraising, education, outreach, community and government engagement, while taking care to tailor messages and associated recommendations appropriately to local audiences (Chua, 2020;Kavousi et al, 2020;MacFarlane & Rocha, 2020; see also Charania & Tsuji, 2012;Chua et al, 2020).…”