Subjective risk assessment for planning conservation projects

Abstract

Conservation projects occur under many types of uncertainty. Where this uncertainty can affect achievement of a project's objectives, there is risk. Understanding risks to project success should influence a range of strategic and tactical decisions in conservation, and yet, formal risk assessment rarely features in the guidance or practice of conservation planning. We describe how subjective risk analysis tools can be framed to facilitate the rapid identification and assessment of risks to conservation projects, and how this information should influence conservation planning. Our approach is illustrated with an assessment of risks to conservation success as part of a conservation plan for the work of The Nature Conservancy in northern Australia. Risks can be both internal and external to a project, and occur across environmental, social, economic and political systems. Based on the relative importance of a risk and the level of certainty in its assessment we propose a series of appropriate, project level responses including research, monitoring, and active amelioration. Explicit identification, prioritization, and where possible, management of risks are important elements of using conservation resources in an informed and accountable manner.

The Landscape of Leadership in Environmental Governance: a Case Study from Solomon Islands

“…We asked each respondent to represent the experiences of their organisation. Our sampling approach is consistent with other research employing expert elicitation, network and participatory approaches (e.g., Cohen et al 2012;Game et al 2013) and it aligns with methodological approaches in leadership studies (e.g., Mailhot et al 2016) The face-to-face expert interview involved a participatory network mapping activity to map leadership influences on the respondents' organizations. First we asked respondents to identify "Who and what provides leadership in the work that your organisation does (e.g., activities on the ground, policies your organisation develops, research your organisation undertakes, etc.)…”

Untitled

“…Risks can never be fully eliminated but it can be managed effectively to minimize and mitigate the impacts on expected outcomes of the project [14]. "The aim of conservation planning is not to reduce risk per se but to maximize performance of the chosen strategies" [12]. Risk assessment will prioritize which risks need to be managed in conservation project.…”

“…Conservation work also involved risks where Umi Kalsum et al [2] believe that risks in conservation project are actually much higher than new building project. Game, Fitzsimons, Lipsett-Moore & McDonald-Madden [12] mention that "understanding risks to project success should influence a range of strategic and tactical decisions in conservation, and yet, formal risk assessment rarely features in the guidance or practice of conservation planning". This is supported by Umi Kalsum et al [2] when they also found that risk management in conservation projects had been poorly practiced and applied nowadays.…”

New partnerships for managing large desert landscapes: experiences from the Martu Living Deserts Project

“…These include the tropical savannas of northern Australia (e.g. Fitzsimons and Looker 2012;Game et al 2013), Gondwana Link and the Great Western Woodlands (e.g. Bradby 2013;Bradby et al 2014;Fitzsimons et al 2014), temperate bays and estuaries of southern Australia (Fitzsimons et al 2015) and the aridlands of central Australia.…”