Social feasibility assessments in conservation translocations

• Published in: Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2023-05, Vol.38 (5), p.459-472
• Main Authors: Dando, Thomas R., Crowley, Sarah L., Young, Richard P., Carter, Stephen P., McDonald, Robbie A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; conservation; Conservation of Natural Resources; ecological restoration; Ecosystem; Feasibility Studies; Humans; IUCN; reintroductions; social feasibility; social-ecological
• ISSN: 0169-5347; 1872-8383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.11.013

To reverse biodiversity loss, and meet targets in the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 biodiversity framework, species translocations are an increasingly important conservation intervention.Translocating wildlife is challenging, although outcomes are improved by robust assessments of impacts on people, and careful planning of mitigation.However, social feasibility assessments in translocations are often absent, narrow in scope, or conducted too late to influence actions.Lack of capacity and resources for social sciences in conservation, and failures to record experiences and share best practice, are barriers to effective social feasibility assessment.Successful translocation outcomes are linked to long-term commitments to people, places, and partners. Well-resourced social research, education, and outreach are essential for conservation translocations to be effective at scale. Improving the effectiveness of conservation translocations could contribute to reversing global biodiversity loss. Although evaluations of ecological factors affecting translocation outcomes are commonplace, consideration of human social factors remains rare, hindering improvements to this conservation practice. We analysed 550 translocation case studies to explore the inclusion of social factors in project feasibility assessments. Reviewed projects often failed to assess social feasibility, and assessments, where attempted, tended to be narrow in scope. Consequently, challenges such as proactively addressing conflict often remained unaddressed. Insufficient knowledge sharing and prioritisation of ecological feasibility, to the detriment of social feasibility, remain barriers to effective planning. Successful outcomes of translocations are linked to early assessment of social feasibility and to the establishment of long-term commitments between people, places, and partners.