Identifying Major Factors for Success and Failure of Conservation Programs in Europe

In Europe, various conservation programs adopted to maintain or restore biodiversity have experienced differing levels of success. However, a synthesis about major factors for success of biodiversity-related conservation programs across ecosystems and national boundaries, such as incentives, subsidies, enforcement, participation, or spatial context, is missing. Using a balanced scorecard survey among experts, we analyzed and compared factors contributing to success or failure of three different conservation programs: two government programs (Natura 2000 and the ecological measures of the Water Framework Directive) and one conservation program of a non-governmental organization (NGO; Rewilding Europe), all focusing on habitat and species conservation. The experts perceived the NGO program as more successful in achieving biodiversity-related aims than governmental conservation legislation. Among the factors perceived to influence the success of biodiversity conservation, several stood out: Biodiversity-damaging subsidies, external economic interests competing with conservation goals or policies conflicting with biodiversity conservation were recognized as major factors for the lack of conservation success. Outreach to raise societal interest and awareness as well as stakeholder involvement were perceived as closely related to the success of programs. Our expert survey demonstrated that external factors from economy and policy often hinder success of conservation programs, while societal and environmental factors rather contribute to it. This study implies that conservation programs should be designed to be as inclusive as possible and provides a basis for developing a standardized methodology that explicitly considers indirect drivers from areas such as economy, policy and society.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Management
Published
2024-11-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-02086-x
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
17.54

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article

Identifying Major Factors for Success and Failure of Conservation Programs in Europe

Nina Farwig, Alice B. M. Vadrot, Nike Sommerwerk, Katrin Böhning‐Gaese et al.
6 citations
Environmental Management
Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
17.54
article

Identifying Major Factors for Success and Failure of Conservation Programs in Europe

Nina Farwig, Alice B. M. Vadrot, Nike Sommerwerk, Katrin Böhning‐Gaese, Angelika Brandt, Sabine Tischew, Theresa Spatz, Nico Eisenhauer, Axel Hochkirch, Teja Tscharntke, Martin Pusch, Bruno Baur, Sonja C. Jähnig, Volker Mosbrugger, Philipp P. Sprenger, Finn Rehling, Götz Ellwanger, Klement Tockner, Marion Mehring, Jens‐Christian Svenning, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Christine Fürst, Julian Taffner
article en
6 citations

Abstract

In Europe, various conservation programs adopted to maintain or restore biodiversity have experienced differing levels of success. However, a synthesis about major factors for success of biodiversity-related conservation programs across ecosystems and national boundaries, such as incentives, subsidies, enforcement, participation, or spatial context, is missing. Using a balanced scorecard survey among experts, we analyzed and compared factors contributing to success or failure of three different conservation programs: two government programs (Natura 2000 and the ecological measures of the Water Framework Directive) and one conservation program of a non-governmental organization (NGO; Rewilding Europe), all focusing on habitat and species conservation. The experts perceived the NGO program as more successful in achieving biodiversity-related aims than governmental conservation legislation. Among the factors perceived to influence the success of biodiversity conservation, several stood out: Biodiversity-damaging subsidies, external economic interests competing with conservation goals or policies conflicting with biodiversity conservation were recognized as major factors for the lack of conservation success. Outreach to raise societal interest and awareness as well as stakeholder involvement were perceived as closely related to the success of programs. Our expert survey demonstrated that external factors from economy and policy often hinder success of conservation programs, while societal and environmental factors rather contribute to it. This study implies that conservation programs should be designed to be as inclusive as possible and provides a basis for developing a standardized methodology that explicitly considers indirect drivers from areas such as economy, policy and society.

Environmental ManagementVol. 75(3)
Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), University of Vienna (AT), Museum für Naturkunde (DE), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Freiburg (DE), Philipps University of Marburg (DE), University of Basel (CH), Aarhus University (DK), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (DE), Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M (DE), Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (DE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE), Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (DE), Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE), Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (DE), Institute for Social-Ecological Research (DE), Musée national d'histoire naturelle Luxembourg (LU), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE), University of Göttingen (DE), Universität Trier (DE), Leipzig University (DE)
Villum Fonden, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
17.54
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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