̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - MAVA Fondation pour la Nature

Conservation clusters: making the case

lw355 — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:32 +0000

Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Shanghai. At one time or another, each of these locations, among others, has become home to a successful ‘business cluster’ of industries. Although the term was coined as recently as 1990, clustering of businesses in the same geographical locality has taken place for centuries, driving productivity, innovation and expertise.

A comparatively new phenomenon is the co-location of institutions whose goal is to protect and manage biodiversity worldwide. Whereas business clusters are built on inter-firm competition resulting in enhanced economic growth, conservation clusters are built on inter-organisation collaboration resulting in innovative solutions to a global threat.

Now, a study by Vena Kapoor, a student on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership Programme in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge's Department of Geography, has explored how conservation clusters function optimally, highlighting best practices and lessons learnt for current and future conservation clusters.

“Probably the most important aspect for success is for a cluster to be based on a social network that initiates and facilitates a trusted collaboration,” she said. “Those clusters that began with an injection of funds but no underlying social network have been less successful.”

Kapoor identified 17 conservation clusters currently in existence globally. Clustering, as she explained, brings advantages: “Like their business counterparts, conservation clusters benefit from the physical proximity of similar organisations in terms of the potential for knowledge spill-over and a growing pool of skilled employees.”

Cambridge is home to the largest conservation cluster in the world. Comprising eight conservation organisations, a conservation network and departments of the ̽��ֱ��, the cluster has been co-ordinated as the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) since 2007, and is also a Strategic Initiative of the ̽��ֱ��.

“In Cambridge’s case, the network took the form of the Cambridge Conservation Forum (CCF),” explained Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of CCI. “Out of CCF bubbled a series of programmes that people wanted to do together. Then came the process of co-ordinating these collaborative programmes and raising the funds to deliver them.”

A representative and democratic governance mechanism and a neutral facilitator to guide the collaboration were also identified as key features of successful clusters. ̽��ֱ��study concludes that ideally these features should take the form of a ‘cluster initiative’ that improves the collaborative potential of the cluster and raises independent funds for it. Although rare in conservation, cluster initiatives have become a popular feature in business, often with government support.

“Collaboration between organisations linked by a common cause has the potential to unleash synergies and spur innovation that can positively impact the world,” added Rands. “But even the best initiatives can be derailed. At this early stage in the creation of conservation clusters, it’s important to be aware of the challenges as well as the rewards.”

For a cluster to be successful, the advantages of being part of the collaboration must continue to outweigh the disadvantages, as Kapoor explained: “In the beginning, members get something from each other – they all learn about each other’s practices, research agendas and tools. But tension can develop when a member perceives a growing competitive overlap with another member, a feeling of dominance by a single or few members, or a lessening of their branding or niche position.”

“This is where a neutral facilitator can continually bring value,” said Dr Stelios Zyglidopoulos, from the Cambridge Judge Business School, who co-supervised the study with Dr Rands. “ ̽��ֱ��purpose is to bring oil and water together – to forge links between different organisations. It’s through bringing together different kinds of people and organisations that innovation happens.”

Dr Rands agrees: “If there is a lesson that I’ve learned it’s to keep fostering the mixing of researchers and practitioners across disciplines. Only then can we demonstrate that together the members are able to do things that they could never have done on their own, and yet still progress their own individual organisation’s mandate and interests. This study makes a strong case for the global conservation community to harness the concept of clusters to deliver stronger and better conservation solutions for the world’s biodiversity and the natural capital it provides.”

This research was funded through the MPhil in Conservation Leadership Programme by the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature and a scholarship from the Ravi Sankaran Inlaks Fellowship Programme.

A new study reveals how the gathering together of conservation organisations in one location – a ‘conservation cluster’ – can work best to reap global rewards.

Collaboration between organisations linked by a common cause has the potential to unleash synergies and spur innovation that can positively impact the world.

Dr Mike Rands

Strelitzia on flickr

Clusters

CCI: collaboration and funding

CCI is a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and nine internationally renowned conservation organisations in the Cambridge area committed to the study and protection of global biodiversity. ̽��ֱ��founder members of CCI are:

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge: six Departments – Zoology, Geography, Plant Sciences, Land Economy, Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership – founded the Cambridge Conservation Initiative along with the partner organisations listed below. Each of these departments has a growing programme of research and teaching in conservation, and work closely together on interdisciplinary programmes as part of CCI.

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre: a branch of the United Nations that undertakes synthesis, analysis and dissemination of global biodiversity knowledge for conventions, countries, organisations and companies.

Fauna and Flora International: acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, delivering global and regional programmes of conservation and community projects.

BirdLife International: is a strategic global partnership of conservation organisations in over 100 countries, working to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, and to promote sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Traffic International: is a global wildlife trade monitoring network that works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

International Union for Conservation of Nature: is the world’s largest professional global conservation network, and supports scientific research, manages field projects and unites conservationists to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice.

Tropical Biology Association: is dedicated to building the capacity and expertise of people and institutions to conserve and manage biodiversity in tropical regions.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): is the largest wildlife conservation organisation in Europe, and works to secure the conservation of biodiversity – especially wild birds and their habitats – through research, education, habitat management and advocacy.

British Trust for Ornithology: is an independent scientific research trust specialising in impartial evidence-based knowledge and advice about populations, movements and ecology of birds and other wildlife.

Cambridge Conservation Forum: is a network that links the diverse Cambridge-based community of conservation practitioners and researchers working at local, national and international levels.

To deliver its ambitious programme CCI works closely with like-minded funding partners. CCI is particularly grateful to Arcadia, who has provided core support for the leadership of CCI and grants for the CCI Collaborative Fund, the Miriam Rothschild Programme for Conservation Leadership, the Miriam Rothschild Travel Bursaries for the Student Conference in Conservation Science and the Miriam Rothschild PhD Studentships. CCI is also deeply grateful to the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature for their support to establishment a unique MPhil in Conservation Leadership.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

A conservation leader in the making

lw355 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:00:09 +0000

Cycling to lectures through Cambridge’s medieval streets, learning leadership skills from pioneers in conservation of the environment, splashing into the turquoise waters of the Caribbean to observe marine life. These are among the many memories that Joy Juma will take home to Kenya after a year at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge as one of the first cohort of graduate students on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership programme.

̽��ֱ��past year has been one of the most varied and demanding in Joy’s life. Not only has she experienced one of the coldest British winters on record but she also spent seven weeks on a placement with the Cambridge-based conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI) on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, extending her practical and grass-roots knowledge of marine conservation.

Her visit to the Caribbean entailed gathering data on the marine environment and the ways in which it intersects with two of the area’s most important sources of revenue – fishing and tourism – which are vital to the livelihoods of thousands of people on modest or low incomes. ̽��ֱ��emphasis of her research was on marine governance. “On Antigua, I was based at the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment, and also spent some time talking to individual fishermen about their working lives. It was so encouraging that the fishermen are really keen to conserve their environment and they showed a deep understanding of ecosystem dynamics,” she said.

“On Barbuda, I found that people felt an even stronger sense of ownership of the marine environment, perhaps because land there is communally owned. This revealed itself in their interest in marine conservation. On both islands, there is a profound commitment to sustainable management and a willingness to work towards this that was really exciting. It shows how conservationists and communities can work together to protect threatened species and the habitats they live in. What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.”

Once back in Kenya, where she works for the East African arm of FFI, Joy will apply her experiences in the Caribbean and what she has learnt on the MPhil programme in Cambridge. In 2009, together with colleagues at FFI, she was instrumental in setting up marine conservation projects with fishing communities at six different landing places on the south coast of Kenya. ̽��ֱ��objective is to manage marine resources in a way that is sustainable and participatory. “It’s a scheme that brings diverse stakeholders together for a common purpose – and the early indications are that it is very effective,” she explained.

Joy has been passionate about conservation ever since she was a teenager. On leaving school, she took a degree in environmental studies at Nairobi’s Kenyatta ̽��ֱ��, concentrating on community development. After graduating, she spent a year working as a volunteer for the East African Wildlife Society, a Kenyan-based NGO. “I worked on the restoration of a lake that straddles the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania, and during this time I gained essential skills and experience,” she said. Having excelled as a volunteer, and shown her ability to co-ordinate and manage projects, Joy was offered a post with FFI as a programme assistant. After four years she was promoted to a programme co-ordinator.

In East Africa, FFI works across four countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. In her five years with the organisation, Joy has been involved in various projects, including participatory forest management and species recovery. During this time she twice visited the headquarters of FFI, which has strong links with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� as a founding partner of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). “I liked what I saw of Cambridge, which is a real hub for conservation and has a strong international ethos. So when I heard about the new Masters in Conservation Leadership, I was really keen to apply for a place,” she said.

“What appealed to me about the course was the chance to develop skills that are crucial in project management. I liked the way in which the course is structured to give participants a solid grounding in leadership – such as communication and financial planning – as well as incorporating a placement with a partner organisation that would offer a chance to see another environment and another set of challenges.”

When FFI and the MAVA programme in Conservation Leadership agreed to sponsor Joy’s place on the programme, she was thrilled but also nervous. “I knew it was a huge opportunity to develop myself professionally. I was also aware that I’d be thrown back on my own resources far from my usual support network in East Africa,” she admitted. She need not have worried. ̽��ֱ��12 students from nine different countries on the programme quickly formed a strong bond. “We have a huge diversity of backgrounds and interests, so we have been able to learn a vast amount from each other,” she said.

̽��ֱ��Masters comprises two parts: the first of which is largely taught by lecturers from every organisation in CCI, talking about their specialist fields, and the second of which is the placement. “In the first two terms we had lectures from many of the pioneering groups and centres based in and around Cambridge – it was an amazing chance to hear from them and to be able to ask questions. What I found especially useful were the leadership lectures from people at the helm of established institutions,” added Joy.

Life as a Cambridge student has been rewarding and challenging. “Spending a year living and working in Cambridge has been a stimulating experience. I will be returning to Kenya ready to be an innovative and effective conservation leader.”

Joy Juma, from Kenya, is among the first early-career conservation practitioners to take an innovative Masters programme at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.

Joy Juma

Working in the Caribbean with Fauna & Flora International

Joy Juma

MPhil in Conservation Leadership

Launched in 2010 by the Department of Geography, the MPhil in Conservation Leadership focuses on equipping its students with the tools to become professional managers in the world of conservation. Key to its success is the collective expertise of partners in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI): eight leading conservation organisations and one conservation network clustered in the Cambridge area and six departments across the ̽��ֱ��, including the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.

Students go beyond developing a deeper awareness of the complex drivers of biodiversity loss to learn skills that will prepare them for the challenges of leadership: strategic planning, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, advocacy and communication.

̽��ֱ��Director of Conservation Leadership, and Fellow of Churchill College, Dr Nigel Leader-Williams, explained: “ ̽��ֱ��programme is built along similar lines to the business school model, with a professional placement spent with one of CCI organisations providing the students with hands-on experience of management tasks.”

Many of the students are from less-developed countries, where the most biodiversity remains but also where the losses are probably the greatest. “We need to grow the number of dedicated scholarships that are available for the course because most of the students we aim to attract don’t have the funds necessary to cover the costs of the course,” added Dr Leader-Williams. ̽��ֱ��programme is supported for a period of 10 years by a generous gift from the MAVA Fondation pour la Protection de la Nature, while Arcadia has agreed to establish a Miriam Rothschild Scholarship Programme in Conservation Leadership for the next five years.

As the first cohort of students complete their studies and resume their careers in conservation around the globe, the contacts they have made will be invaluable. This, explained Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of CCI, is a strategic aim of the programme: “With successive years, this innovative course will create a growing international leadership network, build conservation capacity and become a major force for better environmental stewardship.”

For more information, please contact Dr Nigel Leader-Williams (nigel.leader-williams@geog.cam.ac.uk) or visit www.geog.cam.ac.uk/graduate/mphil/conservation/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

First biodiversity symposium looks to future

bjb42 — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��symposium convened some of the world's leading experts on conservation. Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard provided the opening remarks and the keynote address was given by Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment.

During the course of the symposium, speakers and discussion panels highlighted a number of key issues which need urgent action and explored the question of how to build greater global understanding of the economic, social and political value of biodiversity within ecosystems.

̽��ֱ��morning session addressed questions about such value and the conservation priorities this implies. In the afternoon, speakers investigated the ways in which conservation problems can be solved and highlighted some of the programmes currently being undertaken by the CCI to inform decision-makers and deliver solutions. Each session was followed by a lively, facilitated discussion by a panel of experts.

Mike Rands, Director of CCI, said: ̽��ֱ��world has a massive challenge to meet if we are to half the loss of the planet's natural capital. CCI offers an exciting combination of intellectual capacity, pioneering research, policy experience and practical knowledge to respond to that challenge. Today we heard about an array of new ideas that demonstrate the power of collaboration across disciplines and between researchers and practitioners."

Launched in 2007, the CCI is a collaboration between six departments of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and nine leading conservation organisations (including the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Birdlife International, Fauna and Flora International and the Tropical Biology Association) based in the Cambridge area. It represents a critical mass of expertise at the interface of research and education, policy and practice, for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems.

In October 2009, a new MPhil degree in Conservation Leadership was launched by CCI, led from the Department of Geography at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and funded by the MAVA foundation. ̽��ֱ��course has an innovative structure that draws on research from across six university departments and all nine of the conservation organisations in CCI. It is aimed at graduates with at least five years experience in conservation.

Last week a review written by a group of CCI members was profiled in the journal Science. In the paper they warn that unless people recognise the link between their consumption choices and biodiversity loss, the diversity of life on Earth will continue to decline.

Cambridge Conservation Initiative&rsquo;s (CCI), inaugural symposium, held on Wednesday, focused on how to conserve natural capital and the future of biodiversity.

̽��ֱ��world has a massive challenge to meet if we are to half the loss of the planet's natural capital. CCI offers an exciting combination of intellectual capacity, pioneering research, policy experience and practical knowledge to respond to that challenge.

Dr. Mike Rands, Director of CCI

Credt: Moyen_Brenn_BACK_FROM_PRAGUE from Flickr

Forest

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes