Trade-offs in the implementation of good practice in large carnivore conservation and management

Abstract

Challenges related to increasing large carnivore populations in Europe led to the establishment of the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores. We present the work undertaken by the Secretariat of the Platform in analyzing case studies in large carnivore conservation and management, which reflected good practice. We focused on 10 case studies ranging from concrete damage prevention methods to broader stakeholder involvement. For these cases, we interviewed stakeholder members with direct involvement. The short listing of case studies was based on the good practice they demonstrated in terms of both conservation and positive outcomes for stakeholder interaction. Our analysis showed that we have much to learn from the unplanned side effects of the actions undertaken, which stakeholders negotiated as part of the process of working together (further referred to as "trade-offs"). We examined how stakeholders dealt with these trade-offs and how they might lead to adaptations in their future interactions. Stakeholders' responses focused in particular on the following areas: institutional backing of damage prevention and/or compensation; intergroup and in-group relations between stakeholders; instances where costs outweighed benefits; and threats posed by large carnivores. Our findings suggest a need to reconsider what we mean by good practice. In particular, "win-win" solutions may not be realistic, nor even desirable as a management goal. An overconcentration on win-win options may lead to a downplaying of the costs for particular stakeholder groups, which in the end is likely to be counterproductive. Our results indicate that good practice should not be understood as meaning an absence of obstacles but that such obstacles are effectively overcome by stakeholders to achieve desirable outcomes in a specific setting. This conceptualization of good practice has considerable implications for stakeholder engagement in participatory processes and may promote social learning.