97th ESA Annual Meeting (August 5 -- 10, 2012)

SS 16 - Connecting Collaborative Conservation Across Cultures: Identifying Effective Strategies for Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Collaborative Conservation Research

Monday, August 6, 2012: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
B114, Oregon Convention Center
Organizer:
Katherine D. Wilkins
Co-organizers:
Gillian Bowser and Gloria Sumay
Collaborative conservation has become an important component of earth stewardship by uniting various stakeholders to discuss equitable management and distribution of resources. Researchers around the world are engaged in collaborative conservation studies that address local community connections and involvement with the natural world. Focusing on human interactions with the environment is crucial for finding effective solutions for environmental issues. For example, climate change threatens many of the traditional ways in which communities interact with their environment, pitting them against challenges they have not yet encountered. Conducting comparisons of collaborative research may enable different communities to learn from each other’s experiences. This session will identify and discuss effective strategies for conducting cross-cultural comparisons of collaborative conservation research. The discussion will begin with an interdisciplinary panel of researchers currently engaged in collaborative conservation studies. We will then open up the session for all to discuss ways to bridge cultural divides in the attempt to create more meaningful comparisons between communities. This will entail identifying effective methods used in previous comparative studies and how we can improve upon or come up with new means for comparison. We will also develop an overall summary of the discussion with clear ideas for how researchers can begin to connect with one another to conduct these comparisons.
See more of: Special Session