Social networks that shape conservation outcomes

Abstract

This article explores the role of park rangers’ social networks in two national parks in Sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that the way that actors connect shape conservation outcomes. We do this against the backdrop of how conservation worldwide has moved away from state-centric top-down approaches towards management structures that includes a wide range of stakeholders spanning multiple administrative levels and sectors. This trend entails challenges as well as opportunities for conservation management. The theoretical framework of the study is given by social capital theory and the notion that the structure of social networks – more specifically the three network features of bonding, bridging, and linking – relate to the presence of institutional trust and rule compliance. The findings indicate that the structure of social networks, in particular the different forms of social capital in those networks, matters for the way they function. The result indicates that bridging and linking ties positively relate to institutional trust and rule compliance. These social networks form a basis for building institutional trust in areas where trust towards government tends to be low. Managers should think about these structures when they implement conservation policy. We recommend to 1) foster structures where park rangers connect to a wide range of actors and thus resources, information, and knowledge 2) include park rangers in the decision making for a more efficient and sustainable management, and 3) build bridges that reach the local communities to facilitate institutional trust and encourage voluntary compliance.