2 research outputs found
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On the merits and pitfalls of introducing a digital platform to aid conservation management: Volunteer data submission and the mediating role of volunteer coordinators
Against a backdrop of accelerating digital innovation in nature conservation and environmental management, a real-world experiment was conducted with the research aims of assessing: 1) the effects of introducing a digital data-entry platform on volunteer data submission; and 2) the extent to which coordinators influence digital platform use by their volunteers. We focussed on a large-scale volunteer-based initiative aimed at eradicating the non-native American mink (Neovison vison) from northern Scotland. This geographically dispersed conservation initiative adopted a digital platform that allowed volunteers to submit records to a central database. We found that the platform had a direct and positive effect on volunteer data submission behaviour, increasing both the number and frequency of submissions. However, our analysis revealed striking differences in coordinator engagement with the platform, which in turn influenced the engagement of volunteers with this centrally introduced digital innovation. As a consequence, the intended organisation-wide rolling out of a digital platform translated into a diversely-implemented innovation, limiting the efficacy of the tool and revealing key challenges for digital innovation in geographically-dispersed conservation initiatives
Tackling Invasive Alien Species in Europe: the Top 20 Issues
Globally, Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are considered to be one of the major threats to native biodiversity, with the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) citing their impacts as ‘immense, insidious, and usually irreversible’. It is estimated that 11% of the c. 12,000 alien species in
Europe are invasive, causing environmental, economic and social damage; and it is reasonable to expect that the rate of biological invasions
into Europe will increase in the coming years. In order to assess the current position regarding IAS in Europe and to determine the issues that
were deemed to be most important or critical regarding these damaging species, the international Freshwater Invasives - Networking for
Strategy (FINS) conference was convened in Ireland in April 2013. Delegates from throughout Europe and invited speakers from around the
world were brought together for the conference. These comprised academics, applied scientists, policy makers, politicians, practitioners and
representative stakeholder groups. A horizon scanning and issue prioritization approach was used by in excess of 100 expert delegates in a
workshop setting to elucidate the Top 20 IAS issues in Europe. These issues do not focus solely on freshwater habitats and taxa but relate
also to marine and terrestrial situations. The Top 20 issues that resulted represent a tool for IAS management and should also be used to
support policy makers as they prepare European IAS legislation