Navigating power in conservation

Background

Conservation has traditionally centered on the natural sciences, but there is a growing recognition that it also deeply involves people and society. As a result, conservation efforts constantly navigate power dynamics, often without fully acknowledging them. Conservationists wield power when they decide which animals or plants to protect, where to focus their efforts, and how to implement them. Recognizing these power dynamics is essential for making conservation more effective, fair, and just. However, many conservationists either overlook or misunderstand the concept of power.

Goals and Methods

To enhance engagement with and awareness of power in conservation, practitioners and researchers need better access to theories and concepts related to power. This paper synthesizes power literature to: (1) introduce the concept of power to conservation professionals unfamiliar with it; (2) highlight power dynamics in conservation by illustrating how power operates across different scales and social-ecological contexts; and (3) provide concrete recommendations for engaging with and analyzing power more effectively, ultimately strengthening conservation efforts.

Conclusions and Takeaways

This paper highlights a fundamental truth: all conservation actions involve the exercise of power. Conservation researchers and practitioners must actively recognize, understand, and navigate the often-implicit power dynamics shaping their work. By introducing four common social science approaches to analyzing power—actor-centered, institutional, structural, and discursive—along with perspectives such as Indigenous and non-human views, the paper reveals how power operates in diverse and often unseen ways. It presents six guiding principles designed to help conservationists clarify values, consider different scales, understand conflicts, analyze winners and losers, reflect on participation, and assess the right to intervene. Ultimately, this framework aims to promote more effective, equitable, and just conservation outcomes while strengthening transdisciplinary research and practice by explicitly incorporating power into decision-making and environmental management.