Building the Next Ark: How NGOs Work to Protect Biodiversity.

Building the Next Ark: How NGOs work to protect biodiversity

Michael. M. Gunter, Jr. 2004. Dartmouth College Press and University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. ISBN: 1-58465-383-3 $32.95 (hc), 1-58465-590-9 $23.00 (paper). 252pp.

This book begins with a simple statement, "A new ark is needed." In the book's introduction, the author, Michael M. Gunter, Jr., suggests that the current estimate of fifty thousand species extinctions per year constitutes a modern-day "flood of potentially biblical proportions," and that "playing Noah," although not easy, will necessarily feature environmental NGOs as central players. Gunter argues that NGOs are "a crucial component of the design team in constructing the next ark, even acting as the lead carpenter at times" (Gunter 2004: 182). While this reviewer would argue that biblical references are not the best framework upon which to build an argument for the conservation of species emerging out of evolutionary forces, such references are limited to the title, opening, and closing chapters of the book. Ultimately this book is persuasive and adds a much-needed, and timely, NGO dimension to the existing literature on biodiversity conservation and protection.

The book is based on the author's research on the biodiversity conservation efforts of eleven US-based environmental NGOs. This exclusively US focus biases the results, and is a methodological flaw which reduces the possibility of conclusively answering the author's stated research aim, to determine how "NGOs most effectively enhance biodiversity protection" (Gunter 2004: 2). Notwithstanding the author's argument that "the United States is still the preeminent global power in any number of measures of that term" and that "NGOs understand that to really make a difference they must have a foothold in the United States" (Gunter 2004: 4), it would have been methodologically more convincing to have reviewed and contrasted a broad range of US-based, and other developed and developing-country NGOs working on biodiversity protection: NGOs working in other cultural contexts could conceivably use differing approaches to engage their constituencies and carry out their conservation mandate. However, as long as the reader keeps this US bias in mind, there are many important messages revealed in this book.

The heart of this book is the author's conceptual framework of NGO effectiveness (pages 40-51). Although difficult to follow initially, the author argues that NGOs working on biodiversity protection are most effective when they can establish three "fundamental linkages": 1) linking domestic with international concerns, 2) linking ecological with social and economic concerns, and 3) linking short-term with long-term concerns. In creating these linkages, he argues, there are five key organizational characteristics of NGOs (ranging from decision-making style to strategic concentration), two participatory and five mainstream strategies (ranging from grassroots networking to property acquisition), and four indicators of effectiveness (also variously referred to as 'criteria'). The 120 pages which follow this framework go through examples drawn from the eleven US environmental NGOs in detail, and by the end of this extended development the conceptual framework is much clearer.

In addition to the conceptual contribution the author makes, there are several important messages about NGO effectiveness in biodiversity conservation. Firstly, Gunter argues that "NGOs in their position both above and below the state hold the unique ability to target multiple constituencies." In other words, NGOs are the only institutions that can act at all levels (local, state, regional or even global levels). Secondly, Gunter cautions that some of the largest NGOs engaged in biodiversity conservation have entered a dangerous "organizational maintenance" phase. In this phase, efforts to maintain the funding base, organizational structure and staff of the typical modern environmental NGO result in "more bureaucratic," "state-like," and ultimately "slower" actions and reactions. Thirdly, the author recommends a number of means by which NGOs can achieve greater biodiversity conservation effectiveness, including carving out strategic niches; working together rather than competing for limited funding and public exposure; and consciously incorporating the three fundamental linkages (domestic-international, economic-ecological, and short-long term interests) outlined in earlier chapters.

Notwithstanding the strengths of this book, there are also several weaknesses. Firstly, the author appears to suggest that monkey-wrenching is a viable strategy for NGOs engaged in biodiversity conservation. In answering his own rhetorical question about how NGOs can best facilitate changes in "the system" which has led to biodiversity loss, Gunter states:

The short answer is that there are many viable options. These range

from radical, monkey-wrenching activities that inflict financial

damage on corporate entities to more conservative alliances where

NGOs outline financial incentives for businesses going green.

(Gunter 2004: 148).

Given that Gunter tends to otherwise recommend middle-of-the-spectrum organizational and operational strategies (e.g. NGO decision-making should fall between strongly hierarchical and fully decentralized, "imagination" in decision-making should be neither stagnant nor too imaginative, organizational structure should be neither too flexible nor inflexible, etc), this support for radical "end-of-spectrum" approaches appears out of place. As well, the book's ten page epilogue is rambling, and is unconvincing in its attempt to draw links between: 1) global ecological interdependence, vulnerability and biodiversity loss, and 2) interdependence of social systems, the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and the need to instill a "war mentality" (and even borrow from techniques used in fighting the post-911 "war on terrorism") when fighting biodiversity loss. Lastly, although the core of the book is the author's effort to analyze and foster greater effectiveness in NGO-led biodiversity conservation, no biophysical evidence is presented to suggest that NGO efforts have led to biodiversity conservation successes. Even something as simple as the number of hectares of land entered into protected status due to NGO efforts, or number of extinctions avoided (e.g. when "critically endangered" species recover due to NGO efforts and are removed from the critical list), would have been a welcome 'biophysical indicator' of NGO effectiveness.

The book is written from a primarily political science rather than conservation science perspective. This is made obvious when the reader comes across examples of basic conservation science terms such as "endemism" explained to the reader, while political science passages such as ""the omnipresent international relations debate over the dominant realist paradigm" are not. Readers with a political science background will likely be at home with the theory base, while those who have not read widely in this area may feel relatively lost at times.

Ultimately, the book's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. It should be required reading for those engaged in the day-to-day struggle to conserve global biodiversity, and would be a valuable addition to most environmental NGO's libraries. Academically, this book would be a valuable addition to reading lists for graduate-level courses dealing with political ecology, institutional capacity-building, state/non-state actors in environmental management, environment and globalization, or other courses probing the political dimensions of biodiversity conservation. The book is not recommended for undergraduate levels, or for those courses with a strong conservation science focus, due to both the specialized nature of the topic and the complexity of the political theory base upon which the book is built.

Reviewed by Brent Doberstein, Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1