Abstract
The primary role for science in addressing complex environmental problems, such as biological invasions, is generally assumed to be as a guide for management decisions. However, science often plays a minor role in decision-making, with practitioners instead relying on professional experience and local knowledge. We explore alternative pathways by which science could help reduce the spread and impacts of invasive species. Our study centred on attempts to understand the science needs of three local governance bodies responsible for the management of invasive (wilding) conifer species in the southern South Island of New Zealand. We used a combination of workshop discussions, questionnaire responses and visits to field sites to elicit feedback from study participants. We applied a mixed inductive-deductive thematic analysis approach to derive themes from the feedback received. The three main themes identified were: 1) Impacts of wilding conifers and goals for wilding conifer control; 2) barriers to achieving medium- and long-term goals; and 3) science needed to support wilding conifer control.Participants identified both instrumental (e.g. reduced water availability for agriculture) and intrinsic (e.g. loss of biodiversity and landscape values) impacts of wilding conifer invasions, with long-term goals focussed on avoiding or reversing these impacts. Barriers to achieving goals were overwhelmingly social, relating either to unwillingness of landowners to participate or poorly designed regulatory frameworks. Consequently, science needs related primarily to gaining social licence to remove wilding conifers from private land and for more appropriate regulations. Participants did not perceive any need for additional scientific information to guide management decisions, relying instead on professional experience and local knowledge. International experience suggests that invasive species control programmes often face significant external social barriers. Thus, for many biological invasions the primary role for science might be to achieve social licence and regulatory support for the long-term goals of invasive species control programmes and the management interventions required to achieve those goals.
Science for Social Licence to Arrest an Ecosystem-Transforming Invasion
