Managing change: managing people Opportunities CEPA offers to nature managers in Europe

1
Managing change managing people
Opportunities CEPA offers to nature managers in
Europe

• CEC Expert Meeting, Valsain Spain, 13 16 June
  2004
• Frits Hesselink

2
CEC CEPA

• Conventions/CEPA one of the 3 CEC spearheads
• CEPA makes the conventions work!
• But how to sell the added value of CEPA?

3
CEC focus
Advocacy Capacity development Knowledge management
4
New website tools for programmes
5
Challenge for this conference

• Define CEPA more concretely
• Identify opportunities for nature conservation
• Analyze the principles of CEPA
• Formulate guidelines for CEPA

6
This presentation

• Conservation how to deal with changes
• Added value of CEPA to realize change
• Suggestions for further discussion
• Definition
• Opportunities
• Principles
• Guidelines

7
Conservation change management
8
Changes conservation faces

• urbanization, roads, dams,
• windmill parks
• mass tourism, consumerism,
• waste
• impact of mountain bikes,
• motor bikes, cars
• international conventions,
• Natura 2000

• society becomes core to
• conservation
• managers constantly face
• new challenges
• managing change becomes a
• primary task
• people are key to realize the
• needed changes

9
Managing peoples behavior
10
Managing people

• Stick - Carrot - Drum

Peoples behavior is part of (social)
systems CEPA social instruments
11
Conservation managers people

• NORMAL REFLEX
• Laws, regulations, plans
• Request (in vain) for more
• money as an incentive for
• change
• More research on nature and
• people, more pilot projects
• BUT stay behind your desks!

• RESULTS NO CHANGE
• unsolved problems, paper parks
• no public awareness, no cooperation
• negative image, bad publicity
• fear to meet real people
• It takes more to change systems
• CEPA can make a difference here

12
Usually most managers think CEPA is a
responsibility for the PR experts and educators
In reality managers take many (un-informed) CEPA
decisions!
13
Example
Communicating Biodiversity to private forest
owners
14
Movie or innovation?

• Intended un-informed CEPA approach
• We need a movie to convince private
• forest owners to care about biodiversity
• Show the differences between clear
• cutting and selective cutting
• We need animation, dramatic pictures,
• visuals of forest managed close to nature
• When does the movie reach all 200.000
• owners? What will motivate them to
• watch? What will it change in them?

• Strategic social intervention in the system
• Introduction of a new way of forest
• management, concentrate on pioneers
• Pioneers doing a successful experiments
• will set the agenda Forest Department
• Use inspectors to identify potential
• pioneers (opinion leaders, academics,
• not dependent on forest)
• Small seminars, fieldtrips, helpdesk for
• guided experiment

15
What triggers change?

• Un-informed CEPA approach
• Managers focus on media come up with
• fun idea, that captures the imagination
• Approach convince people individually
• social environment not analyzed
• Content and message are secondary and
• cannot answer why or what questions

• Strategic social intervention in the system
• Managers analyze social system plan
• strategically to achieve desired outcomes
• Interventions are focused on goals -
• audiences and messages determine media
• Target audiences are involved in planning
• Interventions are based on their values

16
Pulsatilla grandis in Boc threatened by
trampling by visitors Relation
management Triggers change
17
What laws cannot do!

• Previous approach
• Law enforcement, education,
• public awareness, fences by
• PA - not being aware of other
• interest groups with different
• and conflicting messages
• Each year escalation of the
• problem and conflicts between visitors
• and interest groups and between
• interest groups who all think they
• have the right solution and approach.

• CEPA approach relation management
• Bring stakeholders together
• Focus groups to explore motives for
• cooperation
• Management plan realizing joint solutions
• Joint execution of management plan
• Communication interventions (timely tailored and
  targetted information on event management)
• Mobility interventions (ramps, parkings, busses)
• Evaluation and follow-up (outsourcing event
• management)

18
The results of the CEPA approach Boc, 1st May
2003, 2004
19
Wolves - recently appearing in Beskydy -
threatened by farmers Crisis management
approach triggers change
20
What money cannot do

• Previous approach
• Formal compensation procedures
• Publications, lectures on how
• farmers should protect their sheep
• Communication aimed to prove
• through facts and figures that wolves
• do not pose a threat press has it all
• wrong.
• Increase of public outrage in press,
• relationships worsens farmers
• propagate shooting wolvesPA staffs.

• CEPA approach crisis management
• Overcome own fears, prejudices
• visit farmers, listen to concerns
• Start regular meetings with opinion leaders on
• common concerns and interests
• Provide bureaucratic support for farmers needs,
• e.g. approach municipality to improve
• roads proposal to Ministry to improve
• indemnity procedure help with procedure
• support local publication on sheep farming.
• Some farmers start taking preventive measures
• Joint evaluation and planning of next steps.

21
Disappearing ecological networks in Slovenian
Karst and Istria Marketing approach
triggers change
22
What research cannot do!

• Previous approach
• Research by different organizations
• funded by EU, lectures,
• conferences, website, exchange
• with similar initiatives in Italy and
• Croatia, science approach, laws
• regulations, legal enforcement, no
• restoration action
• Each year more ponds used as
• garbage dump, dried up, falling
• apart, or totally disappear, mapping
• more and more difficult

• CEPA approach marketing
• Opinion leaders
• Focus groups
• Motives for new use of ponds
• Management plan realizing joint solutions,
• joint execution of plan
• Communication interventions (timely tailored and
  targetted information on opening ceremony)
• Technical interventions (funds, construction
  material, detailed technical plan, supervision
  sustainable and traditional construction)
• Evaluation, report recommending next steps

23
Paper Park Peca Topla Customer orientation
triggers change
24
After three years Biodiversity Strategy is still
not coming off the ground Personal approach
triggers change
25
Over exploitation threatens peat bog in Sucha
Hora Informal approach triggers change
26
Spiranthis spiralis threatened by natural
succession in Bukovske Vrchy Network
management triggers change
27
CEPA changes in approach
28
Conclusion 1 CEPA definition
29
CEPA

• Series of planned targeted interventions
• in the social environment (people as customers)
• of a concrete issue we want to solve
• producing the change/result desired by nature
• management objectives (often in combination
• with stick carrot)

30
Conclusion 2. CEPA opportunities
31
CEPA offers opportunities for

• Public-private partnerships
• Participation support
• Local capacity
• Introduction new policy
• New constituencies

• Agenda setting
• Making programs sustainable
• Better conservation practice
• Improving reputation
• Etc.

32
Conclusion 3 CEPA principles
33
Characteristics of CEPA interventions in the
social system

• Face to face meetings opinion leaders
• Focus groups, Kitchen meetings,
• Round tables, Joint exploration
• Joint strategic planning with
• stakeholders of instrument mix
• Free publicity, media as tools
• Feedback, Adaptive management

• System approach
• Marketing
• Relation management
• Network management
• Crisis management
• Customer orientation
• Personal approach

34
Conclusion 4 CEPA guidelines Appreciate
complexity Invest in human capacity Psychology of
value systems Take enough time
35
Guidelines - lessons learned

• CEPA management responsibility change in
  management style trans-diciplinary approach
• Invest in situation system analysis real
  problem, pressure point go only for essential
  changes
• Involve individuals in planning for change
  second best is better than best!
• Give people a chance to air their objections
  always take group norms and habits into account
• Internal communication everyone is a PR officer
  horizontal and vertical (involve bosses)
• Learn how to work in teams monitor, evaluate,
  adapt and give positive feedback

36
Thanks to IUCN project teams from Slovakia,
Slovenia, Czech Republic for learning and
photos! I look forward to your
reactions! hesselink_at_hect.nl
www.hect.nl