Abstract:
The ‘roof of the world’ is one of the most ecologically diverse and vulnerable regions on earth.
Tibetan pastoralists have developed an institutionalized system of checks and balances to
regulate access to and conservation of natural resources. However, traditional resource
management institutions are greatly transformed by government driven development and
conservation projects. Recent studies on adaptive co-management have emphasized the
importance of linking institutional and organizational structures at different scales for
sustaining socio-ecological resilience and managing cross-scale problems of conservation.
Extraordinary conservation accomplishments have been made in cases where government and
local communities engage in partnerships for collaborative conservation management.
The methodology for this study incorporated a social network approach that presents a unique
analysis of the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in enabling more
collaborative conservation governance arrangements in the Tibetan Plateau region. The study
is based on a field research in China where I used semi-structured interviews to investigate
NGOs perspectives about the main triggers and barriers to more collaborative conservation
approaches on the Tibetan Plateau and their role in facilitating the communication among
different stakeholder groups. My main findings are that NGOs have significant influence on
enabling more collaborative conservation management initiatives. The creation of crossinstitutional
partnerships, flexibility in conservation approaches, mutual learning, and trust
building processes are seen as the most effective means to more collaborative conservation
approaches. Conversely, unequal power relationships, different understandings of how to
approach conservation issues and a diversity of partially conflicting interests and priorities are
identified as the main barriers.
