Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how the project model fails to accommodate the human dimension of conservation and reshapes personal identities and relations, primarily triggered by its gap between project designers and project implementers.

Paper long abstract:

Based on my experience in conservation in Indonesia, I explore how the project model impacts conservation identities, relationships, and overall conservation success. Conservation is a multifaceted field, involving many stakeholders. This complexity requires certain structures that guide various stakeholders in the roles they play. I suggest that although the project system provides a guiding framework for the functioning and implementation of conservation activities, it does not sufficiently accommodate for the intangible aspects that people working within this structure experience.

In general, people have an intimate connection with the field of conservation: they are driven by passion, a sense of belongingness, responsibility, or altruistic and philanthropical concerns. These deep-rooted motivations that shape conservation identities are what drives conservation projects to a success. However, there exists a crucial gap in the project system that impacts on conservation identities in the long run. One such lies between project designers and project implementers, where project ideation, activities and goals are set by the former and handed down to the latter. Over time, implementers experience alienation to project goals and are restricted to meeting targets through task completion, resulting in a lack of motivation to think outside of the project framework. This may potentially result in a lacking of sense of belonging to the project, subsequently altering human relationships at many levels, impacting the project environment at large and its sustainability. Thus, it is imperative to rethink project systems to safeguard subtle relationships to not just the project, but the entire social system involved.