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A wicked environmental challenge: collaboration network for free-ranging dog management in an urban environment

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Abstract

Invasive species possess wide-ranging social and ecological impacts globally. Although the ecological impacts are well studied, social aspects especially in developing countries are often poorly understood. Free-ranging dogs (FRDs) (Canis familiaris) are the most abundant carnivore on earth with a high level of invasion. Recently, the presence of FRDs in the Jiroft city in southern Iran has increased, and local managers have not yet developed a coherent management plan. Given the high rate of human bites by FRDs in this region, a principled management plan with integrated collaboration between the relevant organizations is necessary. To better understand collaboration networks, we interviewed employees of three relevant governmental organizations about their collaboration with other organizations toward FRD management. Our objective in this study was to (1) assess the collaboration between the municipality, provincial offices of veterinary medicine, and health network and (2) predict the behavioral tendencies of network actors based on their current position in the FRD management network. Although most employees have never worked together to manage FRDs, our results showed that most of the interviewees did not evaluate the role of other organizations in FRD management as beneficial. Moreover, the current assessment of the employees of the two municipal and health organizations affects their current collaboration in the management of FRDs. Also, the current collaboration has a significant impact on their intention to collaborate in the future. We make suggestions for improving collaboration in managing FRDs in this region.

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Acknowledgements

We highly appreciate the generous help of the municipality, the provincial offices of veterinary organization, and health network of Jiroft city for agreeing to interview with us. We also appreciate L. Hysen because of his valuable comments and edits. Also, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback and comments on the earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Jiroft, Jiroft, Iran

    Alireza Mohammadi

  2. Department of Wildlife, California State Polytechnic University Humboldt, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA, 95521, USA

    Danial Nayeri

  3. Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agricultural Economics and Development, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

    Amir Alambeigi

  4. Wildlife Ecology, Management and Conservation Lab (LEMaC), Forest Science Department, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Silvio Marchini

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  1. Alireza Mohammadi
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  2. Danial Nayeri
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  4. Silvio Marchini
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Contributions

Alireza Mohammadi: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Danial Nayeri: Conceptualization, methodology, software, writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing. Amir Alambeigi: Methodology, software, writing—review and editing. Silvio Marchini: Conceptualization, methodology, writing—reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Amir Alambeigi.

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Mohammadi, A., Nayeri, D., Alambeigi, A. et al. A wicked environmental challenge: collaboration network for free-ranging dog management in an urban environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 27125–27136 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24029-x

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