Keywords

In the extensive international literature on project design and management, a multitude of models have been proposed through which to achieve successful outcomes. Six studies are pertinent to the present review. John Kotter (1996) provides an eight-step process for change, widely applied by the business community and adapted by Brian Child (2019) to community-based conservation projects. Richard Cowling et al. (2002) identify three interdependent components for consideration in structuring biodiversity mainstreaming projects - prerequisites, stimuli and mechanisms. Andrew Balmford (2012) synthesises conservation projects in terrestrial and marine environments and describes ten characteristics fundamental to success. Robert Pringle (2017) proposes eight pillars to be followed in the upgrading and expansion of protected areas. Peter Crane (2022) spelled out the message used in the title to this chapter: ‘Seizing the moment while imagining the future’ which underpins the concept and practice of strategic opportunism.

The above authors’ elegantly simple frameworks, based on case studies from across the globe, identify key elements for success in business management, biodiversity mainstreaming, species and ecosystem conservation, protected area rehabilitation and the development of botanical gardens. Despite the differences of sector activity and the spatial scale of objectives, the driving elements identified have great consistency. Their lessons can be widely applied. Unsurprisingly, despite the efforts of international development agencies over the past half-century, there is no universally adopted formula for success in conservation projects that suggests that ‘one size fits all’. Each situation has its individual idiosyncracies, temporal and geographic scales, socio-political and institutional strengths and weaknesses, and financial opportunities and challenges. Here it is proposed that the approach of strategic opportunism is most appropriate to the real-world challenges faced by conservationists in Africa. African solutions to African problems.

So, what is ‘strategic opportunism’?

Over the past 50 years, as a researcher, administrator and project participant at various levels in all southern African countries, I have followed an approach that I have somewhat flippantly called ‘strategic opportunism’. At the outset, I must emphasise that it is not a formalised model such as the ‘Theory of Change’ process used by many international and non-governmental agencies for project planning. In my personal experience, strategic opportunism emerged while working within fragile socio-ecological landscapes and adapting to uncertainty and change.

The concept and practice of strategic opportunism is not included in academic curricula, nor taught at post-graduate schools of wildlife management. But it requires nothing more than a clear vision, ideally shared by one’s colleagues and project partners, within a flexible strategy through which to achieve realistic goals. The unpredictable opportunities that arise with the passage of time are key ingredients for success. While attending to frequent minor crises, one must never lose sight of the long-term vision. It contrasts with the rigid project frameworks demanded by many development agencies, which leave no space for chance or surprise. In reality, opportunities – big or small, arising from serendipity or simple good luck – must be recognised and exploited. In short, it amounts to transforming problems into solutions. Strategic opportunism is most concisely defined in Peter Crane’s “seizing the moment while imagining the future”. More formally, the concept is defined as “the ability to remain focused on long-term objectives while staying flexible enough to solve day-to-day problems and recognise new opportunities” (Iselberg 1987).

Even more than in politics, conservation is the art of the possible. It is a slow and iterative process. Strategic opportunism follows the West African expression: “softly, softly, catchy monkey”. In simple terms, strategic opportunism is a mix of vision + strategy + opportunity + timing = success. It is not a rigidly linear process. The first requirement – a clear and shared vision – is fundamental. The strategy itself might be quite flexible – comprising many tiers of actions that include the ways and means of achieving goals – not tightly structured and time-bound plans.

The case studies that provide the evidence base for this set of hypothetical fundamentals demonstrate the key elements of strategic opportunism. Starting with a shared vision – imagining the future – the process advances through the matching of global ideas to feasible local actions, and through growing networks of collaboration. Mutual trust between partners are essential ingredients. Along the route, young talents must be nurtured. Mistakes will be made, but must be tolerated. Moving from small interventions to grander, bolder actions, a critical mass of committed, passionate partners ‘get things done on the ground’. The latter point is most important. Unless measurable impact is achieved ‘on the ground’, no elegant theories, elaborate policies, acts of parliament or voluminous conference conclusions will guarantee success.

Getting things done on the ground will very often result from unexpected opportunities. Serendipity happens. One must be ready to act in response to chance events – seizing the moment. Each of the case studies illustrates how an unplanned event accelerated progress or changed the trajectory of a project. The surprising detection of hybridisation between giant sable and roan antelope catalysed efforts to capture and translocate genetically pure sable to form a breeding population. A chance meeting between a potential donor and the country’s president triggered the Gorongosa Restoration Project. Connecting the dots between a simple digital scanning technology and the need to document hundreds of thousands of herbarium specimens led rapidly to the African Plants Initiative.

Moving from quick wins to broader successes requires the flexibility of the strategic opportunism approach. By giving participants in citizen science projects regular feedback through newsletters and press releases, local but significant findings were celebrated. The early volunteers of the bird atlasing and wildflower conservation projects could never have anticipated the vast impact of their projects, but they imagined a future of an easily accessible database that would guide conservation action.

In contrast to the practice of rigid project structures, not each step of project implementation needs to follow a seemingly logical sequence. Eradicating feral cats on Marion Island built on decades of fundamental research on seabird and cat population biology. The project advanced through trial and error, frequently revising approaches. It was a process of successive approximation – each step getting closer to the goal, through what can best be described as ‘learning by doing’. The years of negotiation required to access funding for the SABONET project saw progress in spasms rather than in predictable flows. Projects, like thinking, move both fast and slow.

Finally, an additional ingredient is needed for strategic opportunism to succeed. In all ‘communities of practice’ – loose networks of collaboration – keystone individuals are essential. Each of the successful projects reviewed had such personalities. These included political leaders with a commitment to the environment and its conservation, respected leaders of rural communities, academics with inspiring ideas and energetic students, private sector investors looking for socially meaningful projects, or amateurs and volunteers forming networks of citizen scientists. These keystone individuals, like the keystone species of ecosystems, served the role of project champions, catalysing symbiotic relationships among all participants. It is these extended families – multi-talented and cooperative ‘invisible colleges’ – that bring solutions to complex problems in Africa.