Researchers led by Washington State University have found that long-distance friendships play a crucial role in promoting conservation efforts. The study, conducted in Tanzania, demonstrates how social ties across communities can bolster sustainable resource management.
Maintaining friendships over long distances can be challenging, but a recent study indicates these relationships offer substantial benefits to environmental conservation.
A study led by Washington State University, published in Conservation Letters, has uncovered that social connections across distances have a positive impact on community-based conservation. Although the study focused on fishing villages in northern Tanzania, the implications extend globally.
“Our findings challenge the notion that external connections undermine conservation,” lead author Kristopher Smith, a postdoctoral fellow at WSU’s Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, said in a news release. “We show that these relationships can also foster trust and cooperation, essential for managing shared natural resources.”
The study revealed that individuals with friends in neighboring villages were significantly more engaged in sustainable fisheries management activities. Compared to those with no long-distance friends, having just one friend from another village resulted in a 15% increase in activities such as beach cleanups, reporting illegal fishing and educating peers about sustainable practices.
This increased participation is attributed to unique support provided by long-distance friends, such as loans for fishing equipment, which are harder to secure locally. This mutual dependence promotes a sense of interdependence, incentivizing both parties to protect their shared resources.
The research team conducted interviews with 1,317 participants in Tanzania’s Tanga region, employing Bayesian statistical models to analyze the influence of long-distance relationships and inter-community trust on participation in Beach Management Unit (BMU) activities. These activities are critical as BMUs manage fisheries collaboratively across village boundaries.
Smith and his colleagues found that long-distance friendships enhance conservation efforts in two main ways. Directly, individuals with more long-distance friends were more involved in conservation. Indirectly, these friendships built trust between communities, further fostering collaboration. Surprisingly, trust within local communities had minimal effects on participation, highlighting the unique role of cross-community ties.
While the study showcases the advantages of these relationships, it also acknowledges potential drawbacks. Previous research has shown that such ties can lead to “leakage,” where friends collaborate to sidestep conservation rules by sharing information that enables illegal activities.
“What’s unique about our findings is that we’re showing both sides of the coin,” Smith added. “While these relationships can lead to rule-breaking, they also have significant potential to drive conservation.”
The study’s insights are being applied by local organizations like the Mwambao Coastal Community Network, which collaborates with fishery communities to foster relationships through events like fishery closures and openings. These initiatives demonstrate the benefits of conservation and promote cross-village connections.
“This research validates what organizations like Mwambao are already doing,” Smith added. “By providing evidence that building long-distance relationships has added benefits, this research can potentially guide large-scale initiatives of organizations like our collaborator Mwambao.”
Looking ahead, the research team plans to investigate the dynamics of long-distance relationships in other natural resource contexts, such as forestry and carbon emission reduction efforts. They aim to discern when these relationships lead to leakage rather than effective conservation.
Ultimately, the findings could significantly influence global conservation strategies as organizations and governments address challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. Policies promoting inter-community relationships, through exchange programs or joint training, could harness the benefits of long-distance trust to enhance sustainable practices.
“Long-distance relationships have long been part of how people manage resource access,” co-author Anne Pisor, an assistant professor of anthropology at Penn State University, said in the news release. “By working with these relationships, organizations can build on something tried and true when addressing a number of 21st-century problems.”