Flagship species selection

Addressing impacts from human activities requires the change of current practices. However, reaching a target audience about conservation issues and influencing their behaviour is not easy in a world where people are continually bombarded with information, and distractions are permanently available. Although not typically considered to be part of the conservation science toolbox, marketing techniques were designed in the commercial sector to identify and influence human preferences and behaviour by placing target audiences at the core of the marketing process. It thus seems reasonable that the same marketing principles and tools could and should be used to address pressing conservation issues. In this manuscript, we provide an introduction to the main objectives of marketing and illustrate how these can be applied to conservation and animal welfare issues. To that end we offer two examples: Project Ocean, where a major UK retailer joined forces with the Zoological Society of London to influence consumer behaviour around seafood; and Blackfish, which coupled social media with an award-winning documentary to create a discussion around the welfare of large cetaceans in captivity. Without the ability to influence human behaviour, a conservationists' role will likely be limited to that of describing the loss of biodiversity and the decline of the environment. We thus hope that conservation practitioners can embrace marketing as a fundamental component of the conservation toolbox.

Flagship species, common components of conservation programs, are frequently implicated in social confl icts. Th is article examines the multiple roles of fl agships in confl icts including their part in human-wildlife confl icts and as symbols of broader sociopolitical disputes. Th e article shows that the relationship between the co-occurrence of confl ict and fl agship species, while complex, illuminates important patterns and lessons that require further attention. Th e article focuses on the most iconic fl agships globally and discusses why they are commonly shrouded in controversy in which their meaning, value, and place are contested. It argues that the process of socially constructing animals as iconic symbols oft en entangles them in confl ict, and saturates them with confl ict agency. Th e article recommends that any program that involves the deployment of fl agships should institutionalize analyses of their symbolic meaning as an essential confl ict-management approach.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role in biodiversity conservation. The majority of these organisations rely on public donations to fund their activities, and therefore fundraising success is a determinant of conservation outcomes. In spite of this integral relationship, the key principals for fundraising success in conservation are still guided by expert opinion and anecdotal evidence, with very few quantitative studies in the literature. Here we assessed the behaviour of monetary donors across twenty-five different species-focused conservation campaigns organised by an NGO conservation and environmental society. The Australian Geographic Society (AGS) carried out fundraising campaigns over a five and half year period using an identical methodology in thirty-four of its country-wide network of outlet shops. AGS owns and operates these shops that sell toys and games related to science and nature. We tested how the following factors influenced monetary donations from ...

Conservation strategies based on charismatic flagship species, such as tigers, lions, and elephants, successfully attract funding from individuals and corporate donors. However, critics of this species-focused approach argue it wastes resources and often does not benefit broader biodiversity. If true, then the best way of raising conservation funds excludes the best way of spending it. Here we show that this conundrum can be resolved, and that the flagship species approach does not impede cost-effective conservation. Through a tailored prioritization approach, we identify places containing flagship species while also maximizing global biodiversity representation (based on 19,616 terrestrial and freshwater species). We then compare these results to scenarios that only maximized biodiversity representation, and demonstrate that our flagship-based approach achieves 79−89% of our objective. This provides strong evidence that prudently selected flagships can both raise funds for conserva...

Sea turtles attract volunteers who work for their conservation, but conservation volunteers in general have received little attention in the academic literature. Understanding the characteristics and motives of turtle volunteers adds to the general literature on volunteering and to our understanding of sea turtles as conservation fl agships. This paper presents results of a case study of volunteers working with the Caribbean Conservation Corporation in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, based on in-depth interviews with volunteers (1999, 2000) and on an exit survey (1997-1999). Results suggest that ccc volunteers share some characteristics with volunteers working in other sectors. While turtles are a key-motivating factor for a majority of volunteers, there are subtle variations in the turtle motive, and it is one of many motives for volunteering. These results are contextualised in the general literature on volunteering and on the role of fl agships in conservation.

We all experienced the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the maritime academic research in 2020 and 2021. The most significant of these impacts were the slowing down or stopping of field research activities, creation of new research topics and opportunities, and collaborations using remote access technologies. The Chamber of Marine Engineers, the owner of Journal of ETA Maritime Science (JEMS), has turned remote access technologies into opportunities under the pandemic conditions. The Global Conference on Innovation in Marine Technology and Future of Maritime Transportation (GMC) series, which was traditionally organized by The Chamber of Marine Engineers, was held online on November 18-19, 2021, and organized by the University of Strathclyde (UK), Constanta Maritime University (Romania), and Iskenderun Technical University (Turkey). The GMC'21 conference was attended by more participants than expected. In this issue, Prof. Osman TURAN, Advisory Board member of JEMS, shared his valuable impressions about the conference with our readers in his After Meeting article. At the end of 2021, when COVID-19 new variant threats continue, we are witnessing a revival of the research climate as restrictions ease off. We also see that the interest in our journal is increasing every day. As a result of this interest, we are sharing interesting original research articles with our readers in the JEMS 9 (4) issue. Hereby, I would like to express our gratitude to the authors, who sent their valuable studies for publication in this issue, our reviewers, editorial board, section editors, and the publisher, who provided quality publications by diligently following our publication policies.

We all experienced the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the maritime academic research in 2020 and 2021. The most significant of these impacts were the slowing down or stopping of field research activities, creation of new research topics and opportunities, and collaborations using remote access technologies. The Chamber of Marine Engineers, the owner of Journal of ETA Maritime Science (JEMS), has turned remote access technologies into opportunities under the pandemic conditions. The Global Conference on Innovation in Marine Technology and Future of Maritime Transportation (GMC) series, which was traditionally organized by The Chamber of Marine Engineers, was held online on November 18-19, 2021, and organized by the University of Strathclyde (UK), Constanta Maritime University (Romania), and Iskenderun Technical University (Turkey). The GMC'21 conference was attended by more participants than expected. In this issue, Prof. Osman TURAN, Advisory Board member of JEMS, shared his valuable impressions about the conference with our readers in his After Meeting article. At the end of 2021, when COVID-19 new variant threats continue, we are witnessing a revival of the research climate as restrictions ease off. We also see that the interest in our journal is increasing every day. As a result of this interest, we are sharing interesting original research articles with our readers in the JEMS 9 (4) issue. Hereby, I would like to express our gratitude to the authors, who sent their valuable studies for publication in this issue, our reviewers, editorial board, section editors, and the publisher, who provided quality publications by diligently following our publication policies.

Shipping companies have to take several strategic decisions about the vessels that perform transportation activities. The most important of these strategic decisions is "Flag Choice". This decision given by the company is shaped under the light of external and internal factors. In this paper, initially, the factors which affect flag choice decision of shipping companies and ship owners who play an important role to handle Turkish merchant fleet are determined. Then, the relation and association status of the factors which have significant impacts on this decision are displayed with data mining application. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) application is realized with the obtained outputs and a model is proposed for flag selection decision. It is expected that the results of the study provides certain outcomes and guidelines for related organizations dealing with shipping operations as well as suggestions for effective and efficient coordination among the relevant institutions.

Conservation strategies based on charismatic flagship species, such as tigers, lions, and elephants, successfully attract funding from individuals and corporate donors. However, critics of this species-focused approach argue it wastes resources and often does not benefit broader biodiversity. If true, then the best way of raising conservation funds excludes the best way of spending it. Here we show that this conundrum can be resolved, and that the flagship species approach does not impede cost-effective conservation. Through a tailored prioritization approach, we identify places containing flagship species while also maximizing global biodiversity representation (based on 19,616 terrestrial and freshwater species). We then compare these results to scenarios that only maximized biodiversity representation, and demonstrate that our flagship-based approach achieves 79−89% of our objective. This provides strong evidence that prudently selected flagships can both raise funds for conserva...

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role in biodiversity conservation. The majority of these organisations rely on public donations to fund their activities, and therefore fundraising success is a determinant of conservation outcomes. In spite of this integral relationship, the key principals for fundraising success in conservation are still guided by expert opinion and anecdotal evidence, with very few quantitative studies in the literature. Here we assessed the behaviour of monetary donors across twenty-five different species-focused conservation campaigns organised by an NGO conservation and environmental society. The Australian Geographic Society (AGS) carried out fundraising campaigns over a five and half year period using an identical methodology in thirty-four of its country-wide network of outlet shops. AGS owns and operates these shops that sell toys and games related to science and nature. We tested how the following factors influenced monetary donations from ...

Species selected as flagships to promote conservation activities around the world are typically well known and charismatic mega-fauna. Unfortunately this limits the scope for applying the concept as some critical areas for biodiversity conservation, such as tropical islands, lack such species. In this study, we explore the potential to apply the concept of 'tourism flagship species' to tropical island birds of the Seychelles, an archipelago of considerable importance for conservation that is highly dependent on international tourism. In particular we wish to identify which species attributes are most influential with regard to their potential for fundraising among international tourists. Using a choice experiment approach and using state-of-the-art econometric methods, we found that conservation attributes and physical appearance of the bird species are both important in terms of raising funds for conservation. Nevertheless, conservation attributes ranked higher in the respondents preferences. Our results suggest that there is considerable potential for a variety of species to effectively act as flagships in developing nations that are dependent on international tourism and rich in biodiversity but lack charismatic fauna.

Ports regard sustainability as of great importance in their efforts to sustain their corporate feature aiming to use resources effectively and comply with the environment and the society in which they are located. The activities an organization carries out its sustainability performance. Full compliance of this performance with the relevant natural and biological environment is greatly important. That's why the main point discussed in this study is the environmental sustainability performance of the port enterprises. As the competencies of port managers pay an important role in this performance, this study aims to scrutinize and evaluate these competencies of port operation managers in particular. To determine these competencies, a three-step Delphi technique has been used. This technique has been conducted through an expert group of 13 academicians. The results revealed 15 competency items. The identified competencies are believed to contribute to the effective process of selecting/employing managers in port organizations which will ensure corporate sustainability.

Conservation strategies based on charismatic flagship species, such as tigers, lions, and elephants, successfully attract funding from individuals and corporate donors. However, critics of this species-focused approach argue it wastes resources and often does not benefit broader biodiversity. If true, then the best way of raising conservation funds excludes the best way of spending it. Here we show that this conundrum can be resolved, and that the flagship species approach does not impede cost-effective conservation. Through a tailored prioritization approach, we identify places containing flagship species while also maximizing global biodiversity representation (based on 19,616 terrestrial and freshwater species). We then compare these results to scenarios that only maximized biodiversity representation, and demonstrate that our flagship-based approach achieves 79−89% of our objective. This provides strong evidence that prudently selected flagships can both raise funds for conserva...

Flagship species are frequently used by conservation practitioners to raise funds and awareness for reducing biodiversity loss. However, uncertainty remains in the academic literature about the purpose of flagship species and little research has been conducted on improving the effectiveness of these campaigns. To reduce this problem, here, we suggest a new definition that further emphasizes their marketing role and propose an interdisciplinary framework to improve flagship identification, based on methodologies from social marketing, environmental economics, and conservation biology. This framework emphasizes that conservationists should specify the purpose of a campaign before working with the potential target audience to identify the most suitable species, and should monitor the success of their campaigns and feed this back into the marketing process. We then discuss the role of return on investment analyses to determine when funds are best spent on high-profile flagships and when...