Conservation science is a mission orientated discipline yet many conservation scientists are criticized for undertaking research that is irrelevant and inaccessible to the practitioners implementing conservation action. For their part practitioners are often found guilty of failing to use sound science to underpin decision making and to evaluate the outcomes of their work. This apparent gap between science and practice has become a hot topic within conservation biology: to what extent does this gap really exist? Does the gap hinder the progress of the conservation endeavour as a whole? What can be done to close the gap and would doing so be desirable?
Although these questions do not have straightforward answers, in Intelligent Tinkering Robert J. Cabin offers an abundance of well documented evidence, anecdote and philosophy to help the reader form their own conclusions. Cabin is well placed to evaluate the roots and consequences of this gap. This honest and well-written book follows Cabin's early career as a postdoctoral fellow thrust into the middle of a politically charged ecological restoration project in Hawai'i. He finds himself pulled in several directions as he attempts to further his academic career, conduct scientifically robust research and undertake field trials that are of genuine use to a working group whose members follow their convictions much more than the ecological principles familiar to Cabin.
One of the greatest strengths of this book is that Cabin can see both sides to this story (he spends as much time practising the removal of invasive weeds, including the book's villain, fountain grass, as he does conducting rigorous research). This balanced approach is evident throughout, and the author's efforts focus on helping the reader understand the origins of a divide between science and practice, rather than casting blame on either group. To do this he splits the book into two parts, dedicating the first to his experience working within the North Kona Dryland Forest Working Group and the second to an in-depth analysis of the science–practice divide, followed by a number of suggested gap-bridging strategies.
In Part 1 he sets the scene with a thoroughly interesting yet deeply sombre history of the Hawaiian dry forests. The effects of high exploitation, invasive species and increased incidences of fire have left these last relicts of forest so degraded that they are described as mere pieces to ‘the mysterious Hawaiian dry forest ecosystem puzzle’. As Cabin's task at hand is set out the reader is treated to rich descriptions of the other members of the working group, each of whom have a stake in restoring these forests. The efforts the author makes to portray the disparate philosophies, characters and backgrounds of these individuals provides context to the slightly haphazard progress of the group and the frustrations felt by Cabin as his rigorous scientific approach to restoration is increasingly resisted by his more hands-on colleagues. While the money and prestige a research grant brings is valued by the working group, standardized trials and replicated treatments are not, and, in an excellent discussion on the trade-offs between science and practice, even Cabin starts to question the utility of his research programme to the actual restoration effort.
Whereas the first section involves much soul-searching from the author, in Part 2 Cabin looks further afield to other practitioners and scientists for answers. Although he presents a substantial amount of evidence for the divide, Cabin does not directly criticize either group for working in isolation—indeed he wholeheartedly espouses the value of science for science's sake and deeply respects the just-do-it approach taken by many practitioners. Rather, his critique is aimed at the pseudo-attempts of each to bridge the divide—on false claims of the direct utility of academic research and on practitioners for setting up elaborate monitoring programmes that often yield mountains of meaningless data.
The way forward, he argues, lies in ‘intelligent tinkering’: a more local, holistic and trial-and-error (yet still rigorous) approach to integrating research and practice. The concept of intelligent tinkering is developed in the final chapter and a convincing argument is made for its utility over the more rigid framework still used by most who are currently trying to bridge the science–practice gap. This excellent book ends on a suitably positive note by giving three examples of successful restoration projects in Hawai'i that have adopted the flexible approaches Cabin advocates. The lessons learned from Cabin's time in Hawai'i are well worth a read to anybody interested in developing an integrated approach to conservation science and practice.
