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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Brennah Agnew

  • BA (St. Francis Xaiver University, 2021)
Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Public Administration

Topic

Mapping British Columbia’s Biodiversity Conservation Network: A Social Network Analysis of BC’s Biodiversity Conservation Actors and Their Socio Ecological Relationships

School of Public Administration

Date & location

  • Friday, August 7, 2026
  • 2:00 P.M.
  • Virtual Defence

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Walter Lepore, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

  • Dr. David Castle, School of Public Administration, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

  • Dr. Crystal Tremblay, Department of Geography, University of Victoria

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Prof. Martin Segger, Department of Art History and Visual Studies, UVic

Abstract

This thesis examines biodiversity conservation in British Columbia (BC) through a systems thinking lens, recognizing that the environment is shaped by complex and interrelated sectors, actors, issues, and solutions. Despite this interconnectivity, there is currently no comprehensive understanding of who BC’s conservation actors are, how they are connected, or what roles they play. Addressing this gap supports a localized integration of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), with the ultimate goal of protecting BC’s unique ecological diversity.

To this end, this study uses a Social Network Analysis (SNA), to explore the structure and social dynamics of BC’s biodiversity conservation network; examining how social connections shape ecological outcomes. Drawing on a mixed methods approach that combines quantitative survey data with qualitative semi-structured interviews, this study centers on organizations, institutions, and academic actors involved in BC-specific biodiversity conservation work. Their relationships are visually mapped using Cytoscape software and triangulated against the lived experiences of those involved, with the aim of highlighting gaps, overlaps, and potential synergies that could support a more coordinated, equitable, and informed implementation of GBF targets.

This mapping reveals a network in which larger institutions⎯government and government adjacent organizations⎯occupy central positions in the network, while local organizations and First Nations sit at the periphery, connected through a small number of key brokers. This uneven structure ultimately carries implications for the network’s overall fragility and its capacity to sustain collaborative, high-quality conservation efforts.

These dynamics are understood through Wright and Meadows’ (2009) systems thinking framework of stocks and flows: stocks such as trust, relationships, institutional knowledge, and organizational capacity are steadily depleted by structurally embedded outflows, including funding cuts, government transitions, and competitive resource environments. Viewed through Ostrom’s socio-ecological systems framework, these findings suggest that the network’s challenges are not purely governance or organizational issues but socio-ecological ones, where its resilience depends as much on the strength, diversity, and adaptability of social governance structures as on ecological health. In filling this gap in biodiversity governance research, this study offers a provincially specific SNA of BC’s biodiversity conservation landscape, providing a starting point for fuller implementation of GBF targets.

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