Species Aid: Organizational Sensemaking in a Preservation Project in Albania

This is a Ph.D. dissertation. In the mid 90's an international initiative was taken to save the Albanian population of sturgeons belonging to the threatened species Acipenser Naccari. This thesis analyses the ideas of biodiversity, the conservation initiative and the activities of this project through an ethnography of the everyday activities of the project members. What did the project staff perceive as pros and cons of species conservation? What role did they see for science and scientific expertise in species conservation? The book also looks at the tensions around concepts of 'East' and 'West' that permeated the project. Finally, it addresses questions concerning the role of project managers, leadership, and organizational learning, concluding that there is something to be learnt from failure.