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Experts Grouped 34 Stakeholders Into Six Kentish Plover Conservation Roles

Two Kentish plovers flying low over a sandy beach in Ravenna, Italy
Conservation · Management

A study at the Torre Flavia coastal reserve in central Italy used expert assessments to map how different groups of people could support or hinder conservation of Kentish plover (Anarhynchus alexandrinus). The paper was published on 1 June 2026 in Journal for Nature Conservation.

A panel of 13 experts assessed 34 stakeholder categories according to their influence and interest in Kentish plover conservation. The analysis grouped them into six roles: “Key Players”, “Context Setters”, “Subjects”, “People”, “Unconscious Saboteurs” and “Time Bombs”. The authors used these groups to distinguish stakeholders that can actively support conservation from those requiring different forms of management or engagement. At one end, “Key Players” combined high influence, interest and motivation; at the other, “Time Bombs” had low interest but strong negative influence and therefore required careful management.

Summer beachgoers formed a large and varied group classified as “Unconscious Saboteurs”: they showed high interest but also high negative influence because trampling damages the coastal dune habitat used by breeding plovers. The authors argue that this group also has conservation potential and could be engaged through targeted education and communication.

The study was designed to provide practical guidance for local conservation management. By identifying which stakeholders combine influence, interest and positive or negative effects, the authors propose that managers can tailor actions to reduce damaging interactions while strengthening groups that can contribute to protecting the species and its dune habitat.

Sources and image credit

  1. Battisti, C., Mirra, L., & Rastrelli, M. (2026). Mapping stakeholders in plover bird conservation: An expert-based analysis of interest and influence. Journal for Nature Conservation, 91, 127243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2026.127243Primary research article. A panel of 13 experts assessed 34 stakeholder categories associated with Kentish plover conservation at the Torre Flavia coastal reserve in central Italy and grouped them according to influence and interest.
  2. University of Rome Tor Vergata. (2026). Mapping stakeholders in plover bird conservation: An expert-based analysis of interest and influence.Institutional repository record confirming the publication and summarising the stakeholder groups and the role of summer beachgoers and dune trampling.

Image: Carlo Mascellani / Wikimedia Commons — two Kentish plovers (Anarhynchus alexandrinus) photographed in flight on the coast of Ravenna, Italy, 5 March 2023; representative species image from the study country, cropped to 16:9 from the original · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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