Iosif Botetzagias, Prue Robinson, and Lily Venizelos
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Graph 2 Networking Outcomes as a Result of Assets Exchange between Actors. The Demand Side
ing their relevance to decision-makers. Similarly, political to political exchanges would be considered acceptable only if they offer access to political actors previously unreachable and/or only superªcially contacted. As for the membership case, this would be considered in cases where, for example, a public campaign or signature collection is involved—thus in cases where inºuence is to be exercised through numbers. Lastly, the ªnancial asset presents a particular case. Although it is not the most highly esteemed, this is nevertheless the power asset marine ENGOs are in almost constant need of, and securing it can contribute to the procurement of intellectual assets (i.e. funds made available for research). It is therefore likely that access to higher assets could be granted in exchange for substantial and sustained funding. In real life situations, calculations regarding these transactions occur simultaneously, over all kinds of resources and for all actors active in the network’s formation. Successful networking is then more likely to occur when a number of resource transactions are considered as acceptable for at least some of the actors involved. This can be illustrated by referring to the examples of two existing marine ENGO networks and demonstrating how resource considerations can help us account for their formation: the WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network) and the i-Monk Alliance.48 WIDECAST was founded in 1982,49 following a recommendation by the highly inºuential IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the oldest and largest global ENGO network) that a “[w]ider Caribbean Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan should be prepared . . . consistent with the [UNEP] Ac48. We do not wish to downplay the importance previous cooperation and socialization processes have played in the creation of these two networks nor the obvious beneªts networking has for species conservation. 49. WIDECAST currently spreads over 40 countries and territories. The network depends on the voluntary work of its ‘Country Coordinators’ and project partners and has but two employees as its coordinating staff. WIDECAST 2009a