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Langhammer PF, Bull JW, Bicknell JE, Oakley JL, Brown MH, Bruford MW, Butchart SHM, Carr JA, Church D, Cooney R, Cutajar S, Foden W, Foster MN, Gascon C, Geldmann J, Genovesi P, Hoffmann M, Howard-McCombe J, Lewis T, Macfarlane NBW, Melvin ZE, Merizalde RS, Morehouse MG, Pagad S, Polidoro B, Sechrest W, Segelbacher G, Smith KG, Steadman J, Strongin K, Williams J, Woodley S, Brooks TM. The positive impact of conservation action. Science 2024; 384:453-458. [PMID: 38662833 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Governments recently adopted new global targets to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. It is therefore crucial to understand the outcomes of conservation actions. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 186 studies (including 665 trials) that measured biodiversity over time and compared outcomes under conservation action with a suitable counterfactual of no action. We find that in two-thirds of cases, conservation either improved the state of biodiversity or at least slowed declines. Specifically, we find that interventions targeted at species and ecosystems, such as invasive species control, habitat loss reduction and restoration, protected areas, and sustainable management, are highly effective and have large effect sizes. This provides the strongest evidence to date that conservation actions are successful but require transformational scaling up to meet global targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penny F Langhammer
- Re:wild, PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767, USA
- Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Joseph W Bull
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
- Wild Business Ltd, London, UK
| | - Jake E Bicknell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
| | | | | | - Michael W Bruford
- School of Biosciences and Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
- IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
| | - Stuart H M Butchart
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Jamie A Carr
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York YO10 15DD, UK
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
- IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
| | - Don Church
- Re:wild, PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767, USA
| | - Rosie Cooney
- CEESP/SSC IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia
| | | | - Wendy Foden
- IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- South African National Parks, Cape Research Centre, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966, South Africa
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
- Global Change Biology Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | | | - Claude Gascon
- The Global Environment Facility, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
| | - Jonas Geldmann
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen E, Denmark
| | - Piero Genovesi
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144 Rome, Italy
- IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, 00144 Rome, Italy
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Michael Hoffmann
- IUCN Species Survival Commission, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Jo Howard-McCombe
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
- RZSS WildGenes, Conservation Department, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK
| | - Tiffany Lewis
- Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Zoe E Melvin
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
- Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales LL57 2UW, UK
| | | | - Meredith G Morehouse
- LLaves: Keys to Bilingual Conservation, LLC, 346 Mayberry Hill Road, Casco, Maine 04015, USA
| | - Shyama Pagad
- University of Auckland, Auckland 1072, New Zealand
| | - Beth Polidoro
- IUCN Species Survival Commission, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- Arizona State University, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85382, USA
| | | | - Gernot Segelbacher
- IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kevin G Smith
- IUCN, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - Janna Steadman
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Kyle Strongin
- Arizona State University, 800 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Jake Williams
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Stephen Woodley
- IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 64 Juniper Road, Chelsea, Quebec J9B 1T3, Canada
| | - Thomas M Brooks
- IUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
- World Agroforestry Center, University of The Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
- Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
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Mair L, Bennun LA, Brooks TM, Butchart SHM, Bolam FC, Burgess ND, Ekstrom JMM, Milner-Gulland EJ, Hoffmann M, Ma K, Macfarlane NBW, Raimondo DC, Rodrigues ASL, Shen X, Strassburg BBN, Beatty CR, Gómez-Creutzberg C, Iribarrem A, Irmadhiany M, Lacerda E, Mattos BC, Parakkasi K, Tognelli MF, Bennett EL, Bryan C, Carbone G, Chaudhary A, Eiselin M, da Fonseca GAB, Galt R, Geschke A, Glew L, Goedicke R, Green JMH, Gregory RD, Hill SLL, Hole DG, Hughes J, Hutton J, Keijzer MPW, Navarro LM, Nic Lughadha E, Plumptre AJ, Puydarrieux P, Possingham HP, Rankovic A, Regan EC, Rondinini C, Schneck JD, Siikamäki J, Sendashonga C, Seutin G, Sinclair S, Skowno AL, Soto-Navarro CA, Stuart SN, Temple HJ, Vallier A, Verones F, Viana LR, Watson J, Bezeng S, Böhm M, Burfield IJ, Clausnitzer V, Clubbe C, Cox NA, Freyhof J, Gerber LR, Hilton-Taylor C, Jenkins R, Joolia A, Joppa LN, Koh LP, Lacher TE, Langhammer PF, Long B, Mallon D, Pacifici M, Polidoro BA, Pollock CM, Rivers MC, Roach NS, Rodríguez JP, Smart J, Young BE, Hawkins F, McGowan PJK. A metric for spatially explicit contributions to science-based species targets. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:836-844. [PMID: 33833421 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01432-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will probably include a goal to stabilize and restore the status of species. Its delivery would be facilitated by making the actions required to halt and reverse species loss spatially explicit. Here, we develop a species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) metric that is scalable across species, threats and geographies. STAR quantifies the contributions that abating threats and restoring habitats in specific places offer towards reducing extinction risk. While every nation can contribute towards halting biodiversity loss, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Madagascar and Brazil combined have stewardship over 31% of total STAR values for terrestrial amphibians, birds and mammals. Among actions, sustainable crop production and forestry dominate, contributing 41% of total STAR values for these taxonomic groups. Key Biodiversity Areas cover 9% of the terrestrial surface but capture 47% of STAR values. STAR could support governmental and non-state actors in quantifying their contributions to meeting science-based species targets within the framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Mair
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Leon A Bennun
- The Biodiversity Consultancy, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Thomas M Brooks
- IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.,World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of The Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.,Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Stuart H M Butchart
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
| | - Friederike C Bolam
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.,United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Neil D Burgess
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | - Keping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Domitilla C Raimondo
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.,IUCN Species Survival Commission, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ana S L Rodrigues
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Xiaoli Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bernardo B N Strassburg
- Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Craig R Beatty
- IUCN, Washington DC, USA.,World Wildlife Fund, Washington DC, USA
| | | | - Alvaro Iribarrem
- Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Eduardo Lacerda
- International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil
| | | | | | - Marcelo F Tognelli
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,IUCN-Conservation International Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Washington DC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Maxime Eiselin
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Arne Geschke
- Integrated Sustainability Analysis, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Romie Goedicke
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jonathan M H Green
- Stockholm Environment Institute York, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
| | - Richard D Gregory
- RSPB, Sandy, UK.,Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Samantha L L Hill
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Jonathan Hughes
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Marco P W Keijzer
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laetitia M Navarro
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
| | | | - Andrew J Plumptre
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat, BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Hugh P Possingham
- The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA.,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Aleksandar Rankovic
- Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, Sciences Po, Paris, France
| | - Eugenie C Regan
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,Springer Nature, London, UK
| | - Carlo Rondinini
- Global Mammal Assessment Programme, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrew L Skowno
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Carolina A Soto-Navarro
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,Luc Hoffmann Institute, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Simon N Stuart
- Synchronicity Earth, London, UK.,IUCN Species Survival Commission, Bath, UK.,A Rocha International, London, UK
| | | | | | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Leonardo R Viana
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc., Washington DC, USA
| | - James Watson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, New York City, NY, USA.,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Simeon Bezeng
- BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | | | | | - Colin Clubbe
- Conservation Science Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, UK
| | - Neil A Cox
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,IUCN-Conservation International Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Washington DC, USA
| | - Jörg Freyhof
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Leah R Gerber
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Lian Pin Koh
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Thomas E Lacher
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.,Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Penny F Langhammer
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Barney Long
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - David Mallon
- Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Michela Pacifici
- Global Mammal Assessment Programme, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Beth A Polidoro
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale, AZ, USA
| | | | - Malin C Rivers
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK
| | - Nicolette S Roach
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.,Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jon Paul Rodríguez
- IUCN Species Survival Commission, Caracas, Venezuela.,Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigation (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela.,Provita, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | | | | | - Philip J K McGowan
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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