A lack of response of the financial behaviors of biodiversity conservation nonprofits to changing economic conditions

Abstract

The effectiveness of conservation organizations is determined in part by how they adapt to changing conditions. Over the previous decade, economic conditions in the United States (US) showed marked variation including a period of rapid growth followed by a major recession. We examine how biodiversity conservation nonprofits in the US responded to these changes through their financial behaviors, focusing on a sample of 90 biodiversity conservation nonprofits and the largest individual organization (The Nature Conservancy; TNC). For the 90 sampled organizations, an analysis of financial ratios derived from tax return data revealed little response to economic conditions. Similarly, more detailed examination of conservation expenditures and land acquisition practices of TNC revealed only one significant relationship with economic conditions: TNC accepted a greater proportion of conservation easements as donated in more difficult economic conditions. Our results suggest that the financial behaviors of US biodiversity conservation nonprofits are unresponsive to economic conditions.

Traps and transformations influencing the financial viability of tourism on private‐land conservation areas

“…There is therefore increasing interest in the ability of conservation organizations to remain relevant and effective in a changing world (Larson et al. ; Armsworth et al. ).…”

“…For conservation strategies to be effective, they need to respond to significant and ongoing climatic and ecological changes and to changes in global economies, political systems, and societal values and demands (Kenward et al 2011;Cumming 2016). There is therefore increasing interest in the ability of conservation organizations to remain relevant and effective in a changing world (Larson et al 2014;Armsworth et al 2015).…”

Waiting can be an optimal conservation strategy, even in a crisis discipline

“…The decline of conservation assets can follow complex trajectories: the simultaneous accumulation and relaxation of extinction debts (27); the slow-fast-slow dynamics of regional habitat loss (28); or critical threshold dynamics found in nonlinear ecological and climate systems (29,30). Conservation capacity in the simplest sense could be money in a bank, which can exponentially increase over time due to compound interest but is subject to economic shocks and reversals (14,31). Learning generally improves conservation outcomes, but at a diminishing marginal rate (21).…”

Constraints of philanthropy on determining the distribution of biodiversity conservation funding

“…We propose that one reason that conservation planning tools may have had less impact than desired is because they are based on an assumption of greater institutional flexibility than many conservation organizations possess (Larson et al. ). Most spatial prioritization approaches assume conservation organizations can freely move resources available to support conservation across space (but see Ando & Shah ; Venter et al.…”

“…Despite the increasingly complex spatial optimization approaches now available, it is unclear just how influential conservation planning approaches have been at redirecting investments toward priority locations (Halpern et al 2006;Fisher & Dills 2012;Holmes et al 2012). We propose that one reason that conservation planning tools may have had less impact than desired is because they are based on an assumption of greater institutional flexibility than many conservation organizations possess (Larson et al 2014). Most spatial prioritization approaches assume conservation organizations can freely move resources available to support conservation across space (but see Ando & Shah 2010;Venter et al 2014).…”