Effectiveness in Conservation Practice: Pointers from Medicine and Public Health

Abstract

Practical conservation activity is increasing globally and is being undertaken by many different government and nongovernmental organizations. In the majority of cases, justification for proposed actions is experience-based rather than evidence-based, action is often taken without monitoring or evaluation of effectiveness, and results are rarely widely disseminated. Conservation has been compared with medicine as a crisis discipline in which action is often required urgently in the absence of good information. The practice of medicine has recently gone through an effectiveness revolution that has improved the criteria upon which treatment strategies are based by progressing from reliance on personal experience to reliance on scientific evidence. We draw parallels between medicine and conservation and present a practical framework to encourage evidence-based conservation action. Our rationale is that conservation actions for which scarce resources are sought should be justified by good scientific evidence. In our view this will also encourage more research addressing practical issues in conservation management. Efectividad de la Conservación Práctica: Indicadores de Medicina y Salud PúblicaResumen: La actividad de la conservación práctica está incrementando mundialmente y está siendo emprendida por muchas organizaciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales. En la mayoría de los casos la justificación de acciones propuestas está basada en la experiencia y no en evidencias, la acción es frecuentemente tomada sin monitoreo o evaluación de la efectividad y los resultados son rara vez diseminados ampliamente. La conservación ha sido comparada con la medicina como disciplinas críticas donde la acción es frecuentemente requerida con urgencia en ausencia de buena información. Recientemente la práctica de la medicina ha atravesado una revolución de efectividad que ha mejorado los criterios sobre los cuales se basaban las estrategias progresando de la confianza en la experiencia personal a la confianza en la evidencia científica. Nosotros trazamos paralelos entre la medicina y la conservación y presentamos un marco de trabajo práctico para alentar acciones de conservación basadas en evidencias. Nuestro razonamiento es que las acciones de conservación para los cuales se buscan escasos recursos deberían ser justificadas por buenas evidencias científicas. En nuestra visión esto también alentaría más la investigación enfocada en asuntos prácticos de manejo conservacionista.

Utility of primary scientific literature to environmental managers: an international case study on coral-dominated marine protected areas

“…Specifically, we aimed to quantify the: (1) time taken for scientific information to be available to end-users in published format; (2) proportion of scientific articles freely available to end-users; and (3) the clarity in which the conservation and management implications of a research article are articulated to end-users. Furthermore, given suggestions that a stronger emphasis should be placed on the systematic development of review papers to provide decision makers with digestible and accessible information (Pullin and Knight, 2001;Sutherland et al 2004), we also quantify the extent to which review papers may assist in overcoming these barriers. In addressing these aims, we generated recommendations to overcome barriers relating to science accessibility, to promote more efficient uptake of science by environmental practitioners and allow the implementation of adaptive governance structures.…”

The reliability of evidence review methodology in environmental science and conservation

“…The value of evidence reviews to end-users is strongly dependent on review objectivity (i.e. the review methodology reduces the susceptibility of findings to bias, individual judgement, or prejudice) and comprehensiveness (Chalmers, 2003;Pullin and Knight, 2001;Rothstein et al, 2013). These qualities also assist researchers in identifying gaps in knowledge and areas of controversy or uncertainty, and can help decision-makers undertake informed management and defend potentially controversial or expensive actions (Gough et al, 2012).…”

Learning our Lessons: A Review of Alternative Livelihood Projects in Central Africa

“…This lack of evidence is not exclusive to bushmeat research and interventions: it has been recognized as a serious obstacle to effective conservation by a growing number of scholars and practitioners (Knight et al, 2006;Sutherland et al, 2004;Pullin and Knight, 2001) who have suggested that 'current conservation practice is based upon anecdote and myth rather than upon the systematic appraisal of the evidence' (Sutherland et al, 2004). Establishing an evidence base can inform current and future project design, improve cost-effectiveness and ensure that funding is allocated to projects with the highest impact potential (Ferraro and Pattanayak, 2006).…”