PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE: How can ecologists make conservation policy more evidence based? Ideas and examples from a devolved perspective

Bainbridge, Ian

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12294

Cited by 39 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…; Fowler et al . ); extension specialists (Thorpe & Stanley ) as well as local, national and international conservation policymakers (Bainbridge ). Critical to each of these roles is an understanding of the ecology and environment of a particular study species or ecosystem and knowledge of the most effective tools and key information to deliver long‐term conservation outcomes.…”

Section: Know‐who: Practitioners Stakeholders and End‐usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

EDITORIAL: Bridging the knowing–doing gap: know‐who, know‐what, know‐why, know‐how and know‐when

Hulme

2014

Journal of Applied Ecology

142

120

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Summary 1.A widely recognized challenge in applied ecology is the gap between the knowledge generated by scientists and uptake by practitioners. Bridging this gap requires reciprocal and iterative flows of information from both scientists and practitioners prior to research initiation and beyond its completion. Yet current approaches to knowledge exchange ignore the complexity of translating different types of knowledge and the constraints that might limit effective knowledge exchange. 2. Knowing who might use a particular piece of research is the first step when developing projects that might be of value to practitioners, but different types of research often can have quite different audiences. Identifying the precise target for research outputs, whether practitioners, stakeholders or end-users, is essential for successful knowledge exchange, and outputs must be tailored to the knowledge needs of the intended recipients. 3. The scope of many leading applied ecology journals targets use-inspired basic research that aims to develop a theoretical or fundamental basis to support interventions, technologies and policies that lead to improved applied outcomes. This more conceptual approach, while essential to the development of future management applications, is probably not what most practitioners require. 4. In contrast to the explicit knowledge generated by scientists, many practitioners apply their own tacit knowledge when making decisions regarding their conservation goals and interventions. Such knowledge is intuitive, largely experience based and hard to define. As a result is often context dependent and personal in nature. The failure of scientists to translate and consider tacit knowledge may be behind the lack of implementation of their research. 5. Additional challenges to implementation include the continuing interest and relevance of use-inspired basic research, lack of consensus among researchers regarding management options and the need for scientists to remain independent brokers of intervention options rather than conservation advocates. 6. Synthesis and applications. Publishing research in peer-reviewed journals will only ever be a small part of closing the knowing-doing gap. Increasingly, conservation organizations, such as NGOs and charities that employ their own scientists, steward their own protected areas, and build long-term partnerships with stakeholders will be central to implementing applied ecological science.

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Section: Know‐who: Practitioners Stakeholders and End‐usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

EDITORIAL: Bridging the knowing–doing gap: know‐who, know‐what, know‐why, know‐how and know‐when

Hulme

2014

Journal of Applied Ecology

142

120

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“…Similarly, decision-makers often discount model results either because they are not effectively communicated or because outputs are too uncertain for the problem at hand (Addison et al, 2013;Arlettaz et al, 2010;Guisan et al, 2013). Uncertainty in modeling results can particularly challenge meaningful translation of science to inform decision-making (Bainbridge, 2014). Uncertainty can arise from multiple sources, including inherent randomness and natural variation within an ecological system, measurement error and bias in sampling approaches, and subjectivity in interpretations of modeling results (Uusitalo, Lehikoinen, Helle, & Myrberg, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pragmatic approach for comparing species distribution models to increasing confidence in managing piping plover habitat

Maslo

Zeigler

Drake

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Conservation management often requires decision-making without perfect knowledge of the at-risk species or ecosystem. Species distribution models (SDMs) are useful but largely under-utilized due to model uncertainty. We used an ensemble modeling approach of two independently derived SDMs to explicitly address common modeling impediments and directly inform conservation decision-making for piping plovers in a heavily populated mid-Atlantic (USA) coastal zone. We summarized previously published Bayesian network and maximum entropy models to highlight similarities and differences in structure, and we compared the relative importance of predictors used. Despite differences in analytical approach, relative importance of factors driving nest-site selection was consistent. Models demonstrated considerable agreement when comparing a binary (suitable/ unsuitable) measure of suitability. Instances of model consensus (i.e., overlapping areas of predicted piping plover nesting habitat between models) provide a stronger "signal" in model results, reducing uncertainty related to biases or errors associated with either model. We tested model accuracy using a common dataset of plover nests initiated within the focal areas between 2013 and 2015, and we examined congruency in model outputs. Nearly, 90% of all nests occurred in areas predicted suitable by at least one model, and at least 33% of the total nests were predicted in areas suitable by both. Because models predominantly agreed on what drives piping plover nest-site selection, areas predicted suitable by a single model should not be discounted. This case study demonstrates how models can effectively inform conservation planning by explicitly identifying the management objective, presenting robust evidence to allow managers to evaluate outcomes of alternative management decisions, and clearly communicating results that address real-world conservation problems. Our results can

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“…; Bainbridge ), an important challenge is translating scientific findings into interpretable results and tools that decision makers can use. In particular, it has been widely acknowledged that traditional scientific articles are not an effective way to communicate the practical implications of complex analyses to policy makers and practitioners (Bainbridge ). There is an emerging interest in the use of interactive graphics to improve the communication of scientific results (Stanton Jr. et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been a persistent disconnect between science and decision making (e.g., Knight et al 2008;Cook et al 2010;Hewitt & Macleod 2017). While there are multiple reasons for this gap (Cash et al 2003;Guisan et al 2013;Bainbridge 2014), an important challenge is translating scientific findings into interpretable results and tools that decision makers can use. In particular, it has been widely acknowledged that traditional scientific articles are not an effective way to communicate the practical implications of complex analyses to policy makers and practitioners (Bainbridge 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there are multiple reasons for this gap (Cash et al 2003;Guisan et al 2013;Bainbridge 2014), an important challenge is translating scientific findings into interpretable results and tools that decision makers can use. In particular, it has been widely acknowledged that traditional scientific articles are not an effective way to communicate the practical implications of complex analyses to policy makers and practitioners (Bainbridge 2014). There is an emerging interest in the use of interactive graphics to improve the communication of scientific results (Stanton Jr. et al 2017); however, we believe the potential for extending interactive graphics to prototypes of decision-support tools, which can better bridge this communication gap and generate more actionable science, is still underappreciated.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Rapid prototyping of decision‐support tools for conservation

Valle

Toh

Millar

2019

Conservation Biology

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PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE: How can ecologists make conservation policy more evidence based? Ideas and examples from a devolved perspective

Cited by 39 publications

References 6 publications

EDITORIAL: Bridging the knowing–doing gap: know‐who, know‐what, know‐why, know‐how and know‐when

EDITORIAL: Bridging the knowing–doing gap: know‐who, know‐what, know‐why, know‐how and know‐when

A pragmatic approach for comparing species distribution models to increasing confidence in managing piping plover habitat

Rapid prototyping of decision‐support tools for conservation

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