2018
DOI: 10.1017/s0030605318000169
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Shifted baselines and the policy placebo effect in conservation

Abstract: Coastal ecosystems have been degraded by human activity over centuries, with loss of memory about past states resulting in shifted baselines. More recently conservation efforts have resulted in localized recoveries of species and ecosystems. Given the dynamism of ecosystem degradation and recovery, understanding how communities perceive long-term and recent changes is important for developing and implementing conservation measures. We interviewed stakeholders on three Caribbean islands and identified a shifted… Show more

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Cited by 9 publications
(6 citation statements)
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“…The early decline and lack of subsequent recovery for right whales means that these inshore populations have been forgotten, which has implications for the ongoing controversy around the recovery and conservation of this species. This loss of ecological memory through time, or shifting ecological baseline, is similar to those reported from marine systems around the world (e.g., Lovell et al, 2020; Saenz‐Arroyo et al, 2005).…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 84%
See 1 more Smart Citation
“…The early decline and lack of subsequent recovery for right whales means that these inshore populations have been forgotten, which has implications for the ongoing controversy around the recovery and conservation of this species. This loss of ecological memory through time, or shifting ecological baseline, is similar to those reported from marine systems around the world (e.g., Lovell et al, 2020; Saenz‐Arroyo et al, 2005).…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 84%
“…Perceptions of ecological baselines affect views of current ecosystem state (Pauly, 1995). Stakeholders with a long‐term understanding of ecological change perceive more depletion relative to past baselines, with implications for fisheries (Lovell et al, 2020; Saenz‐Arroyo et al, 2005), nonnative species management (Clavero, 2014), and species extinction (Turvey et al, 2010). Shifted baselines also directly inform future management.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The small number of species reported by less experienced fishers compared with experienced ones may reflect the lack of familiarity and/or a reduced interaction of fishers with the natural environment [49]. Such disconnection with past conditions has effects on the willingness and motivation of new generations to accept management restrictions aimed to restore resources and even mislead recovery perceptions, the "placebo effect" [87]. In Arraial do Cabo, the overexploitation of fishing resources [21,54] has made less experienced fishers look for alternative income sources.…”
Section: Plos Onementioning
confidence: 99%
“…the Living Planet Index uses data starting in 1970). The underestimation of biodiversity losses can mislead the definition of conservation baselines and the conservation targets derived from them (Clavero et al 2022a), potentially generating a shifting baseline syndrome (Lovell et al 2020).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%