The mismeasure of conservation

Pressey, Robert L.; Visconti, Piero; McKinnon, Madeleine C.; Gurney, Georgina G.; Barnes, Megan; Glew, Louise; Maron, Martine

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.008

Cited by 66 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 120 publications

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“…Instead, for conservation to be effective requires only that the outcome of interest is improved by conservation, relative to a scenario without conservation. Similarly, without increased conservation efforts, global biodiversity projections predict continuous declines in the future (Leclère et al 2020), highlighting the need for effective conservation actions and outcome-based targets (Butchart et al 2015;Visconti et al 2019;Pressey et al 2021). We show that such targeted conservation interventions can be highly effective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Assessing the global impact of targeted conservation actions on species abundance

Jellesmark

Blackburn

Dove

et al. 2022

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In recent years, vertebrate population abundance has declined at unprecedented rates. In response, targeted conservation measures such as breeding programs or species-specific habitat management have been applied to halt population declines, aid population recovery, and reduce and reverse the loss of biodiversity. Until now, assessments of conservation actions have focused on the extent to which they reduce extinction risk, impact populations within protected areas, or increase the global area of land under protection. Here, we record and analyze conservation actions for 26,904 vertebrate populations from 4,629 species, to measure the impact of targeted conservation on vertebrate abundance. Using a counterfactual approach to represent population trends in the absence of conservation, we demonstrate that targeted actions have delivered substantial positive effects on the abundance of recipient vertebrate populations worldwide. We show that, in the absence of conservation, a global indicator of vertebrate abundance would have declined even more. Positive population trends were associated with vertebrate populations subject to species or habitat management. We demonstrate that targeted conservation actions can help to reverse global biodiversity loss and show the value of counterfactual analysis for impact evaluation, an important step towards reversing biodiversity declines.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Assessing the global impact of targeted conservation actions on species abundance

Jellesmark

Blackburn

Dove

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…The spatial clustering of VIPs, and particularly that of wicked places in the Afrotropical and Indo-Malayan realms, provides support to calls for higher proportions of land to be protected in countries harboring rich or unique biota ( 39 ). However, area-based targets have the potential for perverse outcomes if they give rise to residual reservation with little benefit to biodiversity ( 40 ). Analyses using complementarity of Phylogenetic Diversity can aid with identifying investment priorities where conservation impact can be most effectively achieved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How exposure to land use impacts and climate change may prune the tetrapod tree of life

Beaumont

Nipperess

Wilson

et al. 2022

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Human domination of landscapes is a key driver of biodiversity loss, with the fingerprint of climate change becoming increasingly pronounced. Frameworks and tools for identifying threats to biodiversity are required to meet Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework targets for 2030 that call for, among other things, reducing or halting species extinction rates (1). Hence, we compiled a phylogenetic tree for terrestrial tetrapods, mapped hotspots of geographically restricted and evolutionarily distinct lineages, and identified which hotspots may simultaneously face the highest magnitudes of land use impacts and climate change. Across a quarter of Earth's surface, hotspots contain the entire ranges of 45% of tetrapods, representing 39% of terrestrial tetrapod evolutionary heritage. By 2070, we estimate 8-13% of this heritage to occur entirely within hotspots highly exposed to climate change, with 13-29% of hotspots projected to experience high exposure to both stressors simultaneously. Most hotspots at highest risk occur in countries least able to take action. Our analysis highlights the need for global ambition and coordination to avoid catastrophic loss of tetrapod evolutionary heritage.

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“…Management interventions can be directly linked to biodiversity outcomes by measuring and forecasting the positive conservation impact of specific actions (Pressey et al., 2021). Estimating the additive impact of protected areas requires comparison of the outcomes expected given designation of a protected area with those expected under no protection, a function of anticipated threats and the effectiveness of a protected area in mitigating them (Pressey et al., 2021). Quantitative impact targets can guide where protected areas can be located to maximize their contribution to net gains.…”

Section: Better Integration Of Percentage‐protected Targets and Outco...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although percentage‐protected targets appear effective in practice in part because they are simple to communicate and monitor, the difference they make to the outcome of interest—retention of diverse and resilient ecosystems that sustain human societies—is often unclear (Maron et al., 2021; Pressey et al., 2021). Some suggest that percentage‐protected targets can have unanticipated negative effects on biodiversity outcomes if national governments focus solely on areal extent of protection or implement new protected areas without regard to equity and rights of Indigenous communities (Maxwell et al., 2020; Pressey et al., 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

Carroll

Noss

2022

Conservation Biology

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Global targets for the percentage area of land protected, such as 30% by 2030, have gained increasing prominence, but both their scientific basis and likely effectiveness have been questioned. As with emissions‐reduction targets based on desired climate outcomes, percentage‐protected targets combine values and science by estimating the area over which conservation actions are required to help achieve desired biodiversity outcomes. Protected areas are essential for achieving many biodiversity targets, in part because many species are highly sensitive to human‐associated disturbance. However, because the contribution of protected areas to biodiversity outcomes is contingent on their location, management, governance, threats, and what occurs across the broader landscape matrix, global percentage‐protected targets are unavoidably empirical generalizations of ecological patterns and processes across diverse geographies. Percentage‐protected targets are insufficient in isolation but can complement other actions and contribute to biodiversity outcomes within a framework that balances accuracy and pragmatism in a global context characterized by imperfect biodiversity data. Ideally, percentage‐protected targets serve as anchors that strengthen comprehensive national biodiversity strategies by communicating the level of ambition necessary to reverse current trends of biodiversity loss. If such targets are to fulfill this role within the complex societal process by which both values and science impel conservation actions, conservation scientists must clearly communicate the nature of the evidence base supporting percentage‐protected targets and how protected areas can function within a broader landscape managed for sustainable coexistence between people and nature. A new paradigm for protected and conserved areas recognizes that national coordination, incentives, and monitoring should support rather than undermine diverse locally led conservation initiatives. However, the definition of a conserved area must retain a strong focus on biodiversity to remain consistent with the evidence base from which percentage‐protected targets were originally derived.

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The mismeasure of conservation

Abstract: A key role of area-based conservation is saving biodiversity or achieving conservation impact by avoiding loss and/or promoting recovery.

Cited by 66 publications

References 120 publications

Assessing the global impact of targeted conservation actions on species abundance

Assessing the global impact of targeted conservation actions on species abundance

How exposure to land use impacts and climate change may prune the tetrapod tree of life

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

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