Moving from decision to action in conservation science

Wright, Alexander D.; Bernard, Riley F.; Mosher, Brittany A.; O’Donnell, Katherine M.; Braunagel, Taylor; DiRenzo, Graziella V.; Fleming, Jillian Elizabeth; Shafer, Charles; Brand, Adrianne B.; Zipkin, Elise F.; Grant, Evan H. Campbell

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108698

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Multiobjective scenario planning is better suited to these cases, as it provides a better framework for representing the interactions among simultaneous changes in drivers affecting whole land-or seascapes. 88,90 Engagement with key stakeholders is critical throughout the entire conservation planning process, 12,100,101 and the steps associated with spatial action mapping are no exception (Fig. 7).…”

Section: Applications and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing actions: spatial action maps for conservation

Tallis

Fargione

Game

et al. 2021

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Spatial prioritization is a critical step in conservation planning, a process designed to ensure that limited resources are applied in ways that deliver the highest possible returns for biodiversity and human wellbeing. In practice, many spatial prioritizations fall short of their potential by focusing on places rather than actions, and by using data of snapshots of assets or threats rather than estimated impacts. We introduce spatial action mapping as an approach that overcomes these shortfalls. This approach produces a spatially explicit view of where and how much a given conservation action is likely to contribute to achieving stated conservation goals. Through seven case examples, we demonstrate simple to complex versions of how this method can be applied across local to global scales to inform decisions about a wide range of conservation actions and benefits. Spatial action mapping can support major improvements in efficient use of conservation resources and will reach its full potential as the quality of environmental, social, and economic datasets converge and conservation impact evaluations improve.

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Section: Applications and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing actions: spatial action maps for conservation

Tallis

Fargione

Game

et al. 2021

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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“…Wright et al. ( 2020 ) found that there is often a big gap between finding an optimal solution for a given conservation challenge and implementing it. It is therefore possible that the perceived lack of usefulness of models in conservation decisions is attributable to challenges in implementation and not to the models themselves.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Models For Environmental Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Building a Sustainable Future: Positioning Ecological Modelling for Impact in Ecosystems Management

et al. 2021

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As many ecosystems worldwide are in peril, efforts to manage them sustainably require scientific advice. While numerous researchers around the world use a great variety of models to understand ecological dynamics and their responses to disturbances, only a small fraction of these models are ever used to inform ecosystem management. There seems to be a perception that ecological models are not useful for management, even though mathematical models are indispensable in many other fields. We were curious about this mismatch, its roots, and potential ways to overcome it. We searched the literature on recommendations and best practices for how to make ecological models useful to the management of ecosystems and we searched for ‘success stories’ from the past. We selected and examined several cases where models were instrumental in ecosystem management. We documented their success and asked whether and to what extent they followed recommended best practices. We found that there is not a unique way to conduct a research project that is useful in management decisions. While research is more likely to have impact when conducted with many stakeholders involved and specific to a situation for which data are available, there are great examples of small groups or individuals conducting highly influential research even in the absence of detailed data. We put the question of modelling for ecosystem management into a socio-economic and national context and give our perspectives on how the discipline could move forward.

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“…• Substantial progress on each factor is possible when a proper diagnosis of the particular drivers underlying trends toward unsustainability is followed by implementation of appropriate measure(s) for the features of Nature being used or impacted, the manner of use, and the socio-economic context in which the use is occurring (Wright et al, 2020). • Regardless of how much progress is made, unsustainability seems always "just around the corner" when either the factors previously responsible for unsustainable use reemerge in ways that may diminish or negate the measures used to tame the factor or in places where the tools are not readily applied, or new circumstances are encountered to which the existing management regime is not robust (Cochrane, 2020).…”

Section: Roots Of Unsustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Equity – the Bottleneck and the Opportunity

Rice

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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There is a widespread tendency for diverse uses of Nature, on scales from small and local to very large, to become unsustainable. Once unsustainable, bringing a use back to sustainability and keeping it sustainable then takes substantial effort and tools appropriate to the context of the use. This Perspective first asks why is the tendency for unsustainability so pervasive, when it is an outcome that no user group has adopted as an objective, and ways to keep uses sustainable are known. I argue and present evidence that the common factor underlying the pervasiveness of unsustainable uses of Nature is inequity in the distribution of the benefits created from those uses, with both the wealthy “winners” of the distributional inequities and those disadvantaged and in poverty driving uses toward increasing unsustainability in ways that depend on the nature of the inequities. Unless the inequity of distribution of benefits from uses of Nature is addressed as an issue in its own right, there are few or no pathways to medium or long-term sustainable use. However, if inequity is addressed broadly and effectively, many pathways are available and societies can select the pathways appropriate to their cultural and ecological contexts.

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Moving from decision to action in conservation science

Cited by 27 publications

References 91 publications

Prioritizing actions: spatial action maps for conservation

Prioritizing actions: spatial action maps for conservation

Towards Building a Sustainable Future: Positioning Ecological Modelling for Impact in Ecosystems Management

Equity – the Bottleneck and the Opportunity

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