The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice

Abstract

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics (CCG) brings together four eminent organizations with the shared goal of improving the integration of genetic information into conservation policy and practice. We provide a historical context of conservation genetics as a field and reflect on current barriers to conserving genetic diversity, highlighting the need for collaboration across traditional divides, international partnerships, and coordinated advocacy. We then introduce the CCG and illustrate through examples how a coalition approach can leverage complementary expertise and improve the organizational impact at multiple levels. The CCG has proven particularly successful at implementing large synthesis‐type projects, training early‐career scientists, and advising policy makers. Achievements to date highlight the potential for the CCG to make effective contributions to practical conservation policy and management that no one “parent” organization could achieve on its own. Finally, we reflect on the lessons learned through forming the CCG, and our vision for the future.

Genetic diversity Goals and Targets have improved, but remain insufficient

“…Our involvement with the post-2020 GBF led to several lessons about generating conservation policy change, some of which have been highlighted previously (Hoban et al 2013(Hoban et al , 2020Taylor et al 2017;Holderegger et al 2019;Taft et al 2020;Kershaw et al 2022). These are:…”

“…• A large team with diverse skills, background and connections is helpful. For instance, forming the Coalition for Conservation Genetics (Kershaw et al 2022) allowed wide dissemination of policy briefs and messages, leveraging the reputation of globally respected organizations (e.g. IUCN), assistance with multi-lingual translation of documents, collaborations with NGOs, and more.…”

Bringing together approaches to reporting on within species genetic diversity

“…The various teams developed ideas separately but are now in frequent communication, particularly through the Coalition for Conservation Genetics (Kershaw et al, 2022), providing an opportunity to collaborate on international standards. We also recognise the benefits of engaging with initiatives such as the Earth BioGenome Project, Africa BioGenome Project, International Barcode of Life and others around the world.…”

Monitoring status and trends in genetic diversity for the Convention on Biological Diversity: an ongoing assessment of genetic indicators in nine countries

“…Increased uptake of these indicators by Parties to the CBD and other users (environmental agencies, wildlife managers, national legislation, etc.) will require further successful demonstrations, published step-by-step workflows, and training workshops, ideally in multiple languages 34 . We have created an online data collection form using Kobotoolbox (www.kobotoolbox.org/ ) and a guidance document (Supplemental material) for anyone to use.…”