The positive impact of conservation action

Penny F Langhammer^{1

2}, Joseph W Bull^{3

4

5}, Jake E Bicknell⁴, Joseph L Oakley⁶, Mary H Brown¹, Michael W Bruford^{7

8}, Stuart H M Butchart^{9

10}, Jamie A Carr^{11

12

13}, Don Church¹, Rosie Cooney^{14

15}, Simone Cutajar¹⁶, Wendy Foden^{13

17

18

19}, Matthew N Foster¹, Claude Gascon²⁰, Jonas Geldmann^{10

21}, Piero Genovesi^{22

23

24}, Michael Hoffmann^{25

26}, Jo Howard-McCombe^{27

28}, Tiffany Lewis²⁹, Nicholas B W Macfarlane³⁰, Zoe E Melvin^{27

31}, Rossana Stoltz Merizalde³², Meredith G Morehouse³³, Shyama Pagad³⁴, Beth Polidoro^{25

35}, Wes Sechrest¹, Gernot Segelbacher^{8

36}, Kevin G Smith³⁷, Janna Steadman⁴, Kyle Strongin³⁸, Jake Williams³⁹, Stephen Woodley⁴⁰, Thomas M Brooks^{41

42

43}

Affiliations

¹ Re:wild, PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767, USA.
² Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
³ Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
⁴ Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK.
⁵ Wild Business Ltd, London, UK.
⁶ 44 Hillary Road, Maidstone ME14 2JT, UK.
⁷ School of Biosciences and Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
⁸ IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
⁹ BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
¹¹ Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York YO10 15DD, UK.
¹² Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
¹³ IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
¹⁴ CEESP/SSC IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia.
¹⁶ University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta.
¹⁷ South African National Parks, Cape Research Centre, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966, South Africa.
¹⁸ FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
¹⁹ Global Change Biology Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
²⁰ The Global Environment Facility, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA.
²¹ Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen E, Denmark.
²² Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144 Rome, Italy.
²³ IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, 00144 Rome, Italy.
²⁴ Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
²⁵ IUCN Species Survival Commission, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
²⁶ Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
²⁷ School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
²⁸ RZSS WildGenes, Conservation Department, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK.
²⁹ Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
³⁰ IUCN, 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
³¹ Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales LL57 2UW, UK.
³² Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive #600, Arlington, VA 22202, USA.
³³ LLaves: Keys to Bilingual Conservation, LLC, 346 Mayberry Hill Road, Casco, Maine 04015, USA.
³⁴ University of Auckland, Auckland 1072, New Zealand.
³⁵ Arizona State University, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85382, USA.
³⁶ University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
³⁷ IUCN, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
³⁸ Arizona State University, 800 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
³⁹ Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
⁴⁰ IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 64 Juniper Road, Chelsea, Quebec J9B 1T3, Canada.
⁴¹ IUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
⁴² World Agroforestry Center, University of The Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
⁴³ Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

PMID: 38662833
DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6598

Meta-Analysis

The positive impact of conservation action

Penny F Langhammer et al. Science. 2024.

. 2024 Apr 26;384(6694):453-458.

doi: 10.1126/science.adj6598. Epub 2024 Apr 25.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Re:wild, PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767, USA.
² Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
³ Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
⁴ Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK.
⁵ Wild Business Ltd, London, UK.
⁶ 44 Hillary Road, Maidstone ME14 2JT, UK.
⁷ School of Biosciences and Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
⁸ IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
⁹ BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
¹¹ Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York YO10 15DD, UK.
¹² Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
¹³ IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
¹⁴ CEESP/SSC IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia.
¹⁶ University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta.
¹⁷ South African National Parks, Cape Research Centre, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966, South Africa.
¹⁸ FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
¹⁹ Global Change Biology Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
²⁰ The Global Environment Facility, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA.
²¹ Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen E, Denmark.
²² Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144 Rome, Italy.
²³ IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, 00144 Rome, Italy.
²⁴ Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
²⁵ IUCN Species Survival Commission, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
²⁶ Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
²⁷ School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
²⁸ RZSS WildGenes, Conservation Department, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK.
²⁹ Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
³⁰ IUCN, 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
³¹ Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales LL57 2UW, UK.
³² Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive #600, Arlington, VA 22202, USA.
³³ LLaves: Keys to Bilingual Conservation, LLC, 346 Mayberry Hill Road, Casco, Maine 04015, USA.
³⁴ University of Auckland, Auckland 1072, New Zealand.
³⁵ Arizona State University, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85382, USA.
³⁶ University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
³⁷ IUCN, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
³⁸ Arizona State University, 800 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
³⁹ Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
⁴⁰ IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 64 Juniper Road, Chelsea, Quebec J9B 1T3, Canada.
⁴¹ IUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
⁴² World Agroforestry Center, University of The Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
⁴³ Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

PMID: 38662833
DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6598

Abstract

Governments recently adopted new global targets to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. It is therefore crucial to understand the outcomes of conservation actions. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 186 studies (including 665 trials) that measured biodiversity over time and compared outcomes under conservation action with a suitable counterfactual of no action. We find that in two-thirds of cases, conservation either improved the state of biodiversity or at least slowed declines. Specifically, we find that interventions targeted at species and ecosystems, such as invasive species control, habitat loss reduction and restoration, protected areas, and sustainable management, are highly effective and have large effect sizes. This provides the strongest evidence to date that conservation actions are successful but require transformational scaling up to meet global targets.

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The positive impact of conservation action

Affiliations

The positive impact of conservation action

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

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