The positive impact of conservation action

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Langhammer, Penny F.; Bull, Joseph W.; Bicknell, Jake E.; Oakley, Joseph L.; Brown, Mary H.; Bruford, Michael W.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Carr, Jamie A.; Church, Don; Cooney, Rosie; Cutajar, Simone; Foden, Wendy; Foster, Matthew N.; Gascon, Claude; Geldmann, Jonas; Genovesi, Piero; Hoffmann, Michael; Howard-McCombe, Jo; Lewis, Tiffany; Macfarlane, Nicholas B. W.; Melvin, Zoe E.; Merizalde, Rossana Stoltz; Morehouse, Meredith G.; Pagad, Shyama; Polidoro, Beth; Sechrest, Wes; Segelbacher, Gernot; Smith, Kevin G.; Steadman, Janna; Strongin, Kyle; Williams, Jake; Woodley, Stephen; Brooks, Thomas M.
• 署名单位: Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; University of Oxford; University of Kent; BirdLife International; University of Cambridge; University of York - UK; University of York - UK; Australian National University; University of Malta; Stellenbosch University; University of Copenhagen; Italian Institute for Environmental Protection & Research (ISPRA); Stellenbosch University; Zoological Society of London; Cardiff University; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; Bangor University; Conservation International; University of Auckland; Arizona State University; University of Freiburg; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; Imperial College London; CGIAR; World Agroforestry (ICRAF); University of the Philippines System; University of the Philippines Los Banos; University of Tasmania
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8547
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6598
• 发表日期: 2024-04-26
• 页码: 453-458
• 关键词: protected areas; biodiversity; restoration; eradication; performance; ecosystem; farmland

摘要

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.