Assigning an economic value to the benefits which nature provides might not always promote the conservation of biodiversity, and in some cases may lead to species loss and conflict, argues a University of Cambridge researcher. There is a risk that traditional conservation strategies oriented toward biodiversity may not be effective at protecting the economic benefits […]
Carbon storage vs. biodiversity conservation
Recent research has profound implications for conservation organizations who base their model on carbon storage and sequestration. Up to now, conservationists (and their donors) have assumed that conserving the maximum biodiversity also stores the most carbon. It’s supposedly a win-win. But two new studies turn this assumption its head. In a July 2015 paper in […]
Protecting forest is not enough to prevent deforestation
An article in PhysOrg reports on a study by Biodiversity Professionals member Román Carrasco. The study shows that simply setting aside an area of forest is not an effective conservation strategy. According to the report, a more effective approach would be to monitor and prevent road construction within protected areas. Also, the study showed that […]
Lionfish: Is it morally justifiable to kill in the name of conservation?
What are the moral and ethical implications of killing wildlife in the name of conservation? A September 12 article in Nature (Hoag 2014) discusses efforts to control lionfish populations on American coral reefs. This invasive species certainly poses a problem for resource managers, since its voracious appetite can lead to depletion of native fish. As […]
Restoration for conservation: toward a new paradigm
The typical conservation approach is to find a piece of land and then get enough money to buy that land. Unfortunately, this “buy and fence” approach has largely failed to offset the losses incurred over the past few decades due to urbanization, forestry, agriculture and other land uses. Conservationists are beginning to look at innovative […]
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