The positive impact of conservation action

Penny F. Langhammer; Joseph W. Bull; Jake E. Bicknell; Joseph L. Oakley; Mary H. Brown; Michael W. Bruford; Stuart H. M. Butchart; Jamie A. Carr; Don Church; Rosie Cooney; Simone Cutajar; Wendy Foden; Matthew N. Foster; Claude Gascon; Jonas Geldmann; Piero Genovesi; Michael Hoffmann; Jo Howard-McCombe; Tiffany Lewis; Nicholas B. W. Macfarlane; Zoe E. Melvin; Rossana Stoltz Merizalde; Meredith G. Morehouse; Shyama Pagad; Beth Polidoro; Wes Sechrest; Gernot Segelbacher; Kevin G. Smith; Janna Steadman; Kyle Strongin; Jake Williams; Stephen Woodley; Thomas M. Brooks

doi:10.1126/science.adj6598

The positive impact of conservation action

Penny F. Langhammer
, Joseph W. Bull
, Jake E. Bicknell
, Joseph L. Oakley
, Mary H. Brown
, Michael W. Bruford
, Stuart H. M. Butchart
, Jamie A. Carr
, Don Church
, Rosie Cooney
, Simone Cutajar
, Wendy Foden
, Matthew N. Foster
, Claude Gascon
, Jonas Geldmann
, Piero Genovesi
, Michael Hoffmann
, Jo Howard-McCombe
, Tiffany Lewis
, Nicholas B. W. Macfarlane

Zoe E. Melvin, Rossana Stoltz Merizalde, Meredith G. Morehouse, Shyama Pagad, Beth Polidoro, Wes Sechrest, Gernot Segelbacher, Kevin G. Smith, Janna Steadman, Kyle Strongin, Jake Williams, Stephen Woodley, Thomas M. Brooks

School of Environmental & Natural Sciences

Arizona State University
University of Oxford
University of Kent
School of Biosciences and Sustainable Places Research Institute
University of Cambridge
University of York
Australian National University, Canberra
University of Malta
IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group
The Global Environment Facility
Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Rome
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission
Cardiff University
IUCN
Conservation International
LLaves: Keys to Bilingual Conservation
University of Auckland
IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group
IUCN
Imperial College London
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
IUCN

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	453-458
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science
Volume	384
Issue number	6694
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj6598
Publication status	Published - 26 Apr 2024

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Langhammer, P. F., Bull, J. W., Bicknell, J. E., Oakley, J. L., Brown, M. H., Bruford, M. W., Butchart, S. H. M., Carr, J. A., Church, D., Cooney, R., Cutajar, S., Foden, W., Foster, M. N., Gascon, C., Geldmann, J., Genovesi, P., Hoffmann, M., Howard-McCombe, J., Lewis, T., ... Brooks, T. M. (2024). The positive impact of conservation action. Science, 384(6694), 453-458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj6598

@article{326ccd00af284bd7bbe81436a601c3a1,

title = "The positive impact of conservation action",

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.",

author = "Langhammer, \{Penny F.\} and Bull, \{Joseph W.\} and Bicknell, \{Jake E.\} and Oakley, \{Joseph L.\} and Brown, \{Mary H.\} and Bruford, \{Michael W.\} and Butchart, \{Stuart H. M.\} and Carr, \{Jamie A.\} and Don Church and Rosie Cooney and Simone Cutajar and Wendy Foden and Foster, \{Matthew N.\} and Claude Gascon and Jonas Geldmann and Piero Genovesi and Michael Hoffmann and Jo Howard-McCombe and Tiffany Lewis and Macfarlane, \{Nicholas B. W.\} and Melvin, \{Zoe E.\} and Merizalde, \{Rossana Stoltz\} and Morehouse, \{Meredith G.\} and Shyama Pagad and Beth Polidoro and Wes Sechrest and Gernot Segelbacher and Smith, \{Kevin G.\} and Janna Steadman and Kyle Strongin and Jake Williams and Stephen Woodley and Brooks, \{Thomas M.\}",

year = "2024",

month = apr,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1126/science.adj6598",

language = "English",

volume = "384",

pages = "453--458",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "6694",

}

Langhammer, PF, Bull, JW, Bicknell, JE, Oakley, JL, Brown, MH, Bruford, MW, Butchart, SHM, Carr, JA, Church, D, Cooney, R, Cutajar, S, Foden, W, Foster, MN, Gascon, C, Geldmann, J, Genovesi, P, Hoffmann, M, Howard-McCombe, J, Lewis, T, Macfarlane, NBW, Melvin, ZE, Merizalde, RS, Morehouse, MG, Pagad, S, Polidoro, B, Sechrest, W, Segelbacher, G, Smith, KG, Steadman, J, Strongin, K, Williams, J, Woodley, S & Brooks, TM 2024, 'The positive impact of conservation action', Science, vol. 384, no. 6694, pp. 453-458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj6598

TY - JOUR

T1 - The positive impact of conservation action

AU - Langhammer, Penny F.

AU - Bull, Joseph W.

AU - Bicknell, Jake E.

AU - Oakley, Joseph L.

AU - Brown, Mary H.

AU - Bruford, Michael W.

AU - Butchart, Stuart H. M.

AU - Carr, Jamie A.

AU - Church, Don

AU - Cooney, Rosie

AU - Cutajar, Simone

AU - Foden, Wendy

AU - Foster, Matthew N.

AU - Gascon, Claude

AU - Geldmann, Jonas

AU - Genovesi, Piero

AU - Hoffmann, Michael

AU - Howard-McCombe, Jo

AU - Lewis, Tiffany

AU - Macfarlane, Nicholas B. W.

AU - Melvin, Zoe E.

AU - Merizalde, Rossana Stoltz

AU - Morehouse, Meredith G.

AU - Pagad, Shyama

AU - Polidoro, Beth

AU - Sechrest, Wes

AU - Segelbacher, Gernot

AU - Smith, Kevin G.

AU - Steadman, Janna

AU - Strongin, Kyle

AU - Williams, Jake

AU - Woodley, Stephen

AU - Brooks, Thomas M.

PY - 2024/4/26

Y1 - 2024/4/26

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

U2 - 10.1126/science.adj6598

DO - 10.1126/science.adj6598

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 384

SP - 453

EP - 458

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6694

ER -

The positive impact of conservation action

Abstract

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