Title

Policy-Driven Versus Evidence-Based Conservation: A Review Of Political Targets And Biological Needs

Keywords

Biodiversity; Conservation goals; Conservation targets; Policy; Science

Abstract

"How much is enough?" is a question that conservationists, scientists, and policymakers have struggled with for years in conservation planning. To answer this question, and to ensure the long-term protection of biodiversity, many have sought to establish quantitative targets or goals based on the percentage of area in a country or region that is conserved. In recent years, policy-driven targets have frequently been faulted for their lack of biological foundation. In this manuscript, we reviewed 159 articles reporting or proposing 222 conservation targets and assessed differences between policy-driven and evidence-based approaches. Our findings suggest that the average percentages of area recommended for evidence-based targets were nearly three times as high as those recommended in policy-driven approaches. Implementing a minimalist, policy-driven approach to conservation could result in unanticipated decreases in species numbers and increases in the number of endangered species. © 2005 American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Publication Date

1-1-2005

Publication Title

BioScience

Volume

55

Issue

11

Number of Pages

989-995

Document Type

Review

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0989:PVECAR]2.0.CO;2

Socpus ID

26644473734 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/26644473734

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