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Detailed, accurate, and reliable data regarding the occurrence of amphibian species in nature reserves (NRs) are important to facilitate effective conservation and management programs. We evaluated the current situation and research gaps in amphibian species inventories of NRs in mainland China by conducting a systematic review of papers on amphibian diversity research in NRs from 1956 to 2021. Generally, there was a gradual increase in amphibian survey intensity and standards, however, as some important parameters were lacking, such as species abundance and threats to amphibians. The standardization of amphibian surveys in NRs needs to urgently be strengthened and effectively implemented. We hope that highlighting these biases and gaps could provide actionable information for decision‐makers and improve conservation practices affecting amphibians in China and other native fauna elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity and climate crises require diverse solutions, yet peer reviewed literature is dominated by men from the Global North. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), as one of the world's largest conservation non‐profit organizations, provides a case study to better understand how women publish relative to men in conservation science. By examining all papers from Web of Science with at least one TNC author (1968–2019), we found that women at TNC are underrepresented: only 36% of authors were women, just 31% of all first authorships were women, and 24% of last authorships were women. Women in the Global South were the least represented group, making up less than 2% of all TNC authorships. By comparison seven individual men in the Global North comprised 9% of all TNC authorships. Encouragingly, the total number of women publishing at TNC has improved over the decades; however, the proportion of women to men remains below gender parity, and the proportion of women from Global South remains consistently below 3%. These results align with overall trends in conservation and science, and we provide recommendations for the global conservation science community on how to address this enduring and significant issue in publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identify a disciplinary divide in how the environmental impacts of urbanization are presented in ecology and urban planning journals. We analyzed the sentiments expressed in 202,900 journal articles and found that articles in ecology journals discuss urbanization three times more negatively relative to urban planning journals. Articles in both disciplines identified the negative local impacts of urban growth on biodiversity, habitat, and other ecological outcomes. However, urban planning research also considered the positive global‐scale benefits of cities in enabling more efficient settlement patterns that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. These diverging perspectives are likely due to the different scales and scopes of the two disciplines, but also because of different counterfactuals: the alternative to urbanization might be car‐dependent exurbs, or simply no new development within the focal study area. Interdisciplinary collaborations may provide a path to reconcile the different perspectives and boost sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents a community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii Giglioli, 1872) inhabiting three relict forest fragments situated on the Lake Albert escarpment, down the Ituri highlands, of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The area explored had a combined forested surface of ±18.15 km2 in 2017, shrinking by 1.2% per year between 2010 and 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, we found 160 chimpanzee nests along 37.6 km of pilot walks, some up to 2,000 m altitude. Another 123 nests logged along 6.7 km transects led to an estimate of chimpanzee density of 4.62 weaned individuals per square kilometer of forest habitat. Camera‐trap images and direct observations revealed that this community is comprised of a minimum of 42 weaned individuals, which translates into an estimated density of 2.3 chimpanzees per square kilometer. The increasing rate of forest degradation threatens to erode the cultural and genetic diversity of nonhuman primates in eastern DRC; the local people however exhibit willingness to establish a community managed reserve. We hope that this report will lead to the recognition of this site as a Chimpanzee Conservation Unit, facilitating further research in these "Relict Altitude Forests Fragments of the Albert Lake Escarpment" (or RAFALE landscape) and the Ituri highlands where other undocumented chimpanzee communities occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation interventions such as assisted migration and genetic alterations are controversial in part because, through unintended hybridization events, they may imperil native species. Threats could stem from hybrid offspring having altered fitness or from genetic swamping due to extensive introgression of non‐native genes. Over the last 40 years, papers discussing hybridization increasingly use value‐laden terminology (e.g., "genetic contamination"). Such terms presume that any amount of hybridization equates to harm, but this perspective is at odds with modern evolutionary theory's recognition of hybridization as a creative force that can accelerate evolution or spur adaptive breakthroughs. To assess the evidence undergirding perceptions of hybridization threats, we examined the IUCN's Global Invasive Species Database (GISD). Of 870 invasive species, the GISD identified 35 as potentially threatening endemic taxa via hybridization. For each of these 35 species, we assessed the quality of data that the GISD cited pertaining to hybridization. Direct evidence for hybridization was cited for only 16 species, and there was neither direct nor indirect evidence demonstrating reduced fitness of hybrid offspring for 18 species. In our era of rapid environmental change, it is time to examine hybridization case‐by‐case and not to presume that hybridization always presents a threat to biodiversity, but rather, to consider it as a potential pathway to species survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Win—win outcomes between biodiversity conservation and local economic development are now a goal of many governments and conservation organizations but can be difficult to achieve. Where they occur, reductions in poverty from protected areas are often thought to be driven by economic gains from tourism that are sufficient to outweigh losses due to restrictions on land‐use or resource extraction. However, evidence about this channel is scarce. In this paper, we explore the potential compensatory effect of tourism by comparing poverty alleviation outcomes for cultural heritage sites in Mexico across two decades from 1990 to 2010. These sites are similar to protected areas in terms of attracting tourists, but they do not impose substantial restrictions on local land or resource use, allowing us to isolate tourism as a possible channel for economic development. Overall, we find mixed evidence that proximity to cultural heritage sites is associated with poverty reduction. During the first study period (1990–2000), localities close to cultural heritage sites saw reduced poverty of 0.034 standard deviations for each additional site. However, during the second period (2000–2010), localities close to heritage sites saw less poverty reduction than the comparison group (−0.014 standard deviations for each additional site). In both periods, poverty alleviation effects were not consistently correlated with the total number of visitors, but were larger further from cities, where baseline poverty was higher, and in the Yucatán Peninsula. This heterogeneity indicates that variability in the ability of local communities to capture benefits from tourism depends on a particular combination of institutional and geographic factors—as was the case in the Yucatan peninsula, where cultural heritage sites had consistent poverty alleviation effects over two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth's forests are continually monitored by both the satellite record and the lived experiences of nearly 2 billion forest‐proximate peoples. Generally, the satellite record summarizes production estimates, such as percent tree cover, at regular, relatively coarse scales. Conversely, local perceptions tend to capture changes at irregular and very fine scales. While the utility of both of these sources of information has been widely demonstrated in isolation, little work has explored in what contexts they are expected to correlate or deviate, or how they might be quantitatively integrated. Here, we collect gridded information on community perceived and remotely sensed mangrove cover change across 719 0.5‐km grids in Pemba Island, Tanzania. We reveal variation in the association between these two data sources across different wards (shehia) and explore the reasons for this variation using interviews and direct observation. We find that shehia with the greatest alignment between perceived and remotely sensed mangrove change tended to have little planting or natural regeneration of mangrove propagules and large areas of complete cover loss. Alternatively, in shehia with the lowest alignment, we find high levels of natural and/or human‐assisted mangrove recolonization and selective harvesting of individual trees and branches. These findings indicate that the alignment between local knowledge and satellite observations of mangrove cover change systematically increases with the scale of change in this system. Finally, we demonstrate a practical workflow for quantitatively leveraging these misalignments by optimizing across both data sources to identify restoration priority areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Asian elephant populations inhabit fragmented human‐dominated landscapes. Human–elephant conflict (HEC) has intensified in such regions, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people and elephants each year. Controversy between stakeholders then arises as people debate the merits of HEC mitigation approaches, stifling progress. We conducted a survey to evaluate the opinions of experts, farmers and others who have and have not experienced HEC (n = 611), on the causes of HEC, the importance of, conservation of and co‐existence with elephants, and on the acceptability and effectiveness of potential HEC mitigation methods. Analysis of variance and the Potential for Conflict Index showed that all groups agreed with nine of the 10 causes of HEC assessed, on average. All respondent groups had mostly positive attitudes towards the importance and conservation of elephants. However, farmers exposed to HEC disagreed that people should co‐exist with elephants and supported the view that elephants should be removed from human habitats. All groups agreed on the acceptability and effectiveness of electric fencing, early warning systems with infrasonic call detectors, Global Positioning System collars and geophones. However, there was disparity in views between the experts and other stakeholder groups on the acceptability and effectiveness of restricting elephants to protected areas, and translocation of problem elephants to protected areas away from their capture site or to wild elephant holding grounds. While similar views between stakeholders on many subjects are encouraging for elephant conservation, the disparities identified should be given greater attention when planning HEC management programs to minimize conflict between stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of biodiversity conservation is in the midst of a cultural and practical transformation around evidence use, but the necessary institutional and technical support is still emerging. Over the past decade, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested in building institutional capacity for evidence use in its biodiversity conservation projects through technical assistance. We interviewed 34 technical assistance staff supporting biodiversity programming at USAID to explore how technical assistance is used to support evidence use and the extent to which technical assistance can fulfill the functions of "evidence bridges"—intermediaries who help practitioners access and use bodies of evidence for decision‐making. We found that the current technical assistance model supporting evidence employs varied strategies to support evidence use, some of which are more closely aligned with the functions of evidence bridges than others. We conclude that the current technical assistance model could strengthen support for evidence use through engagement with evidence bridges to promote uptake of synthesized evidence. We suggest that technical assistance and evidence bridges are needed to facilitate high‐quality evidence use at the scale necessary to achieve conservation impact, and more collaborative spaces at the boundary between research and practice are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global awareness about the threats of ecosystem degradation in the Amazon is growing. While state‐managed protected areas remain key instruments for forest conservation, private actors are increasingly funding and implementing a broad range of conservation initiatives. Private actors are transforming the Amazonian conservation landscape and its governance, however, many aspects of private conservation, especially the diversity of local practitioners and the challenges they face, remain understudied. Drawing on a case study of Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon, we aim to generate a better understanding of private conservation practitioners and their various approaches to conservation on private and public land. We used an extensive review of literature and databases, in addition to 13 semi‐structured interviews with various private conservation practitioners, to map privately conserved areas, and to gather perceptions about challenges, opportunities, and future pathways for private conservation. A total of 590 privately conserved areas, covering over one million hectares, were identified and mapped in Madre de Dios. We find that, while most initiatives are managed by individuals and families, for‐profit companies manage half of the total area privately protected. Furthermore, we find that private conservation initiatives face significant barriers and pressures. These barriers include complex bureaucratic processes, legal contradictions and incoherencies, corruption, weak law enforcement, and financial insecurity. Conservation policies largely favor national and international actors and less so local, grassroots initiatives run by individuals and communities. Finally, we highlight the need for more accessible and inclusive policies that recognize the contribution of less powerful actors, to foster more effective conservation efforts for the future of the Amazon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Captive‐breeding programs are increasingly implemented to curb population declines but can have unintended negative effects on genetic diversity and phenotypes. Through an analysis of ~10 years of genetic monitoring, pedigree information, and phenotypic data, we evaluated a captive‐breeding program that uses adaptive management to reduce inbreeding and improve captive broodstock performance. A captive‐breeding program was established in 2012 to reintroduce spring‐run Chinook salmon to the southern edge of their range in California's San Joaquin River (SJR), using fish produced each year at the nearby Feather River Hatchery (FRH). We found that the SJR program adequately captured the genetic diversity of the FRH source population and that mate pairings guided by genetic relatedness reduced inbreeding. However, the SJR broodstock reared in captivity had smaller body size at maturity in comparison to the FRH source broodstock which matures at sea, but this effect disappeared when SJR juveniles were released from captivity to mature at sea. Phenotypic traits of SJR female parents also influenced reproductive performance; older mothers and those with smaller eggs had offspring with lower survival. These findings demonstrate that adaptive genetic monitoring and pedigree information can be powerful tools for reducing risks of captive breeding and evaluating program effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a biodiversity crisis, and to prevent extinctions the most important sites to be effectively conserved must be identified. Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) include sites of importance for species survival. Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, a subset of KBAs, contain ≥95% of the population of highly threatened species. Currently, only 47 tree species have been identified using the AZE criteria. The Global Tree Assessment, assessing the extinction risk of the world's tree species, has enabled trees to be incorporated into KBA and AZE sites. Here we present a methodology to utilize data from the IUCN Red List to identify potential AZE species for trees. This 10‐part methodology identified 2909 tree species as potential AZE species across the world, representing at least 5% of described tree species. As further tree species are assessments are published on the IUCN Red List, this methodology will be important for identifying potential AZE species. The methodology can be applied and adapted to any taxa on the IUCN Red List. This analysis serves as a prioritization mechanism for identifying species in urgent need of conservation action to prevent extinctions. The species identified can feed into national KBA identification efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides legal protection to imperiled populations and their associated habitats. As a part of this process, listed species must undergo a general status review (also called 5‐Year Review) to assess the progress toward recovery every 5 years. However, almost all 5‐year reviews result in a status of "no change," prompting scientists to question if the review process is robust enough to detect changes in recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was therefore interested in developing a standardized metric for monitoring more nuanced recovery progress as part of the status review. In collaboration with the USFWS, over 75 biologists from five different organizations developed and tested a set of novel metrics to summarize recovery progress of listed species by considering current and future conditions, threats, and conservation measures. We found that, although the majority of species had reviews with a recommendation of no change, scorers were able to use the metrics to interpret more nuanced changes in the 3Rs (resiliency, redundancy, and representation), threats, and conservation measures than in the status review. Our results suggest that these metrics could illuminate more nuanced areas of recovery and decline in species' conditions, but consistency among scorers and status reports should be a focus of future development. Our approach offers a rigorous set of metrics to systematically track the recovery progress of all ESA species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can protect and restore marine biodiversity and fisheries, but there are concerns that they may also benefit invasive species. The spatial and temporal colonization of invasive lionfish (Pterois miles) in the eastern Mediterranean was compared across zones with varying fishing restrictions (no fishing, recreational and commercial fishing, and commercial fishing only), and stations where targeted removal events were conducted by volunteer SCUBA divers. Lionfish density in no fishing areas was nearly double that of areas with commercial fishing only, and over four times greater than in areas where both commercial and recreational fishing were allowed. Lionfish density increased with depth, possibly due to easier human exploitation in shallow waters (0–10 m) that are accessible to recreational spearfishers. Targeted removals by volunteer divers decreased lionfish densities by over 60%, while areas without removals had a 200%–400% increase. Along with management actions, natural and ecological processes might drive lionfish densities within MPAs, and the speed with which lionfish colonized fishery‐restricted zones, emphasized the need for a more sophisticated MPA management strategy that considers invasive species impacts and dynamics in an ecosystem‐based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the potential to locate endangered animals using scent trained detection dogs (conservation detection dogs) has gained attention. Among vertebrates, conservation detection dogs have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to detect the scent of endangered mammals, reptiles, and birds, but their use in detecting amphibians is only beginning to be explored. A lack of work in this area is surprising given that amphibians are declining faster than any other vertebrate taxa. Moreover, amphibians are generally small, highly cryptic and breed in complex habitats, making them difficult to locate for the purpose of monitoring or establishing conservation breeding programs. This study aimed to provide a preliminary investigation into whether conservation detection dogs can be imprinted on the scent of the critically endangered Baw Baw frog (Philoria frosti) under captive conditions, and then effectively trained to locate wild frogs in their complex natural habitat. Two conservation detection dogs were trained to identify and locate P. frosti scent under controlled conditions before assessing their ability to locate wild P. frosti. Both conservation detection dogs were effective at locating P. frosti scent under controlled conditions, and also demonstrated an ability to detect live frogs under natural conditions. From an applied perspective, our findings provide new evidence that conservation detection dogs are capable of learning to detect the scent of small, cryptic anuran species. They also indicate that detection dogs are capable of locating frogs in highly complex forest habitat, confirming their untapped potential to aid in the management of imperiled species that have previously proven difficult to detect, monitor, and protect. We discuss the limitations of our approach and provide recommendations to help direct future amphibian conservation detection dog research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To remain effective into the future, protected areas must be resilient to change. Evaluating the resilience of protected areas requires data across large spatial and temporal scales, which has proven to be a strength of community science in conservation research. Here, we assess the contributions of community science to different topics of protected area research and identify gaps where community science can be used more effectively. We performed a literature search aimed at capturing the research on resilient protected area design and management, then used Latent Dirichlet Allocation to model the topics represented in this corpus. Once topics were established, we searched for evidence of community science being used in each publication. Our analysis showed that there are five main areas of focus in resilient protected area research: biodiversity, climate change, connectivity, resources and ecosystem services, and social governance. We found limited evidence in the literature of community science directly assisting research in these areas. Community science has proven effective for extensive and cost‐effective data collection in other situations; therefore, we recommend ways in which conservation managers and researchers can incorporate community science in the design and management of resilient protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) is the primary mechanism for controlling international wildlife trade and preventing overexploitation, but measuring its efficacy is difficult, which complicates management efforts. We examined the effects of CITES listings on the trade of freshwater turtles from the US and compared spatiotemporal trends and dynamics of trade across 16 genera using 20 years of export data, triangulated with mixed qualitative data. For each CITES‐listed genus, we analyzed the average changes, immediate changes, and changes in trends of export volumes and spatial diversity of trade. Boom‐and‐bust trends of exports for different taxa were driven by several factors, including CITES listings, but CITES had mixed effects on export volumes for both Appendix II and III species while the diversity of spatial trade networks consistently declined for CITES and non‐CITES listed genera. These results point to differences in demand and species' availability from captive breeders, farms, or wild harvest which are important to consider in future listing decisions. However, a lack of reliable data on the source of turtles limited our ability to understand these drivers as well as the efficacy of CITES listings in preventing overexploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular tools are increasingly applied for assessing and monitoring biodiversity and informing conservation action. While recent developments in genetic and genomic methods provide greater sensitivity in analysis and the capacity to address new questions, they are not equally available to all practitioners: There is considerable bias across institutions and countries in access to technologies, funding, and training. Consequently, in many cases, more accessible traditional genetic data (e.g., microsatellites) are still utilized for making conservation decisions. Conservation approaches need to be pragmatic by tackling clearly defined management questions and using the most appropriate methods available, while maximizing the use of limited resources. Here we present some key questions to consider when applying the molecular toolbox for accessible and actionable conservation management. Finally, we highlight a number of important steps to be addressed in a collaborative way, which can facilitate the broad integration of molecular data into conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large Old Trees (LOT) are keystone ecological structures and have high cultural and economic importance. Still, LOT are only exceptionally targeted specifically by National Laws and are absent from powerful nature conservation policies (e.g., the Natura 2000 protected area policies of the European Union). Romania recently adopted a Law for its LOT. As persons who contributed to the scientific premisses and the first draft of this Law as well as in the advocacy for Romanian LOT, we present the Law (its weaknesses and opportunities) and provide insights into encourage other countries for adopting the Law specifically for LOT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. needs a National Biodiversity Strategy (hereafter Strategy). As a nation that places a high value on domestic biodiversity and on being a global leader in biodiversity conservation, the U.S. is failing to live up to its expectations regarding a national Strategy. A Strategy should suggest both legislation and policies and guide our country toward achieving stated objectives. We first propose a process to create a Strategy that involves establishing a government task force and supporting expert advisory panel. We then identify five key elements of a Strategy. First, a Strategy should identify priorities among legislation that impacts biodiversity. At present, conflicting rules lead to administrative uncertainty and inconsistent decisions. Second, a Strategy should create a comprehensive vision for societal participation in biodiversity protection. Current practices comprise a mixture of different levels of commitment to stakeholder participation and social justice. Third, a Strategy should mandate periodic review to better provide the American public a synopsis of how we are faring with our treasured biodiversity. Fourth, a Strategy should be as comprehensive and broad as biodiversity itself, spanning organizational ranges from genes to ecosystems. Finally, a Strategy should provide a structure for achievement that incentivizes public and business and that stimulates innovation, particularly in nature‐based solutions to complex environmental challenges. To help address the biodiversity crisis at home and abroad, the United States should develop and implement a National Biodiversity Strategy to provide essential whole‐of‐government leadership and coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful cumulative effects management is fundamental for conservation policy and practice. We investigated the application of a carrying capacity (CC) model as a cumulative effects management tool for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) in British Columbia, Canada, where CC is defined as the natural limit of a sustainable population that is set by the availability of resources in the environment. We estimated winter CC using forage availability across winter ranges, weighted by relative selection by sheep and a safe use factor, and divided by overwinter forage requirements to determine how many sheep the landscape can support. We explored application of our model to decision‐making about new industrial projects or conservation activities in a cumulative effects context. Cumulative effects include both positive and negative contributions to animal populations and we simulated the potential positive outcomes of burning to increase bighorn sheep carrying capacity in our study area. Our results show that carefully planned conservation actions could generate a 5% increase in CC (i.e., from 493 to 519 sheep). Robust tools and scientific techniques that are capable of quantifying multiple impacts and conservation actions and that consider spatial processes over long temporal scales, such as the CC model presented, should be applied to help inform decisions about how to better manage cumulative habitat change and achieve conservation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global catch rates of sharks and rays from artisanal fisheries are underreported, leading to a lack of data on population status. This forms a major barrier to developing effective management plans, such is the case in Central and West Africa. Over 3 years, we undertook the first systematic quantitative assessment of sharks and rays landed by an artisanal fishery in the Republic of the Congo. During 507 sampling days (mean 14 surveys per month), we recorded 73,268 individuals. These comprised 42 species, of which 81% are considered at an elevated risk of extinction. Landings were dominated by immature individuals, especially for species of conservation concern. Presence of species thought to have largely disappeared from the region such as the African wedgefish (Rhynchobatus luebberti) and smoothback angelshark (Squatina oculata) suggest Congolese waters are a potential stronghold for these species—warranting increased protection. We identified seasonality of catch within years, but not across years. Both inter‐ and intra‐annual trends varied by species, signifying annual fluctuations in catch of each species but consistent catch of all species year‐on‐year. Analysis showed increased catch between the short‐wet and the long‐wet, and the long‐dry seasons (January–February and August–September). Lowest catch was shown to occur during the short‐wet and the short‐dry seasons (October–December), which may provide an opportunity for seasonal closures or gear restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful conservation of ecosystems in a changing climate requires actionable research that directly supports the rethinking and revising of management approaches to address changing risks and opportunities. As an important first step toward actionable research, we reviewed and synthesized grassland management‐related documents to identify broadly shared questions that, if answered, would help to support collective conservation of the grasslands in the northern Great Plains of the United States in a changing climate. A Management Priorities Working Group reviewed 183 grassland‐relevant management documents and identified 70 questions. Feedback was iteratively provided by a Climate and Ecology Working Group, an Advisory Committee, and representatives from grassland management agencies and organizations. The identified questions generally fall under 15 topics: land conversion; restoration; disturbance regimes; woody encroachment; herbaceous invasives; grazing; water quality, quantity, and availability; animal species; private land; public understanding; legal and policy changes; economic incentives; coordination across management entities; accessibility of science and tools; and novel ways of thinking. These questions can inform a research agenda for researchers looking to conduct actionable science in the Great Plains grassland ecosystems. Both the approach and the questions presented here can also be adapted and applied in other regions and ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys assessing attitudes and values about the environment can help predict human behavior toward wildlife and develop effective conservation goals alongside local communities. Coastal Alabama, in the southeastern United States, is a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism and needs protection. Land and wildlife management practices in Alabama have moved from indigenous‐led, which is more in harmony with the environment, to larger‐scale exploitative uses for agriculture and plantations. We therefore predicted that a large proportion of the population has a dominant view of the environment in which land and wildlife are primarily for human benefit. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed over 1300 residents in Mobile and Baldwin counties—the two southernmost counties in Alabama—to assess attitudes toward local vertebrate wildlife, knowledge of the region's biodiversity, and whether individuals value protected areas where they live and/or work. As hunting is generally considered a dominant behavior, we used self‐identified hunters versus non‐hunters to examine the relationship between humans and the environment. Overall, hunters would kill or kill to eat more often than non‐hunters, and would kill even when it is not for food. Furthermore, regardless of hunting status, most participants in our survey would kill a snake, indicating that targeted environmental education is needed for this group. Both hunters and non‐hunters, independently of demographic differences including education and income levels, were not familiar with the especially rich biodiversity of the area and would not be willing to invest money to protect it. Our results indicate that targeted education about the unique and rich biodiversity of southern Alabama compared to the rest of the United States is needed to support successful environmental management, conservation actions, and local participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental governance scholars have overlooked philanthropic foundations as influential non‐state actors. This omission, along with the continued growth in funding from private foundations for conservation issues, presents important questions about what foundations do in governance spaces. To address this gap, we examine The David and Lucile Packard Foundation's involvement in Fiji and Palau in the context of the Foundation's "Western Pacific Program"—a series of coastal and marine‐related investments made from 1998 to 2020. We describe and analyze six governance roles that the Packard Foundation contributed to: funding, influencing agendas, capacity‐building, convening and coordinating, facilitating knowledge, and rule‐making and regulation. In documenting the Packard Foundation's governance roles, we provide scholars and practitioners a conceptual framework to more systematically and strategically think about foundations as more than funders. This research helps move the conversation around conservation philanthropy beyond binary conceptions of "good" versus "bad," and, instead, toward deeper considerations about what foundations currently do within governance systems, how they engage with diverse practitioners, as well as what they can and should do to advance conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation approaches that efficiently protect multiple values, such as the umbrella species concept, have been widely promoted with expected dramatic ecosystem changes. Due to its social and cultural importance, and recent declining trends, boreal populations of woodland caribou have been suggested as potential umbrella species for other declining taxa, such as boreal landbirds. We propose a generic pixel‐based umbrella index that focuses on fine‐grained habitat overlaps. In light of ongoing conservation efforts worldwide implementing area‐based targets (e.g., 30% by 2030), we used a random neutral model as baseline, as opposed to a no‐conservation scenario, which has been used elsewhere. We found that the conservation efficiency of caribou as an umbrella for 71 co‐occurring landbirds—three of which are priority species—in the Northwest Territories, Canada, is generally lower than our random model, as 53% of the species presented negative umbrella index medians with the interquartile range not overlapping zero. We conclude that in cases where area‐based targets drive decision‐making and the issue at stake involves identifying which areas to conserve—not whether to conserve—woodland caribou may be a leaky umbrella for most co‐occurring landbird species and these might need complementary conservation actions to be brought in from the rain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global declines in populations of several bee species have highlighted the importance of efforts to conserve bees and other pollinators. Because research on the social dimensions of pollinator conservation is limited, however, developing clear strategies to promote conservation behaviors remains a challenge. In an effort to contribute to understanding of these social dimensions of conservation, we used semantic network analysis and content coding to investigate knowledge and understanding of bees among U.S. college students with either a low (n = 233) or high (n = 93) interest in this topic. Results revealed that both groups' understanding of bees was organized around their utilitarian value for humans, particularly honey production. Furthermore, although student knowledge of bees was fairly accurate, it was not very sophisticated. Knowledge about honey bees was also more accurate than knowledge about bees in general. Implications for future conservation and education efforts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife detection dog (WDD) programs are increasingly being developed to combat illegal wildlife trafficking. However, there is little scientific research available on how sniffer dogs perform when wildlife parts are hidden during the smuggling process, which hampers the effectiveness of WDD programs. Here, we investigate the ability of WDDs to detect wildlife parts that are hidden in legally traded goods. We employed a smell test using the two most smuggled wildlife parts worldwide: elephant ivory and pangolin scales, in combination with two obfuscation items of plant and animal origin commonly employed by smugglers. We then established the sensitivity of the dogs to the target substances. Our results showed that there was a large variation between the two dogs in their sensitivity to ivory and pangolin scales. However, both dogs were generally less sensitive to ivory compared to pangolin scales, and stronger‐smelling obfuscation items could potentially lower the sensitivity of the dogs to the wildlife parts. Our study highlights the potential of dogs to detect hidden wildlife parts, but their effectiveness may depend on other aspects such as training, personality, the health of the dog, the type of wildlife substance, and the obfuscation item used. Given the variability of our findings, WDD programs need to invest in research to optimize the number and type of dogs with the right balance of traits to successfully detect wildlife parts that could potentially be obfuscated during smuggling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource management and conservation interventions are increasingly embracing social–ecological systems (SES) concepts. While SES frameworks recognize the connectedness of humans and nature, many fail to acknowledge the complex role of sociocultural factors in influencing people's interactions with the environment. As such, when indicators in SES frameworks are used to measure the social dimension, easy to measure, socioeconomic indicators are the norms, while more complex social and cultural indicators are rare. To develop meaningful indicators of resilience in SES we need to understand local definitions of resilience. In this paper we describe methods used in a biocultural approach to illuminate sociocultural factors that Pacific Islanders identify as important for resilient communities. We focus specifically on two dimensions of sociocultural factors, "Connectedness to People and Place" and "Indigenous and local knowledges, skills, practices, values and worldviews," which relate to many interventions, but are not usually monitored. We offer examples of indicators that may be appropriate to measure under these dimensions. Increased use of biocultural indicators will bring additional insight on the types and combinations of indicators that work best in given contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrapment and subsequent drowning in fish fykes poses an anthropogenic mortality hazard to Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra). Different concepts on how to solve this problem have been debated in the past. To proactively prevent future fatal interactions and increase acceptance among fishers, this study tested two exit mechanisms for otters to safely escape from fyke nets, while still retaining full trap functionality for inland fisheries. Both exit options, a tearable latex lacing around flexible metal wires (100% success rate, n = 6) and a steel hoop‐spring construction (90%, n = 10) were successfully tested in 16 otter escape trials and 30 additional tests for fish (pike, eel, and common bream) retention (100%). The results indicate that the modifications of the fish traps were effective for otter conservation and commercial fisheries. Thus, both options can be recommended as equally good otter protection measures for fyke‐net fisheries of the tested type and similar sizes. However, these data were yielded under controlled conditions and it is possible that field results could differ. Hence, the presented results should be additionally verified under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare species serve important ecosystem functions, including community resilience to global change. Yet rare species are disappearing globally because of anthropogenic activities such as fire suppression. Prescribed burning is a widespread management approach that can reduce invasive plant presence, recycle nutrients, and restore species diversity. However, the effects of prescribed burning on rare plants are not well understood. We analyzed the population dynamics of 67 rare, native plant species in response to prescribed burning using the Chicago botanic garden's Plants of Concern dataset. This dataset includes rare plant populations concentrated in the northeast part of Illinois, and a few populations in Indiana and Wisconsin, United States. We evaluated the effects of burning by comparing the percent change in population size in the short‐term (1–2 years) and long‐term (3–4 years) after prescribed burning, to the percent change in population size not following burns. In a global model with all species, we did not detect the effects of burning on percent change in population size. In species‐level analyses, we detected burn effects for most species for which we had the statistical power to detect possible burn responses, although the direction of their responses was mixed. Five species responded consistently between short‐ and long‐term datasets, and four species had mixed responses, with most responding positively over the short‐term and negatively over the long‐term. We complemented this analysis with a literature review of fire responses for available species. Our literature review revealed more responses to burning than what we found from our analyses; however, most of this evidence does not compare burned and unburned populations directly and should be treated cautiously. Through community science monitoring efforts, we were able to compile one of the largest studies of burn effects on rare plants to date, but continued monitoring is necessary to fully evaluate how prescribed burning impacts rare plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the global popularity and ubiquity of electronic media coverage of wildlife and conservation, media frame analysis is widely used to help conservation decision‐makers understand public opinion, differing goals and priorities, and arguments used in conflict. Nonetheless, media frame analysis has only been used on occasion to elucidate how different conservation stakeholders frame wildlife management plans. We applied media frame analysis to the case of critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), one of the world's rarest felids now confined to Iranian deserts. Between January 2018 and December 2020, 91 interviews from 44 conservation stakeholders were published in Persian‐language electronic media following the development of an Asiatic cheetah management plan. Media framed conservationists as agreeing on the alarming situation of Asiatic cheetahs and high‐level interventions needed for possible recovery yet disagreeing about using integrated (in situ + ex situ) versus single management approaches (in situ only) between academic and NGO interviewees. Interviews presented a balance of thematic (year‐round) and episodic around National and International Cheetah Days. We also found that the current media debate was highly skewed toward non‐local perspectives while views from reserve staffs were rarely (n = 2) reflected in the media. The increasing number of controversial conservation topics in media debates can persuade the public or policymakers by setting agenda. Disagreement in premises, threats and interventions confuse managers and potentially creates procrastination of necessary actions. Higher inclusion of reserve staffs, technical cooperation between stakeholders and pursuing the existing management plan are interventions that may portend great potential to enhance the conservation impact of media debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The figure of 70% includes the 41% of listed or recovered species for which translocations have been performed, 16% for which translocations are planned, and 12% for which possible future translocations are implied by existing or planned captive propagation. Keywords: assisted migration; benefits; biodiversity; conservation; impacts; reintroductions; restoration; risks; translocations EN assisted migration benefits biodiversity conservation impacts reintroductions restoration risks translocations 1 5 5 07/05/22 20220701 NES 220701 When deciding whether to translocate a species, it is important to know likely benefits and risks. Their conclusions about the overwhelming success of translocations ("Translocations have played and will play a vital and necessary role in conserving 70% of US endangered species", "conservation translocations routinely yielded their intended benefits") are not supported by their data. [Extracted from the article]

Critiques of parachute science argue for closer collaborations among local and international scientists. Here, building on such a collaboration, we highlight further challenges when outsiders, typically working through international nongovernmental organizations, fail to respect both the governance framework within which they are working and the realities on the ground. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of observing governance structures, maintaining transparency, and responding flexibly to national and regional priorities ("looking up"), as well as stressing the need to keep a close focus on local cultural context when designing interventions such as educational programs ("looking down"). Addressing the shortcomings for conservation practice contingent on parachute science interventions requires nimble, creative, and respectful actions, which at least in the context of Tanzania, we all still struggle to put into action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing field of conservation and wild animal ethics has the potential to guide practitioners facing difficult management decisions. Drawing from previously established rights frameworks, we explore an applied ethic for wildlife managers and conservationists, outlining when there can be ethical justification and moral obligation to intervene with wildlife. To demonstrate the use of this ethical framework, we apply it specifically to the emerging field of behavioral training in wildlife management. We use a series of case studies to illuminate how ecological context is fundamental to ascertain when there is ethical justification for behavioral training under the framework, and conclude with practical considerations for implementation. Our work explains how a rights‐based ethic emerges from both biological principles and fundamental philosophical concepts, and illustrates how it could serve as a useful guideline for wildlife management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1935, the citizens of Missouri established the Missouri Conservation Commission in the state's constitution and in 1976 approved a conservation sales tax to ensure sustainable funding for those priorities. These two major citizen‐led initiatives have been the cornerstone of the Missouri model of conservation and key to the successful implementation of The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) mission for more than 80 years. Even with a successful track record, the health of an organization is only ever in two operating modes—growing or decaying. Beginning in 2017, the department began a focused and intentional effort to transform the agency in an endeavor to remain relevant to a changing citizenry and to better equip the agency to meet current and future challenges. The agency first developed a new strategic plan with three identified goals: 1) MDC takes care of nature, 2) MDC connects people with nature, and 3) MDC maintains public trust. Next, a team of internal staff were charged with creating an organizational design that empowered employees to work in a highly interdependent, team‐oriented environment that ensured efficiency of operations, supported the fulfillment of the strategic plan, and placed Missouri citizens at the center of everything the agency does. The new organizational model establishes a system of governance and organizational structure based on centralized guidance and regional implementation of the strategic plan utilizing interdisciplinary cross‐functional teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An "ethical space" approach is conceptualized as one way to balance asymmetrical power and respectfully engage diverse worldviews in Indigenous‐conservation partnerships. However, published literature offers little insight into how ethical space is implemented in practice. Using a literature review and interviews, we identify two key traits and two sub‐traits of creating ethical space: engagement, and the two sub‐traits of dialogic processes and principles, and the trait of introspection and reflection. Engagement involves interactions between Indigenous peoples and conservation organizations, often through dialogic processes to build learning and trust. Principle‐based engagement must focus on empowering Indigenous ownership over conservation work. Creating a space for introspection and reflection can deconstruct colonial hierarchies and unequal power dynamics and allow Indigenous‐led approaches to take root. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision makers often cite data quality as a limitation in environmental management. Value of information approaches evaluate the benefit of new data collection for management outcomes. Pesticide exposure risk assessment for endangered species is one context where data limitations may affect decisions and a value of information type approach could be useful for identifying optimal data quality and resolution. Under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for registering pesticides before they can be sold and regularly reviewing pesticides. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires that the EPA consider potential impacts of pesticides to listed endangered species and critical habitats in this process, and for the Services—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service—to complete a formal Section 7 consultation if the EPA deems it necessary. The current process is time‐intensive, lacks transparency and confidence among stakeholders, and leaves hundreds of unreviewed pesticides on the market. Increasing the resolution of pesticide usage data could address these concerns by improving estimated overlaps between species ranges and pesticide usage. Thus, we evaluated the relative importance of different resolutions of pesticide usage data for assessing expected carbaryl exposure to endangered plant species endemic to California. We found that spatially explicit, township resolution usage data (~36 mile2) excluded 33% of terrestrial plants (55/168) and 51% their critical habitats (27/53) from requiring a Section 7 consultation, while coarser resolution data excluded none. In contrast, the EPA's biological evaluation for carbaryl only excludes 4% of terrestrial plants (nationally) from requiring formal Section 7 consultation. This suggests high‐resolution data could increase pesticide review efficiency and decrease the amount of time pesticides remain on the market without a formal evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More species in the world are threatened with extinction today than at any other time in recent history. In 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE; https://zeroextinction.org/) released its first inventory of highly threatened species (i.e., those listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List) that are effectively confined to a single site. Updates were released in 2010 and 2018. Here we identify the species removed from the list in these updates, determine the reasons for these removals, identify species that no longer qualify as AZE species as a result of conservation actions, and examine which conservation actions produced these recoveries. In total, 360 species that qualified as AZE species in 2005 no longer qualified by 2018 (45% of those listed in 2005) due to improved knowledge of distribution or taxonomy (83%), genuine improvements resulting in species being downlisted to lower categories of extinction risk (12%), genuine range expansion of species such that they are no longer restricted to single sites (4%), or deterioration to extinction (1%). Our results show that while protected areas and site management are important to the successful conservation of AZE species, other conservation actions, such as species‐level management or improved laws and policies, are also essential to safeguard these species from extinction. Sixty‐eight percent of the original 2005 AZE sites are now fully or partially covered by protected areas, an increase of almost 20% in 15 years. Yet today, only 64% of current (2018) AZE sites are fully or partially covered by protected areas, with 36% lacking any formal protection. Continued efforts to safeguard and manage AZE sites would benefit not only the 1,483 AZE species but also potentially another 1,359 Critically Endangered and Endangered amphibian, bird, and mammal species whose distributions overlap with AZE sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of deforestation and the number of large wildfires are increasing in the Amazon. Illegal loggers, miners, ranchers, and farmers all have contributed to this increase. Their activities have dramatic consequences for biodiversity, ecological services, and people. In this study, we estimated the number of jaguars affected by deforestation. We focused on the Brazilian Amazon from August 2016 to December 2019. Further, we analyzed the effects of socio‐geographic determinants of deforestation and state policies. To do so, we used deforestation data from DETER‐B satellite system. The number of jaguars within each deforested area was pulled from a previous study, which provided jaguar abundances for jaguar entire range. We assumed all jaguars within a deforested area were affected (displaced or killed). To determine the underlying causes of jaguar loss, we regressed the number of jaguars lost per state and year against the proportion of total forest area within reserves, distance to forest border, and monetary efficiency in cattle production. We estimate a total of 1,422 jaguars have been displaced/killed in recent years (2016: 488, 2017: 360, 2018: 268, 2019: 354). Only the proportion of protected area had an effect in reducing jaguar deforestation. We discuss how our work could result in near real‐time monitoring of jaguar displacement and how policies such as wood certification, more efficient cattle production, and centralizing governance may be solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing threat of climate change poses an increasing risk to biodiversity, especially for currently threatened species. Climate change can both directly impact species and interact with other pre‐existing threats, such as habitat loss, to further amplify species' risk of extinction. Recognizing the threat of climate change in extinction risk assessments and recovery planning for imperilled species is essential for tailoring and prioritizing recovery actions for climate‐threatened species. Using species legally listed in Canada we show that 44.1% of species' risk assessments identify the threat of climate change, nonetheless, 43.5% of assessments completely omit climate change. Species assessed more recently were more likely to be identified as climate‐threatened, however, the strength of this relationship varied across taxonomic groups. The likelihood that climate change was identified as a threat was also strongly affected by the use of a standardized threat assessment process. Of the climate‐threatened species, less than half (46.0%) of species' recovery plans specified actions aimed explicitly at minimizing climate impacts and only 3.8% of recovery plans recommended habitat or population management actions. Climate‐targeted recovery actions were more likely to be included in more recent plans, and were marginally more likely for species where climate change was considered a major threat. Our findings highlight the urgent need for consistent and standardized assessments of the threat of climate change, including the consideration of potential synergies between climate change and other existing threats. Performing species‐specific climate change vulnerability assessments may serve to complement existing assessment and recovery planning processes. We provide additional recommendations aimed at threatened species recovery planners for improving the integration of the threat of climate change into species extinction risk assessments and recovery planning processes for listed species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private conservation lands are essential for protecting biodiversity, but few national‐level studies have assessed their coverage and the legal frameworks that support them. Here, we review the legal mechanisms enabling conservation on private lands in Brazil and evaluate these lands' potential to reinforce the national protected area system. We found that conserving native vegetation on private lands is the most important mechanism to protect biodiversity in five out of the six Brazilian biomes. Because Brazil has a law that mandates landowners to set aside conservation areas, remnants of native vegetation were protected rather than converted to other land uses in areas of old economic frontiers. These remnants can be the cornerstones of effective regional conservation systems. Still, upgrading these remnants to privately protected areas and integrating these privately protected areas into the national protected area system remains a challenge. We suggest that the Brazilian experience provides important lessons on how other countries can design innovative policies to recognize and expand private land conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native lampreys continue to be misunderstood by some citizens in the Pacific Northwest (PNW; USA). This misunderstanding is caused by persistent misperceptions reinforced in media and exacerbated by a long‐running (mid‐1900s to present) and pervasive outreach campaign on the control of the invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Champlain and the Finger Lakes of New York. The use of outreach to encourage conservation of native lampreys in the PNW has been comparatively recent. Along with other native non‐salmonid fishes, lampreys were perceived by Euro‐American settlers as "undesirable", "coarse" or "trash" fish that parasitized desirable trouts and salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and competed with them for environmental resources. These concerns have been magnified by the seemingly physical and ecological similarities between native and invasive sea lampreys. To dispel the misperceptions of native lampreys, we recommend a multi‐prong approach that: sharpens the specificity of outreach materials on sea lamprey control; develops outreach media that distinguishes invasive and native lampreys, includes recognition of the multiple ecosystem benefits that native lampreys offer, and includes hands‐on, place‐based learning led by or in collaboration with local tribes that can provide cultural context, and employs a broad outreach campaign to facilitate conservation of native lampreys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel genetic interventions may offer innovative solutions to environmental conservation challenges, but they also represent new kinds of risks and concerns for diverse publics. Yet, by focusing on potential negative outcomes of emerging technologies like gene editing, their potential utility in species protection could lead to overblown fears of unknown and unanticipated consequences. In response, Revive and Restore organized a workshop in June 2020 entitled, "Intended Consequences," to highlight conservation successes in the discourse and governance of genomic interventions. This article argues that if we seek to emphasize Intended Consequences to embolden innovative conservation efforts, we must simultaneously query whose intentions are included and what consequences are considered to ensure that environmental goals are accompanied by the goals of responsibility, democracy, and justice. These questions reveal that the governance and management of conservation interventions always rest upon value judgements. Inspired and informed by the Responsible Research and Innovation framework, we encourage anticipation of potential outcomes, reflection on assumptions and intentions, inclusion of diverse stakeholders and perspectives, and a commitment to responding thoughtfully to concerns and preferences of communities and broader publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration and conservation innovations face numerous challenges that often limit widespread adoption, including uncertainty of outcomes, risk averse or status quo biased management, and unknown trade‐offs. These barriers often result in cautious conservation that does not consider the true cost of impeding innovation, and overemphasizes the risks of unintended consequences versus the opportunities presented by proactive and innovative conservation, the intended consequences. Simulation models are powerful tools for forecasting and evaluating the potential outcomes of restoration or conservation innovations prior to on‐the‐ground deployment. These forecasts provide information about the potential trade‐offs among the risks and benefits of candidate management actions, elucidating the likelihood that an innovation will achieve its intended consequences and at what cost. They can also highlight when and where business‐as‐usual management may incur larger costs than alternative management approaches over the long‐term. Forecasts inform the decision‐making process prior to the implementation of emergent, proactive practices at broad scales, lending support for management decisions and reducing the barriers to innovation. Here we review the science, motivations, and challenges of forecasting for restoration and conservation innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research is the most comprehensive study of jaguar behavior ecology in Mexico. By analyzing and describing the movements and use of the space, as well as the interactions among individual jaguars, we can better understand their behavioral differences, habitat use, and home range. This type of information is critical for the development and implementation of effective and appropriate conservation strategies. We identified home range size for 14 jaguars in a 13‐year period and described the interspecific relations and use of space by the percentages of overlap of the territories between individuals. Collectively, the average home range size was larger than 200 km2, ranging from 48 to 633 km2 and averaging 296 km2 for males varied and 37–435 km2, with an average of 148 km2, for females. However, home range sizes did not differ significantly among males or females. Male territory overlapped about 3.3% on average (range 2.5–15.5%), suggesting that most of the time males avoid each other. Average overlap of female territory was 12%, ranging from 7 to 100%. Males share an average of 18% (range 2–56%) of its territory and with up to five females, suggesting that a given male may be related to all of them at certain periods of time. There were no seasonal changes (dry and rainy seasons) in home range sizes for both male and females. Our research is an important contribution to the ecological information essential for landscape‐level conservation plans for the protection of the jaguars and the biological diversity of the wider Yucatan Peninsula in which they inhabit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: biodiversity; conservation; conservation funding; conservation partnerships; corporate philanthropy; innovation; plants EN biodiversity conservation conservation funding conservation partnerships corporate philanthropy innovation plants 1 3 3 04/05/22 20220401 NES 220401 When the world was ending the first time, Noah took all the animals, two by two, and loaded them aboard his escape craft for evacuations. Even taking into account smaller, regional plant conservation organizations, the stark reality is that current conservation funding is woefully inadequate given the magnitude of the plant biodiversity crisis. Biodiversity, conservation, conservation funding, conservation partnerships, innovation, plants, corporate philanthropy. [Extracted from the article]

In the sustainability and conservation sciences, "social learning" is defined as a group process which depends on trust and social capital and tends to boost conservation outcomes. We term this "collaborative social learning." Meanwhile, the behavioral sciences define social learning as the individual use of socially acquired information and seek to explain how individuals employ social learning as part of adaptive behavior. We term this "behavioral social learning." However, the influence of behavioral social learning on ecological outcomes is poorly understood. We conducted a study of behavioral social learning among fishers in seven communities in Chile's Region V to probe its connections with ecological outcomes and collaborative social learning. We develop and employ a novel behavioral measure of individual social learning in a simple fishing game in which fishers may pay a portion of their game earnings to observe and learn from other fishers in the game. We explore the internal and external validity of the instrument. The self‐consistency of game play, learning, and participant reflections reveals strong internal validity of the learning game. Additionally, game behavior is correlated with factors such as migration history, and the perceived availability of peers from whom to learn, suggesting the method also holds external validity. We then test whether factors associated with collaborative social learning, such as social capital, are related to social learning behavior as measured by the experiment. Interestingly, many correlates of 'collaborative social learning' are not strongly correlated with 'behavioral social learning' in our sample. We argue that this disconnect can help improve our understanding of the emergence of community‐based conservation and positive ecological outcomes as well as 'collaborative social learning' itself. Finally, we provide guidance on how behavioral measures of social learning could benefit community‐based natural resource management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many tropical countries continue to devolve forest management to forest‐dwelling communities. The assumption is that local knowledge of forests and community engagement in forest management will attain multiple social and environmental co‐benefits, such as poverty alleviation and reduced deforestation and fires. Evidence for this, however, is scant, commonly hampered by data availability and a lack of technical capacity for implementing statistically robust impact evaluations. Based on a practice‐based review of policy implementation, impact evaluation of case studies and examples of counterfactual analyses from Indonesia, we demonstrate that it is increasingly feasible to determine the conditions under which community forest management will most likely achieve its social and environmental objectives. Adapting community forest management implementation based on feedback from accurate impact evaluation could lead to positive outcomes for people and environment in Indonesia, and across the tropical realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the participatory management of small scale fisheries has been widely promoted, we have limited understanding of the factors influencing its effectiveness. Here, we highlight lessons learnt from the implementation of Madagascar's first locally managed marine area (LMMA), drawing on our insights and experiences as staff of a comanaging nongovernmental organization (NGO). We describe the LMMA's context and history, and highlight aspects of our approach that we feel underpin its outcomes, including: (a) comanagement rather than community‐management; (b) the permanent field presence of a supporting NGO; (c) a management focus on locally important natural resources; (d) the implementation of poverty alleviation initiatives aimed at reducing barriers to management; (e) decision‐making by resource users rather than scientists; (f) a diversified, entrepreneurial funding model; and (g) an emphasis on monitoring and adaptive management. We also highlight several challenges, including: (a) the inability to influence fishery supply chains; (b) promoting participation and good governance; (c) promoting rule application; (d) standing up to outsiders; (e) promoting environmental management in the long term; and (f) maintaining funding. Our experiences suggest that small scale fishers can be effective natural resource managers in low‐income contexts, but may need extended support from outsiders; however, the role of supporting NGO is nuanced and complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]