Reviewing the science on 50 years of conservation: Knowledge production biases and lessons for practice

Dawson, Neil M., Coolsaet, Brendan, Bhardwaj, Aditi, Brown, David, Lliso, Bosco, Loos, Jacqueline, Mannocci, Laura, Martin, Adrian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-7712, Oliva, Malena, Pascual, Unai, Sherpa, Pasang and Worsdell, Thomas (2024) Reviewing the science on 50 years of conservation: Knowledge production biases and lessons for practice. AMBIO. ISSN 0044-7447

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Abstract

Drawing on 662 studies from 102 countries, we present a systematic review of published empirical studies about site-level biodiversity conservation initiated between 1970 and 2019. Within this sample, we find that knowledge production about the Global South is largely produced by researchers in the Global North, implying a neocolonial power dynamic. We also find evidence of bias in reported ecological outcomes linked to lack of independence in scientific studies, serving to uphold narratives about who should lead conservation. We explore relationships in the sample studies between conservation initiative types, the extent of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ influence in governance, and reported social and ecological outcomes. Findings reveal positive ecological and social outcomes are strongly associated with higher levels of influence of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their institutions, implying equity in conservation practice should be advanced not only for moral reasons, but because it can enhance conservation effectiveness.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability statement: The dataset for this study is available at Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7688777. Acknowledgements: This study was funded by the Centre for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity (CESAB) of the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) under the Just Conservation project. Additional support was provided by Lille Catholic University under the AMBROISE funding call. JL acknowledges funding by the Robert-Bosch foundation for the project “Wildlife, Values, Justice”. UP acknowledges BC3’s Maria de Maeztu excellence accreditation 2023-2026 (Ref. CEX2021-001201- M) provided by MCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	conservation effectiveness,conservation science,equitable governance,indigenous peoples and local communities,participation,rights-based conservation,geography, planning and development,environmental chemistry,ecology ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3305
Faculty \ School:	University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Area Studies Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Global Environmental Justice University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Jul 2024 10:32
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2024 08:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/95962
DOI:	10.1007/s13280-024-02049-w

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