Peer-reviewed publications

Overfishing, climate change, and marine habitat destruction pose severe threats to marine biodiversity and the communities that depend on marine foods for essential nutrients like protein, minerals, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. In response, countries have set a global target to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 through marine protected areas (MPAs) and other conservation measures. Yet, how MPAs affect human nutrition and well-being is poorly understood. This study fills that gap by exploring how MPAs that allow regulated fishing affect nutrition through impacts on fisheries productivity, tourism, and local livelihoods. We find that well-designed and managed MPAs can both conserve biodiversity and improve nutritional security, benefitting the health and livelihoods of vulnerable communities dependent on marine resources.

Effective governance is crucial for the success of conservation projects aimed at protecting wildlife populations and supporting human well-being. However, few large-scale, comprehensive syntheses have been conducted on the effects of different environmental governance types on conservation outcomes (i.e., biological and ecological effectiveness or effects of conservation on human well-being), and clarity on the quantity and quality of evidence remains dispersed and ambiguous. We attempted a systematic map of the evidence on the effectiveness of different governance types to meet desired conservation outcomes in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. However, early in this effort, we observed a general lack of empirical research on the links between governance and conservation outcomes. To fill observed data gaps in the evidence base, we tried triangulating governance data from alternative sources (Protected Planet database) and pooling evidence from research conducted within the same conservation areas. Limited data were contained in the Protected Planet database, and governance types in conservation areas and landscapes were complex, making it difficult to use these approaches to assign governance types to conservation areas. To illustrate our observations from the failed systematic map attempt, we prepared a rapid evidence map that outlines a subset of the evidence base of articles linking governance types and governance principles with conservation outcomes. Only 3.2% (34 of 1067) of the articles we screened directly related conservation outcomes to governance type, and even fewer related governance principles to conservation outcomes. Based on our findings, we recommend improving the evidence base by supporting empirical research and increasing the availability and quality of governance data in freely accessible databases. These recommendations are critical for enhancing understanding of the role of governance in conservation projects and improving conservation outcomes.

Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares and colleagues document thoroughly how the much-cited claim that 80% of the world’s biodiversity occurs on Indigenous people’s lands is based on a misinterpretation that has cascaded through the scientific literature. On the basis of their evidence, we agree that the claim should be abandoned, and will encourage our organization to do so.

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are sites outside of protected areas that deliver the effective, long-term conservation of biodiversity. Both protected areas and OECMs contribute to the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 3, which calls for the conservation of 30% of marine, terrestrial and inland water areas by 2030. This paper provides the first global assessment of the contribution of OECMs to GBF Target 3. Between 2019 and 2023, 820 sites in nine countries and territories were reported to the World Database on OECMs, covering 1.9 million km2 of the Earth’s surface and, in the terrestrial realm, contributing over 1% to the 30% coverage target. Notably, over 50% of reported OECMs are under governance by governments and less than 2% are governed by Indigenous peoples and local communities. In countries and territories that have reported OECMs, a far greater proportion of OECMs than protected areas are under shared governance (40.9% compared to 2.5%), and collaborative governance is the most common governance sub-type among reported OECMs. This paper finds that almost 30% of the 820 reported OECMs overlap with identified Key Biodiversity Areas, which are one global classification of areas of particular importance for biodiversity. With Target 3’s pressing deadline of 2030, there is an urgent need to scale up understanding and local to national engagement with the OECM framework, ensuring that it fulfills its potential to recognize diverse forms of equitable governance and effective conservation.

Many seafood products marketed as “sustainable” are not. More exacting sustainability standards are needed to respond to a fast-changing world and support United Nations SDGs. Future fisheries must operate on principles that minimise impacts on marine life, adapt to climate change and allow regeneration of depleted biodiversity, while supporting and enhancing the health, wellbeing and resilience of people and communities. We set out 11 actions to achieve these goals.

Fences serve multiple purposes, including livestock management, agriculture, property delineation, and conservation. However, fences often act as ecological barriers, limiting wildlife movement and access to resources, particularly for species like bison (Bison bison) in North America. Despite the substantial impacts of fencing, large-scale datasets on fence densities are lacking. Our goal was to create potential fence density maps for the western and central U.S. and Canada using GIS modeling and freely accessible data. Specifically, we aimed to: (1) map potential fence density and identify high density of fence, (2) contrast the potential fence density map with the patterns of high human influences, and (3) identify areas with high bison habitat suitability and low density of potential fences. Using GIS modelling, we generated potential fence density maps by integrating data on land parcels, croplands, roads, and railroads. Subsequently, we identified regions with high and low potential fence density and compared them with patterns of human influence and bison habitat suitability. We found high total potential fence density in central regions of Canada and the U.S., mainly due to agriculture and transportation corridors. Interestingly, areas with high potential density of fence in the western U.S., often had low other human influence, suggesting that human influence maps may underestimate impacts if they miss fences. We also identified large areas with high bison habitat suitability and low fence density, which are promising for bison restoration. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing fences for wildlife conservation and supporting bison restoration in the Great Plains.

Coral reef fisheries are a vital source of nutrients for thousands of nutritionally vulnerable coastal communities around the world. Marine protected areas are regions of the ocean designed to preserve or rehabilitate marine ecosystems and thereby increase reef fish biomass. Here, we evaluate the potential effects of expanding a subset of marine protected areas that allow some level of fishing within their borders (sustainable-use MPAs) to improve the nutrition of coastal communities. We estimate that, depending on site characteristics, expanding sustainable-use MPAs could increase catch by up to 20%, which could help prevent 0.3-2.85 million cases of inadequate micronutrient intake in coral reef nations. Our study highlights the potential add-on nutritional benefits of expanding sustainable-use MPAs in coral reef regions and pinpoints locations with the greatest potential to reduce inadequate micronutrient intake level. These findings provide critical knowledge given international momentum to cover 30% of the ocean with MPAs by 2030 and eradicate malnutrition in all its forms.

Landscape connectivity operates at a variety of scales, depending on the geography of the area in question and the focal species or ecological process under consideration. Most connectivity studies, however, are typically focused on a single scale, which in the case of resistance-based connectivity modelling, is often the entire landscape or protected area (PA) network. This large, single-scale focus may miss areas that are important for connectivity at smaller scales and that can be documented via observed animal movements without resorting to landscape-wide statistical modelling and extrapolation approaches. Here, we characterize landscape connectivity at three different scales (local/micro, inter-PA, and landscape-wide/macro), using observed animal movements rather than conventional resistance surface models, to produce a connectivity conservation blueprint for African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier conservation area (KAZA) in southern Africa. This analysis is based on an extensive, high-resolution GPS tracking database comprising approximately 4 million GPS locations from nearly 300 tagged elephants and their associated herds. Our results show that high-fidelity elephant use of micro-corridors is typically—though not exclusively—related to directed movements towards water, often amidst heavy anthropogenic presence. Movement pathways that connected KAZA's core protected areas were longer and variable, with some channelled into narrow areas of use and others more dispersed across larger sub-landscapes. At the largest scale, a network analysis incorporating all used landscape grid cells revealed several clusters of large-scale movement corridors that connected distant parts of KAZA. Synthesis and applications: Our three scales of analyses reveal disparate geographical priorities for connectivity conservation that collectively could help ensure the functional connectivity of KAZA for its largest inhabitants. Each scale will require its own set of inter-related conservation interventions, while further research into areas with sparse data collection, and other species of conservation concern, could reveal additional connectivity priorities at each scale.

As climate change reshapes marine ecosystems, the dynamics of fish stocks are undergoing rapid transformation. Understanding these shifts and their multifaceted impacts demands more than just scientific inquiry; it necessitates a fusion of knowledge, collaboration, and action. However, the translation of cutting-edge research on the changing distributions and abundance of fish stocks into actionable strategies remains a daunting challenge. Climate change considerations are a relatively new area for fisheries management in the US, and there is often a gap between the scientific research being produced and the management processes through which it can be applied in practice. To address this gap, this research utilizes a co-productive workshop approach to elucidate and assess the current trajectory from scientific inquiry to management practice in the context of climate-impacted US fisheries. The workshop and subsequent analyses yielded 27 actionable recommendations and two strategic pathways. These pathways were designed to concentrate efforts on two critical fronts: 1) enhancing venues for collaboration between scientists and managers; and 2) establishing a cooperative framework for defining and prioritizing goals for climate-resilient management. Post-hoc analyses grounded these pathways within established frameworks and literature related to implementation science and science-policy connectivity. Tangible examples further exemplify the recommended actions and demonstrate the practical significance of this work for enhancing resilient management of fisheries in the face of climate uncertainty.

A range of interventions have been established to manage international wildlife trade and protect traded species; however, there is little consensus as to whether, when, and how they are effective. Here, through a comprehensive, systematic review of >8000 articles, we appraise the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions on conservation, biological, and/or socio-economic outcomes. Our systematic review examined four intervention types: “laws and regulations”, “detection and enforcement”, “efforts to reduce threats to species”, and “support local livelihoods”. We find that while laws and regulations were most well-studied, with some reported positive outcomes, over half of articles reported unintended consequences including shifting exploitation and trade routes, increased illegal trade, and socio-economic trade-offs. Detection and enforcement efforts appeared effective in protecting target species but limited for high-value species especially when combined with low reproductive rates. Efforts to reduce threats to species (particularly through area protection) had positive biological impacts, but some socio-economic trade-offs were reported. Evidence on community-based approaches was limited but our review indicated positive synergies occurring between conservation and socio-economic outcomes. Overall, socio-economic outcomes were underrepresented, limiting understanding of potentially important socio-ecological feedbacks. This review furthers understanding of relevant conditions, risks and enabling factors around effectiveness of wildlife trade interventions.