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Conservation resource allocation,small population resiliency,and the fallacy of conservation triage |
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| Authors: | David A Wiedenfeld Allison C Alberts Ariadne Angulo Elizabeth L Bennett Onnie Byers Topiltzin Contreras-MacBeath Gláucia Drummond Gustavo A B da Fonseca Claude Gascon Ian Harrison Nicolas Heard Axel Hochkirch William Konstant Penny F Langhammer Olivier Langrand Frederic Launay Daniel J Lebbin Susan Lieberman Barney Long Zhi Lu Michael Maunder Russell A Mittermeier Sanjay Molur Razan Khalifa al Mubarak Michael J Parr Jonah Ratsimbazafy Anders G J Rhodin Anthony B Rylands Jim Sanderson Wes Sechrest Pritpal Soorae Jatna Supriatna Amy Upgren Jean-Christophe Vié Li Zhang |
| Institution: | 1. American Bird Conservancy, The Plains, VA, 20198 U.S.A.;2. Ecoleaders, 4705 Park Blvd., Suite 102–126, San Diego, CA, 92103 U.S.A.;3. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 3701 Lake Shore Blvd. W, P.O. Box 48586, Toronto, ON, M8W 1P5 Canada;4. Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10460 U.S.A.;5. IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, MN, 55124 U.S.A.;6. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenida Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, CP 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico;7. Fundação Biodiversitas, Avenida Celso Porfírio Machado No. 1813, Belvedere, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30320–400 Brazil;8. The Global Environment Facility, 1818 H Street NW Rm N8-800, Washington, DC, 20433 U.S.A.;9. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, 22202 U.S.A.;10. Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, P.O. Box 13112, Abu Dhabi, UAE;11. Department of Biogeography and IUCN SSC Invertebrate Conservation Committee, Trier University, Trier, 54286 Germany;12. Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, 403 Poplar Road, Flourtown, PA, 19031 U.S.A.;13. Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, 78704 U.S.A.;14. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Arlington, VA, 22202 U.S.A.;15. Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, P.O. Box 13112, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Panthera, New York, NY, 10018 U.S.A.;16. Center for Nature and Society, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China;17. Center for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, TR10 9FE U.K.;18. Zoo Outreach Organization, 12 Thiruvannamalai Nagar, Saravanampatti – Kalapatti Road, Saravanampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 035 India;19. Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, P.O. Box 13112, Abu Dhabi, UAE Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE;20. Groupe d'Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar;21. Chelonian Research Foundation, Arlington, VT, 05250 U.S.A.;22. Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE;23. Department of Biology, FMIPA, University of Indonesia, Depok, 16421 Indonesia;24. Fondation Franklinia, Place de la Fusterie 5, Geneva, 1204 Switzerland;25. Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Institute of Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China |
| Abstract: | Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on those species in the group with the best survival prospects and reduced or denied to those in the group with no survival prospects and to those in the group not needing special efforts for their conservation) is necessary to guide resource allocation. We argue that this decision-making strategy is not appropriate because resources are not as limited as often assumed, and it is not evident that there are species that cannot be conserved. Small population size alone, for example, does not doom a species to extinction; plants, reptiles, birds, and mammals offer examples. Although resources dedicated to conserving all threatened species are insufficient at present, the world's economic resources are vast, and greater resources could be dedicated toward species conservation. The political framework for species conservation has improved, with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international agreements, funding mechanisms such as The Global Environment Facility, and the rise of many nongovernmental organizations with nimble, rapid-response small grants programs. For a prioritization system to allow no extinctions, zero extinctions must be an explicit goal of the system. Extinction is not inevitable, and should not be acceptable. A goal of no human-induced extinctions is imperative given the irreversibility of species loss. |
| Keywords: | conservation triage extinction financial resources small populations zero extinction |