According to a new study, conservation actions have proven effective at reducing global biodiversity loss. The 10-year study reviewed 665 trials of conservation measures, ranging from hatching Chinook salmon to eradication of invasive algae. It found that two out of three of the cases had a positive effect across species types, oceans, and countries. The study represents the first of its kind, with conservation measures dating back as far as 1890.
Despite the upward trend, one out of five cases showed declining numbers in the targeted species. However, the study also found that in these cases, unintentional benefits were seen in other species. For instance, a conservation measure led to a rise in the population of natural predators, which led to an increase in their prey’s population, in this case, the Australian seahorse.
Co-author Dr. Penny Langhammer referred to the study as providing the strongest evidence to date that conservation does work in slowing down global biodiversity loss. The success stories noted in the study include deforestation rates dropping 74% in the Congo Basin following the introduction of management plans and doubling the Least Tern breeding rates thanks to predator management in Florida’s barrier islands.
However, Dr. Joseph Bull, University of Oxford associate professor in climate-change biology, warns that conservation measures are not being funded adequately to start reversing global declines in biodiversity. Moreover, only $121 billion per year is currently being invested in conservation worldwide, despite the Global Biodiversity Framework agreeing to halt the decline in nature by 2022 and mobilizing at least $200 billion per year from public and private sources
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